Scarlets v Ulster

:00:32. > :00:41.Ulster have been unbeatable so far this season. His first try, back

:00:42. > :00:42.

:00:43. > :00:46.with his old province. Nine out of nine in the RaboDirect Pro12.

:00:46. > :00:50.Ulster of the leaders, hoping to make it the perfect 10 this

:00:50. > :00:56.afternoon and keep that winning streak intact. But this could be

:00:56. > :01:00.their toughest test as they face their nearest challengers, first

:01:00. > :01:07.against second as the Scarlets welcome Ulster for this top-of-the-

:01:07. > :01:10.table showdown. It is their third away in a row for Ulster and the

:01:10. > :01:15.start of a festive fixture list coming up this month with two

:01:15. > :01:21.European clashes and the RaboDirect Pro12 derby against Leinster and

:01:21. > :01:27.Munster. Kicking off is this crucial visit to Wales. Kick-off in

:01:27. > :01:31.10 minutes and also coming up this afternoon, back to school for three

:01:31. > :01:37.of Ulster's rising young stars. Paddy Jackson, Craig Gilroy and

:01:38. > :01:42.Michael Allen go back to their alma matter. Men who have done their

:01:42. > :01:48.homework are my guests, for Ulster players Andy Ward and Ryan

:01:48. > :01:54.Constable. Nine wins in a row, two wins in Europe, can Ulster

:01:54. > :01:58.continue? A everybody has turned on the television to hope that will

:01:58. > :02:02.continue. They have had a couple of struggles this last few weeks but

:02:02. > :02:05.they have been depleted in the squad and there are big names

:02:05. > :02:10.coming back today so everybody hopes they will keep the momentum

:02:10. > :02:16.going. What look at the table makes for healthy waiting for Ulster at

:02:16. > :02:22.the moment, six points clear. This is what they wanted, this is

:02:22. > :02:24.crucial. First and second, that lead can be eroded with some poor

:02:24. > :02:29.performances and it will be stressed in the lead-up to this

:02:29. > :02:32.match after Ulster to get these vital points and create that

:02:32. > :02:37.separation, because they want to finish first and second. It will

:02:37. > :02:45.take a very good side to beat Ulster at Ravenhill so the aim has

:02:45. > :02:48.to secure -- has to be to secure that one and two spot. It also go

:02:48. > :02:53.in with that ten-point gap approaching halfway, that goes

:02:53. > :02:59.along way to securing those home play-off places? Without doubt. And

:02:59. > :03:02.the momentum this season has been superb. As I said earlier, the

:03:02. > :03:06.influx of international players coming back, confidence will be up

:03:06. > :03:14.so that will have a knock-on effect in the team with young players and

:03:14. > :03:20.it is fantastic to see. Let slip that the Ulster team this afternoon.

:03:20. > :03:23.How will that benefit from a lot of those returning young stars? They

:03:23. > :03:27.bring that experience of having played at the highest level and

:03:27. > :03:31.when you go up that level and come back down, you feel you have more

:03:31. > :03:36.time and space and things are easier for you and they will be

:03:36. > :03:41.looking forward to this. Henderson coming back, Jackson had experience

:03:41. > :03:43.midweek. That good partnership that is working well, so that will

:03:43. > :03:47.invigorate the squad and it is important to get back into the flow

:03:47. > :03:51.of things with matches coming up and they had the Scarlets at the

:03:51. > :03:55.right time. They played that Fourth International yesterday against

:03:55. > :04:01.Australia, this is the time you want to get them a way and Ulster

:04:01. > :04:08.need to get the points. By is an exciting young back line. Real

:04:08. > :04:16.competition for places there. Tommy Bowe on the bench! That is crazy.

:04:16. > :04:21.It is a very dynamic set up. Andrew Trimble must feel like a young man!

:04:21. > :04:26.It is very exciting. Credit to everybody involved, they're getting

:04:26. > :04:30.more experienced every week. It is coming together nicely. The a seem

:04:30. > :04:35.to slot into the Irish international set up with these and

:04:35. > :04:38.they have all created quite the impact? They go up there

:04:38. > :04:42.opportunities through that good form and we can see some of this

:04:42. > :04:46.highlights against Fiji. They were exceptional, Paddy Jackson playing

:04:46. > :04:51.another right parts of the pitch, executing very well and Craig

:04:51. > :04:56.Gilroy, his finishing. He translated that into the green for

:04:56. > :05:01.Ireland. Darren Cave, setting up well. This was an electric finish,

:05:02. > :05:08.the number of defenders beaten, that strong, core strength. And the

:05:09. > :05:14.pace to go on and an amazing individual try. Craig Gilroy, he

:05:14. > :05:20.has lit up the international world? He relies has. And Henderson. And

:05:20. > :05:26.he is getting stronger and stronger. It is all down to the experience

:05:26. > :05:29.and wording that green shirt. Gilroy again. Every year there is

:05:29. > :05:34.always somebody who comes onto the scene and thankfully it is a home-

:05:34. > :05:39.grown player. To an early to hear talk about Craig Gilroy in the

:05:39. > :05:43.British and Irish Lions? He see and to cope with the pressure. At each

:05:43. > :05:47.stage she has stepped up with limited opportunities for Ulster

:05:47. > :05:51.but he has taken nose and he finds himself in possession of the green

:05:51. > :05:55.jersey and if you play well at that level and you get the opportunities,

:05:55. > :06:01.you have to consistently repeat that form to be in contention for

:06:01. > :06:05.that jersey. But why not? He has to much belief. He really believes in

:06:05. > :06:11.himself and that comes across. It is so exciting, everybody loves to

:06:11. > :06:17.see him getting the ball into his hands. It is fantastic. If he can

:06:17. > :06:23.keep that form, who knows? Exciting player. Ulster's Irish contingent

:06:23. > :06:27.were on international duty, winning two games on a rogue -- in a row.

:06:27. > :06:31.But according to the coach, they rode their luck. We didn't play

:06:31. > :06:36.well. We know what we need to do. We will be in the dressing room

:06:36. > :06:43.this week and addressing that and it is a long season and the fact

:06:43. > :06:46.that sometimes it doesn't always go the way you wish, but we have shown

:06:46. > :06:51.character and some steal from the group. They're hanging in there,

:06:51. > :06:55.the one thing they have shown is a can play for 80 minutes. The last

:06:56. > :06:59.two games, they have to have that possession and the set pieces have

:06:59. > :07:03.been pretty good. The scrum was good over in Italy but the line-out

:07:03. > :07:08.let ourselves down. We were not building pressure on the opposition

:07:08. > :07:12.because they turned the ball over too often. That has been a strike.

:07:12. > :07:16.Something that has drained over the last month and we have to pick that

:07:16. > :07:23.up. The Ulster coach will be delighted to welcome back Johan

:07:23. > :07:26.Muller this afternoon. That is a big plus. All with a big plus.

:07:26. > :07:30.the experience he brings to the squad, the other players will feed

:07:30. > :07:35.off him. The sort of guy that if he says something, he stops and

:07:35. > :07:38.listens and they will react to that. He brings a lot. And then the last

:07:38. > :07:44.couple of games, his experience in that line-out and the set piece

:07:44. > :07:49.area was crucial. Is it fair to say that Ulster were perhaps lacking

:07:49. > :07:52.some Ladyship the last couple of weeks? That is what he will bring?

:07:53. > :07:56.Minute take away the experienced players, the senior internationals,

:07:56. > :08:02.it does leave a space and Johan Muller welcome back, we know about

:08:02. > :08:04.his leadership credentials and it will be important this afternoon

:08:04. > :08:08.because the Scarlets against Munster, that was packed dominance

:08:08. > :08:11.and their defensive system and that is where they will challenge. They

:08:11. > :08:15.need to get the platform in the set-piece to provide quality of

:08:15. > :08:19.possession and on paper they have the team to win this but as England

:08:19. > :08:26.showed against using an, it doesn't always go to form and you must have

:08:26. > :08:30.the intensity and the application. Thank you very much. Time to join

:08:30. > :08:34.the match commentators this afternoon at the Parc y Scarlets.

:08:34. > :08:39.Also hoping to make a clean sweep. After victory against the Ospreys,

:08:39. > :08:49.the Blues and the Dragons already this season. Let's join Bryn

:08:49. > :08:50.

:08:50. > :08:55.Cunningham but also good afternoon playing touch down in Cardiff

:08:55. > :09:01.airport. The sun was shining but by the time we got here, the weather

:09:01. > :09:07.has been miserable. Steady rain at all the way through. The pitch is

:09:07. > :09:11.slippery but it's pretty good otherwise. Johann Muller returns

:09:11. > :09:20.for Ulster at Callum Black and John Afoa starting. And Robbie Diack

:09:20. > :09:30.which is from lock to the back row. -- switches. Jackson, Marshall,

:09:30. > :09:32.

:09:32. > :09:37.Darren Cave and Gilroy, back to lead duty. -- League duty. No

:09:37. > :09:41.better advertisement for the RaboDirect Pro12. On a wet Sunday

:09:41. > :09:45.afternoon, the top of the table against the second. This is a

:09:45. > :09:49.crucial game and Ulster could afford to lose this and still be

:09:49. > :09:55.ahead but it's not something they really Bobby countenancing. It is a

:09:55. > :10:05.tough week for Ulster. -- really we'll be. And they have a crucial

:10:05. > :10:10.

:10:10. > :10:14.Heineken Cup game on Friday. Two changes for the Scarlets. Johan

:10:14. > :10:22.Snyman comes in on the second-row and No. 8, Kieran Murphy has a

:10:22. > :10:28.colour. -- call up. Nick Reynolds was on the bench but he has been

:10:28. > :10:32.promoted to the outside centre. And Kristian Phillips is on the right

:10:32. > :10:41.wing. Dan Newton, in his third year with the Scarlets, starts at full-

:10:41. > :10:45.back. The man in the middle is a familiar face, international

:10:45. > :10:55.referee Peter Fitzgibbon from Munster. During his 43rd league

:10:55. > :11:01.game. So, the Scarlets, in familiar red... Ulster, taken in by Craig

:11:01. > :11:08.Gilroy. What a couple of weeks that young man has had. Paul Marshall,

:11:08. > :11:11.outside the 22. Plenty of height and good covering by it Murphy.

:11:11. > :11:18.Good solid defence in the middle of the park. Still inside their own

:11:18. > :11:23.half. Gareth Davies kicked it away. That was a clever looking kick by

:11:23. > :11:28.Alan Thomas. Gathered in by a Ulster. The touch judge flag was up.

:11:28. > :11:32.And it was carried into touch by Ulster and that is going to name

:11:32. > :11:36.the line-out for the Scarlets. Conditions will dictate how this

:11:36. > :11:39.game will be played? Without doubt that the Scarlets have shown last

:11:39. > :11:43.week that they can play a very tight game. They have traditionally

:11:43. > :11:46.been a side that likes to throw the ball about but having beaten

:11:46. > :11:51.Munster in that tight affair up front, they will look to seek

:11:51. > :12:01.dominance in that area once more. Weather can nations in Court last

:12:01. > :12:01.

:12:01. > :12:06.week were very similar. Not raining just as hard. There is a hard nosed

:12:06. > :12:11.coming to the side with pragmatism. Peter Fitzgibbon playing advantage.

:12:11. > :12:17.The Scarlets can do the heavy stuff, moving. Gareth Maule takes it

:12:17. > :12:21.forward. Knocked forward. And the advantage isn't over. He will go

:12:21. > :12:25.all the way back for the penalty. The Scarlets, one man down injured

:12:25. > :12:29.but they will be pleased with the way they have started. Discipline

:12:29. > :12:33.will be a big part of this, traditionally the sides, never much

:12:33. > :12:37.more than one score between them at the end. History has shown it's

:12:37. > :12:42.always a very competitive game and it might come down to kicks at the

:12:42. > :12:52.post, certainly with these conditions. The only time Ulster

:12:52. > :12:56.

:12:56. > :13:00.have beaten Llanelli in Llanelli, whether it was the old Parkmore

:13:00. > :13:10.Parc y Scarlets, it was a couple of years ago when Ruan Pienaar kicked

:13:10. > :13:10.

:13:10. > :13:18.that late, late penalty. Jacoby and Yancy. One of three sec Africans in

:13:18. > :13:25.this pack. And the Argentinian second role. Tomas Vallejos on the

:13:25. > :13:30.bench. Alan Clark. Niall Malone, the former Ulster outside-half and

:13:30. > :13:40.David Humphreys behind him. Mark Anscombe, scribbling away. All eyes

:13:40. > :13:49.

:13:49. > :13:57.points. He has given that a fair old strike and he has not made it.

:13:57. > :14:00.That is a bit of a let-off for Ulster. Still no score. The maiden

:14:00. > :14:03.mission for Ulster will be to try to get the ball back and hold onto

:14:03. > :14:07.it for at least a couple of minutes and were never playing away from

:14:07. > :14:13.home, that is how you get confidence, get a hold of the ball

:14:13. > :14:19.and build some places. A Paddy Jackson, well taken in by Christian

:14:19. > :14:26.Phillips, he is pretty quick. Gareth Owen. That was a good tackle

:14:26. > :14:33.by Luke Marshall. That isn't a bad effort. Here comes Gilroy. Dan

:14:33. > :14:41.Newton, full-back. Gilroy shuts him down. That was a good kick. Taken

:14:41. > :14:46.in by Roger Wilson. Peter Nelson... Jackson gives it a thump. Great

:14:46. > :14:53.covering by his opposite number, Alan Thomas. And easily down the

:14:53. > :14:59.line. Taken in by Jackson. Decides to run. Slippery underfoot.

:14:59. > :15:03.Marshall. Luke Marshall, the outside-half. Roger Wilson.

:15:03. > :15:06.Relishing the prospect of play against his old club, the

:15:06. > :15:16.Northampton Saints, next Friday. Luke Marshall trying to keep the

:15:16. > :15:21.

:15:21. > :15:26.lid on it. Well-covered and it is out. Quite good tactical kicking,

:15:26. > :15:31.Brendan. I think, as we mentioned earlier, we are going to see a lot

:15:31. > :15:35.of that today. Conditions are not wonderful, it is early in the game,

:15:35. > :15:45.they do not want to make mistakes, so they need to make sure they are

:15:45. > :15:47.

:15:47. > :15:51.playing in the right areas of the against Treviso. That was pretty

:15:51. > :16:01.straightforward, nicely done by Diack. Roger Wilson eased his way

:16:01. > :16:05.

:16:05. > :16:15.past a couple of defenders. John couple of games in the second row.

:16:15. > :16:17.

:16:17. > :16:27.Iain Henderson. Ulster need to be a couple of tackles, better work

:16:27. > :16:33.I'll stay in dreadful conditions. - - by Ulster. Good control of a very

:16:33. > :16:37.slippery tache. That is exactly what they want to you, hold on to

:16:37. > :16:41.the ball. The set piece is going to work well at the beginning, then

:16:41. > :16:46.they need to make sure they get their forwards involved nice and

:16:46. > :16:50.early, get their hands on the ball. Neil McComb is very athletic, they

:16:50. > :16:54.have got to be careful as well that they get the support to the ball-

:16:54. > :17:04.carrier very quickly. Just a second off the pace, that could

:17:04. > :17:19.

:17:19. > :17:29.was an offence. So Paddy Jackson, five points short of a league

:17:29. > :17:36.

:17:36. > :17:40.Scarlets. No! And he has missed that one as well. Well, two

:17:40. > :17:46.attempts at goal, and nothing resulting from it, as you work,

:17:46. > :17:49.seven minutes gone, no score. You cannot afford to miss those. Paddy

:17:49. > :17:54.Jackson will be disappointed with that, his goal-kicking in the past

:17:54. > :17:57.number of weeks has been absolutely exemplary, so we will want to make

:17:57. > :18:07.sure that his one bad one put behind him. Restart by the Scarlets,

:18:07. > :18:18.

:18:18. > :18:28.cannot go directly to touch. Good covering by Roger Wilson. Andrew

:18:28. > :18:41.

:18:41. > :18:51.chasing up by Andrew Trimble, as again, good positioning. He ran

:18:51. > :18:52.

:18:52. > :18:56.advantage, there was an offside, and he is going to come back to the

:18:56. > :19:00.penalty for Ulster, and I would not be surprised if they had another

:19:00. > :19:04.crack at the posts. Good play by Ulster. They will want to make sure

:19:04. > :19:09.that they get numbers under the ball, tried to challenge for the

:19:09. > :19:13.ball. You do not want to give them easy catching opportunities. It is

:19:13. > :19:18.going to be very difficult to catch the ball above their heads in

:19:18. > :19:22.greasy conditions, so I would like to see the kick comeback five yards,

:19:22. > :19:26.compete for the ball, and then try to scramble under any loose balls.

:19:26. > :19:31.Paddy Jackson has indicated to the referee, indicated to the touch

:19:31. > :19:37.judges, that is going to go for the posts. Just about three minutes ago,

:19:37. > :19:41.there was a chance for the first points. It is longer but directly

:19:41. > :19:51.in front of the posts. It is all about getting the foot placement

:19:51. > :19:51.

:19:51. > :20:01.right in very difficult, slippery too far away. He will want to make

:20:01. > :20:12.

:20:13. > :20:18.Clare, and that looks a lot better, and what a good start by Paddy

:20:18. > :20:23.Jackson. He missed the first but got the second, 9 1/2 minutes gone,

:20:23. > :20:27.Ulster leading 3-0. That just settles the side, outstanding kick,

:20:27. > :20:30.straight away he turned around, strike was beautiful, timing

:20:30. > :20:35.outstanding. Ulster will be happy with that, and they will want to

:20:35. > :20:45.keep possession and build the phases. Alice Thomas, a very good

:20:45. > :20:47.

:20:47. > :20:52.gate for his forwards to chase. -- has waited that just about

:20:52. > :20:57.perfectly. It was taken in by Dan Newton, who gets it to Murphy, who

:20:57. > :21:07.has been very busy. A chance now for the Scarlets to put a bit of

:21:07. > :21:22.

:21:22. > :21:27.one of three South Africans in the pack. Snyman could do nothing about

:21:27. > :21:32.that, he overran it slightly. The first scrum of the evening, and we

:21:32. > :21:40.have played nearly 11 minutes, and that is surprising in itself.

:21:40. > :21:44.think we will see a few handling errors today. They have got a good

:21:44. > :21:48.strong line, it is going to be difficult to make passes in these

:21:48. > :21:58.conditions. It is important they do not allow the opportunity to spread

:21:58. > :22:18.

:22:18. > :22:28.injured, just 24 years old, born in Aberdeen. He moved down to Swansea

:22:28. > :22:40.

:22:40. > :22:45.when he was two years of age, so he it is, when you look at it on the

:22:45. > :22:48.pitch, you would think what rain? But it is teaming down. This is the

:22:48. > :22:56.Scarlets front row that caused Munster's so many problems in the

:22:56. > :23:01.set piece in Cork last weekend. Ulster are that little bit heavier.

:23:01. > :23:06.A good squeeze by Ulster. The referee says, used it, but they are

:23:06. > :23:10.going to lose it. You heard him say it, Roger Wilson complaining that

:23:10. > :23:14.they were still moving forward. At the set piece, like the breakdown,

:23:14. > :23:19.once he calls that, you have got five seconds and you have to obey

:23:19. > :23:23.the referee. That is it, you have to listen to the referee, even if

:23:23. > :23:29.you feel it is the wrong call, you have to adhere to it, and that is a

:23:29. > :23:33.communication issue between 8 and 9. It is a case of just get the ball

:23:33. > :23:38.about any way you can as quickly as possible. I think the Scarlets who

:23:38. > :23:43.go might have got himself hurt. When something like that happens,

:23:43. > :23:48.you automatically think, has he done something to his neck or Pop

:23:48. > :23:54.David? It looks like his neck is giving him a wee bit of trouble. He

:23:54. > :24:02.seems to be fine. Emyr Phillips, 25 years of age. This is his 60th

:24:02. > :24:06.appearance for the Scarlets. The club skipper, Rob McCusker, is not

:24:06. > :24:16.blame but is being interviewed by our colleagues from BBC Wales. --

:24:16. > :24:21.

:24:21. > :24:24.scrummage, Ulster of free from any engagement. It is taken on by

:24:24. > :24:34.Jonathan Edwards, the Scarlets captain, this is more like it from

:24:34. > :24:40.going to blow or something, he is, because the Scarlets have knocked

:24:40. > :24:43.it on. So we have had quite a little bit of decent play without

:24:43. > :24:48.any handling errors, and now all of a sudden they are starting to

:24:48. > :24:53.happen. I think he can feel hard done by that he did not force the

:24:53. > :24:56.penalty. He had his hands firmly on the ball. The referee put

:24:56. > :25:01.themselves in a bad position and could not see what was going on.

:25:01. > :25:11.But could work at the breakdown for Diack, he was playing slightly out

:25:11. > :25:20.

:25:20. > :25:26.of position. A pretty hefty looking does, but in favour of Dan Newton,

:25:26. > :25:30.who finds a good touch. -- to bounce. The result of that is that

:25:30. > :25:34.Ulster have made 10 metres, maybe not even 10 metres, directly over

:25:34. > :25:41.the pitch from where the scrum was, so no ground gained. Good-looking

:25:41. > :25:45.scrum, mind you. Very solid, they will be happy with that. It is

:25:45. > :25:50.obvious that Ulster do not want to take any chances, they want to get

:25:50. > :25:57.field position. Can Ulster challenge is pretty useful Scarlets

:25:57. > :26:04.line-out? Touch judge on the far side is Jane Jones, who people may

:26:04. > :26:14.remember from the Under 19 World Cup final. -- James Jones. He seems

:26:14. > :26:19.

:26:19. > :26:29.has gone straight up in the air, just about, wonderful take! Quick

:26:29. > :27:05.

:27:05. > :27:15.Muller. Ulster are back infield advantage is over. Well covered by,

:27:15. > :27:17.

:27:17. > :27:24.but he did really well. Good tackle by Rob Herring. Gareth Owen goes to

:27:24. > :27:28.ground, but Herring does not get away. Peter Fitzgibbon St... Well,

:27:28. > :27:33.I thought that was harsh, I thought he was doing his best to get out of

:27:33. > :27:36.the way, but obviously not to the satisfaction of the referee.

:27:36. > :27:41.Certainly, Ulster will be disappointed with that. They will

:27:41. > :27:45.want to stay down in the Scarlets' 1/2, and the kicking has been a

:27:45. > :27:49.little bit long, that has given the Scarlets an opportunity to get

:27:49. > :27:52.behind the ball and start pushing. Once we see more competition for

:27:52. > :27:57.the ball in the air, we will hopefully see Ulster reaping the

:27:57. > :28:07.rewards for that. It was a good take, albeit at the second attempt,

:28:07. > :28:17.

:28:17. > :28:22.means full, maybe not even half full, which is a good and the sad

:28:22. > :28:26.side, but there is a certain match at the Millennium Stadium yesterday,

:28:26. > :28:34.breaking a Welsh hearts. That does not look terribly straight. Play on,

:28:34. > :28:44.says the referee. A little bit of basketball when Don there. -- went

:28:44. > :28:55.

:28:55. > :29:05.think the culprit might well have been the oldest man in the Scarlet

:29:05. > :29:11.

:29:11. > :29:15.and he has given Ulster a decent field position as we come up to the

:29:15. > :29:21.end of the first quarter. They are leading 3-0 but will be looking for

:29:21. > :29:25.more. We saw why he is such a wonderful signing, not only is the

:29:25. > :29:30.brilliant been handling, but he is like another open-side flanker, he

:29:30. > :29:36.can force penalties as well. work at the breakdown is terrific

:29:36. > :29:41.as well. Good line-out, Milan back in things. What about the bounce?

:29:41. > :29:45.It has bounced handily for the Scarlets, and they have pushed

:29:46. > :29:50.their way back to Ulster's 22. Maybe the chasing was not

:29:50. > :29:54.aggressive enough, or maybe the kick was too long, but either way

:29:54. > :29:58.Ulster Avalos 60 metres. I think the idea was definitely right, in

:29:58. > :30:03.conditions like this the defence is going to try to come up very

:30:03. > :30:07.quickly. Ulster have witnessed that early on, so they said, let's look

:30:07. > :30:10.behind with the chip kick, and with the tight defence, maybe it could

:30:10. > :30:20.be a little bit wider and they could be opportunities for the

:30:20. > :30:23.

:30:23. > :30:32.very useful chap has come on. Kirby Myhill. The captain of the Welsh

:30:32. > :30:38.Junior World Cup side. That was a good kick down the line. And Ulster

:30:38. > :30:45.have got themselves offside. No hesitation from Peter Fitzgibbon.

:30:45. > :30:50.Might have been Craig Gilroy? This is within kicking range. This will

:30:50. > :30:55.give the Scarlets a chance to get themselves back on level terms.

:30:55. > :31:00.Ulster did everything just about right. Youthful exuberance, we

:31:00. > :31:04.shall put that down to, on the part of Craig Gilroy. The referee has

:31:05. > :31:09.been pretty good, he has given both sides an opportunity and has called

:31:09. > :31:16.what he think is the right call and has given the boys a chance to

:31:16. > :31:20.react. He shouted hold to the winner, Craig Gilroy probably did

:31:21. > :31:27.not hear him. If you just decided not to go up onto the defensive

:31:27. > :31:37.line, it would have allowed play to continue. It is a pretty tight

:31:37. > :31:57.

:31:57. > :32:01.- matches. -- matters. That looks pretty good. A little bit of

:32:01. > :32:05.hesitation but no real need, Alan Thomas has messed with one and

:32:05. > :32:11.landed the next. Three points apiece in a very wet Parc y

:32:11. > :32:15.Scarlets. Ulster will definitely want to get their hands on the ball,

:32:15. > :32:18.here. They want to go through some phases, that is when they will

:32:18. > :32:26.break down the defence and the opportunities welcome for those

:32:26. > :32:31.little chip kicks. Gathered in by the Scarlets. Murphy, yet again. He

:32:31. > :32:39.has been the outstanding forward of the evening. Roger Wilson, knocks

:32:39. > :32:44.it backwards. Well, the touch judge said that was forward. At the very

:32:44. > :32:50.worst, I thought that was sideways. I would like another look. Roger

:32:50. > :32:55.Wilson, incredulous. Did that go forward? I have to be honest, I

:32:55. > :33:05.think that went backwards. That is the home crowd decision and if that

:33:05. > :33:15.happened at Ravenhill, it would have been played on. Amen to that.

:33:15. > :33:15.

:33:15. > :33:25.John a full, Callum Black, he has been scrummaging mightily well.

:33:25. > :33:27.

:33:27. > :33:31.That was a good squeeze by Ulster. That was a good covering tackle and

:33:31. > :33:35.he just had his elbow in touch, and the same touch judge puts his flag

:33:35. > :33:39.up and the Scarlets will get a line out and that was a great scrum by

:33:39. > :33:44.Ulster. A outstanding, when you consider the Scarlets have the

:33:44. > :33:48.upper hand against Munster. With that very powerful front row

:33:48. > :33:53.playing as well. That is an area they probably fancied themselves

:33:53. > :33:58.end and that is an area that will be important in these conditions.

:33:58. > :34:03.Ulster will glean an awful lot of confidence from that. Callum Black,

:34:03. > :34:09.scrummaging his socks off. Tom Court and the bench, remember. Mark

:34:09. > :34:13.Anscombe has rested quite a few players. Ruan Pienaar, Chris Henry,

:34:13. > :34:20.Jared Payne, Paddy Wallace, lots of players have been given that five-

:34:20. > :34:27.day turnaround. He is fortunate to be able to do that and take Rory

:34:27. > :34:31.best and Tommy Bowe onto the bench. That is the key to success so far.

:34:31. > :34:34.They have so many players that are playing well presently, they can

:34:34. > :34:38.afford the opportunity to rest some of these guys. And they know that

:34:38. > :34:44.it gives the other boys an opportunity to stake a claim for

:34:44. > :34:51.that place and they will be itching to get back into the fold. The 26

:34:51. > :34:57.year-old South African seems to be fine. Nicely done, nothing wrong.

:34:57. > :35:00.Richard Kelly took that in. Ulster grappling at the breakdown. That

:35:00. > :35:04.forced the Scarlets to concede ground into their own half and

:35:04. > :35:08.Ulster still trying to hold up. Much better for the Scarlets.

:35:08. > :35:13.Ulster cannot be caught bring that down, otherwise it will be a

:35:13. > :35:18.penalty. And Ulster have taken that end and that is a good bit of

:35:18. > :35:24.defence by Ulster. The crowd, giving that little manner of

:35:24. > :35:29.disapproval. The Scarlets skipper has given more than that. That is a

:35:29. > :35:33.great attacking opportunity, the split scrum, they can put a couple

:35:33. > :35:38.of receivers on the left-hand side, on the short side, shaping up with

:35:38. > :35:41.Peter Nelson, to be the first receiver and see what the defence

:35:41. > :35:44.is doing and they will call it wants the scrum goes down and

:35:44. > :35:52.decide what the play is what you would like to see Ulster trying to

:35:52. > :35:58.hold onto the ball and go through a couple of faces. -- faces. Gilroy

:35:58. > :36:05.on the nearside. And that was another good, solid Ulster scrum.

:36:05. > :36:08.Marshall. Jackson. Offside again by Ulster and this time it was Andrew

:36:08. > :36:18.Trimble. Andrew Trimble and Craig Gilroy have both given away

:36:18. > :36:23.penalties. Yes, 10 metres ahead, you were told. Andrew Trimble.

:36:23. > :36:28.Maybe it was Darren Cave on the wing? It just comes down to timing

:36:28. > :36:35.more than anything. We are playing in conditions like this and from 9-

:36:36. > :36:41.10, the pace will be slower. Those little fractions make a difference

:36:41. > :36:45.and it is important to hold that fraction to allow for that. Well...

:36:45. > :36:50.I think that was a bad call. I think that was absolutely wrong,

:36:51. > :36:56.there was nothing wrong with that positioning by Andrew Trimble.

:36:56. > :37:01.Another bad call. The replacement hooker. That was too long. Gathered

:37:01. > :37:06.in by Roger Wilson. He needs no second bidding. Marshall, got

:37:06. > :37:10.himself caught. Not his fault, played on. Knocked forward by

:37:10. > :37:19.Ulster. They did all the hard stuff, stealing the ball, and then they

:37:19. > :37:23.have given it away. 24 minutes gone, three apiece. What a remarkable

:37:23. > :37:30.sequence he has had. The ball was out and he did get himself caught

:37:30. > :37:37.by his opposite number. Marshall, his 70 eighth match today. Squad

:37:37. > :37:47.appearance. He has been the most regular member of the squad over

:37:47. > :37:48.

:37:48. > :37:52.the past couple of seasons. Another big scrum, Ulster need it. Penalty

:37:52. > :38:02.against the Scarlets. Good work by Callum Black and the boys on the

:38:02. > :38:05.

:38:05. > :38:12.front row. Going backwards. The referee decided he had to pull it

:38:12. > :38:17.down to prevent any further retreat. Jackson. That was a good strike by

:38:17. > :38:21.Paddy Jackson. Wonderful kick. Again, it shows a lot of confidence

:38:21. > :38:30.in the young man, to be able to go for it like that. Often, with all

:38:30. > :38:34.of those 10 - 15 yard kicks. That shows a lot of confidence, somebody

:38:34. > :38:44.who was very happy with his kicking at the moment and that has but

:38:44. > :38:45.

:38:45. > :38:51.Ulster in a very good attacking position. Rob Herring. Henderson at

:38:51. > :39:00.the front. He makes good ground but it is now on the floor. It will be

:39:00. > :39:07.more difficult. Marshall. John a full. Callum Black. Leaves it for

:39:07. > :39:17.the scrum half. Neil mod-con, relishing a decent run of games.

:39:17. > :39:28.

:39:28. > :39:34.Bobby Diack. Henderson. Paul Marshall. Darren Cave. Tackled well.

:39:34. > :39:38.The referee having a good look. And he penalises Ulster. Decent

:39:38. > :39:43.continuity and then a penalty. good player but unfortunately, not

:39:44. > :39:47.a lot of yards gained. Holding onto the ball as important but you have

:39:47. > :39:51.to try to get across that gain-line time and again. That is the way

:39:51. > :40:00.they will break this defence down and if they don't get over, there

:40:00. > :40:10.will resort to the kicking option. Speaking of kicking. 27 minutes

:40:10. > :40:10.

:40:10. > :40:18.gone and Aled Thomas has taken the Scarlets back. Afoa. The referee

:40:18. > :40:26.says he did not perhaps release quickly enough. He took his team to

:40:26. > :40:36.Irish victory in Cork. Good challenge by Ulster. Callum Black

:40:36. > :40:37.

:40:37. > :40:46.does the tackling. Slow ball but still within that time frame. Kelly.

:40:47. > :40:50.Murphy. Good work by Henderson. Well away by Gareth Davies. The

:40:50. > :41:00.Scarlets piling in, the referee had a good look at the breakdown. Taken

:41:00. > :41:03.

:41:04. > :41:13.on by George Earle. Again, the slow ball. The replacement hooker is

:41:14. > :41:16.

:41:16. > :41:22.Kirby Myhill. I thought he was going to set up for a drop goal.

:41:22. > :41:27.Thomas. Well gathered by Ulster. That looks all right! Break away!

:41:27. > :41:33.Andrew Trimble. In he goes. Just a little bit fortuitous but you make

:41:33. > :41:39.your own luck and you take your chances. And Andrew Trimble, in his

:41:39. > :41:43.97th league game, gets his 27th league try. Typical. He saw the

:41:43. > :41:47.opportunity and he went for it. That is how you do it as a winner.

:41:47. > :41:51.If you think about it for a split- second, you will not make it. That

:41:51. > :41:59.is the key, come out early and there is a good chance you welcome

:41:59. > :42:04.away with it. He had at home now -- he had no doubts. He was always

:42:04. > :42:08.going to have the pace to finish that off. That is a real serious

:42:08. > :42:11.piece of defending and Jonnie Bell will be delighted. They were right

:42:11. > :42:14.up in the faces of the Scarlets boys and with Andrew Trimble

:42:14. > :42:20.scoring the try, Paddy Jackson adding the points and with 11

:42:20. > :42:28.minutes to go until the interval, Ulster are leading by 10 points to

:42:28. > :42:31.three points. They need to get more distance and confidence. It is now

:42:31. > :42:37.very important, you can see when the team's cause, they can take

:42:37. > :42:42.their feet off the gas. And a lack of discipline can get away points.

:42:42. > :42:52.It is important to set up for possession again. The Scarlets

:42:52. > :42:56.

:42:56. > :43:04.restarting. Gilroy underneath. That was a good call. That has been

:43:04. > :43:09.knocked forward. Advantage to Ulster, Marshal... No real option

:43:09. > :43:13.for Darren Cave. Kicking for position. And he has. And that was

:43:13. > :43:16.not a bad kick at all. A little bit more might have come out of that

:43:16. > :43:19.but Ulster will not be too disappointed. When the knock-on

:43:20. > :43:25.came, you thought Ulster might be able to capitalise but just one way

:43:25. > :43:29.would pass put them on the back foot. Darren Cave, he often looks

:43:29. > :43:33.up and as an experienced head, he can see there is nothing on it and

:43:33. > :43:43.he hits that nice, low kick into the corner and he executes that

:43:43. > :43:52.

:43:52. > :43:59.the spacing of the line-out. Well taken by big Richard Kelly. And

:44:00. > :44:05.that was a good organised line-out. Trimble gathering. Peter Nelson.

:44:05. > :44:12.Let food, that was great. Great cheers. Knocked forward by Ulster.

:44:12. > :44:15.Luke Marshall attacks through! No score. That was very close. You can

:44:15. > :44:19.see the confidence they have taken from that break away from Andrew

:44:20. > :44:24.Trimble. That is exactly the sort of kick you like to see going up.

:44:24. > :44:29.It can be caught under it. There is going to be the ought not gone, no

:44:29. > :44:35.doubt, but sometimes, 50 - 50, you never know, it could bounce your

:44:35. > :44:39.way. The attacking side can pounds on the loose ball. Kim Wright, he

:44:39. > :44:48.could not quite gather. He knocked it forward but that just underpins

:44:48. > :44:51.his appetite for the game. Not just the season but in previous seasons.

:44:51. > :45:01.Ulster have brought three players to the nearside to cover the three

:45:01. > :45:03.

:45:03. > :45:13.Scarlets players. This could be getting very low before he makes

:45:13. > :45:28.

:45:28. > :45:32.but Ulster get a good squeeze on. - - a better scrum. A terrific piece

:45:32. > :45:37.of driving brings the penalty, and that is the advantage of a dominant

:45:37. > :45:43.scrum. We got BJ Botha out but scrummage, but John Afoa is just as

:45:43. > :45:49.good, it seems. It is amazing he did not pick up more or Black Caps.

:45:49. > :45:54.36 is not bad, he should double that, at least. Whenever he came

:45:54. > :45:57.across, the one question mark was over his scrummaging ability, and

:45:57. > :46:02.his scrummaging ability since he arrived in Ulster has been

:46:02. > :46:08.absolutely unbelievable. Do not forget the efforts by Johann Muller

:46:08. > :46:11.and Neil McComb, the biggest guy on the park, but it is all about an

:46:11. > :46:18.eight-part machine working in harmony, and my word, they did

:46:18. > :46:28.there. So this is to put 10 points between the sides as we head into

:46:28. > :46:34.

:46:34. > :46:39.Scarlets three, Ulster 13, and about 7 minutes until the interval.

:46:39. > :46:43.Ulster will be delighted with that scrum. They know that with any

:46:43. > :46:46.opportunities to have free kicks, they will have a crack at the

:46:46. > :46:56.Scarlet' scrum, and that is where we will see their dominance in the

:46:56. > :47:01.

:47:01. > :47:04.rest of this game. He kicks Parc y Scarlets. A couple of weeks

:47:04. > :47:12.ago, they had the most wonderful celebratory dinner, remembering the

:47:12. > :47:15.40th anniversary of the day that Llanelli beat the All Blacks. The

:47:15. > :47:23.outside-half was one of the main organisers, they had 1,200 people

:47:23. > :47:26.and a splendid dinner. And that is splendidly not straight! Well, that

:47:26. > :47:30.comes whenever the site is starting to lose confidence, they feel the

:47:30. > :47:34.only way they are going to get possession is by things like that,

:47:34. > :47:38.throwing cricket throw-ins. That is where the Scarlets will be starting

:47:38. > :47:43.to doubt themselves, taking their put off the gas, as you mentioned,

:47:43. > :47:47.the crowd has got quite. If Ulster can capitalise and get the next

:47:47. > :47:57.score and put daylight between the two sides, the Scarlets will start

:47:57. > :47:58.

:47:58. > :48:08.to doubt themselves. They have to great control, Roger Wilson. I do

:48:08. > :48:09.

:48:09. > :48:15.not know what Marshall is scrum-half. That puts Ulster into a

:48:15. > :48:18.strike position, the red zone, as they call it. That is good vision

:48:18. > :48:22.by Marshall. I think he was trying to get the referee to call a

:48:22. > :48:27.penalty, suggesting there was some ill-discipline going on in the

:48:27. > :48:37.front row. He knew that the way to deal with it was to go blind with

:48:37. > :48:42.

:48:42. > :48:50.it. It was definitely the right by the Scarlets at the second

:48:50. > :49:00.attempt. -- pulled in. Charged down by Ulster, where is that going?

:49:00. > :49:05.

:49:05. > :49:10.pretty cross with himself. A nice sweeping movement there, great

:49:10. > :49:18.steel by Ulster, pressure at the line-out, well won on the ground by

:49:18. > :49:23.Callum Black. He has been was a little bit high, around

:49:23. > :49:27.shoulder level, not a bad pass, and in normal conditions you would

:49:27. > :49:32.expect to take that, so Darren will be disappointed. It was certainly a

:49:32. > :49:36.great attacking platform for Ulster. The pressure is still on the

:49:36. > :49:46.Scarlets, though, they are in scrum territory, and they have not been

:49:46. > :50:17.

:50:17. > :50:27.comfortable there for most of the nearly got through. All the

:50:27. > :50:30.

:50:30. > :50:40.pressure is coming from the league challenge. Callum Black, Phil John,

:50:40. > :50:49.

:50:49. > :50:53.number one against number one. Paddy Jackson. -- a wee bit too

:50:53. > :50:58.much on that. Still two and a half minutes to go, all the pressure

:50:58. > :51:01.coming from Ulster. They have really upped the tempo. I think

:51:01. > :51:05.they can sense the Scarlets doubting themselves, they want to

:51:05. > :51:09.speed up the game, and played down to the 22. That all started from

:51:09. > :51:15.Luke Marshall on the 22 stealing the ball, and that is something we

:51:15. > :51:19.have seen his team do all season. You see D'Arcy and O'Driscoll doing

:51:19. > :51:29.it for Ireland, and it is an important part of the game now.

:51:29. > :51:33.

:51:33. > :51:43.Marshall get it at the second attempt, that could have been

:51:43. > :51:51.

:51:51. > :52:01.word, they are going through their paces. The referee is playing

:52:01. > :52:12.

:52:12. > :52:16.Gilroy. Advantage over, says the did that last week for Ireland, his

:52:16. > :52:21.one miscue of the game, we hope. That just shows you how difficult

:52:21. > :52:29.the conditions are, I do not know how many turnover is there work,

:52:29. > :52:33.the ball was like a bar of soap. What Ulster need to do is be a

:52:33. > :52:37.little bit patient, not try to force it, hold on to the ball. We

:52:37. > :52:41.know it is going to be very difficult on an afternoon like this,

:52:41. > :52:46.but Ulster have got the better of this side, they are in the

:52:46. > :52:56.ascendancy, and they have got to capitalise on that. Into the last

:52:56. > :52:56.

:52:56. > :53:00.minute of this first half, Iain Henderson. Could take by Snyman. --

:53:00. > :53:06.could take. Ulster get the put-in at the scrum with 30 seconds

:53:06. > :53:10.remaining. The Scarlets man ran into one of his own men, and the

:53:10. > :53:15.referee said there was an advantage gained by that, and Ulster will

:53:15. > :53:18.have the put-in at the scrummage. They may be content to put this

:53:18. > :53:28.into touch and say, well, let's not risk anything, or they may try

:53:28. > :53:35.

:53:35. > :53:45.something. I just saw Paddy Jackson poised to do a bit of serious

:53:45. > :53:53.

:53:53. > :53:58.line-out if it goes into touch, but it hasn't. Trimble through it

:53:58. > :54:03.forward, and the flag was up on the far side. It is blowing for half-

:54:03. > :54:09.time. A little bit of an adventure there by Ulster, I'm not sure if

:54:09. > :54:13.the gate was all that desperately adventurous, but Ulster will not be

:54:13. > :54:18.terribly unhappy. They went ahead with a penalty by Paddy Jackson,

:54:18. > :54:24.cancelled out by one by Alan Thomas, breakaway try by Andrew Trimble,

:54:24. > :54:28.conversion and penalty by Jackson. Of the lead 13-three, and they will

:54:28. > :54:33.be pretty happy with that. -- Ulster. I think they will be happy

:54:33. > :54:37.with that, and second half, more of the same, just hold on to the ball,

:54:37. > :54:41.and I'm quite sure they will take the victory today. It has been a

:54:41. > :54:44.very good opening 40 minutes for this Ulster side, and at the moment

:54:45. > :54:54.they are on course to maintain their place at the top of the table,

:54:55. > :54:58.

:54:58. > :55:02.and they are leading the Scarlets In a top-of-the-table battle, it is

:55:02. > :55:09.tense and tight. It is not a thriller as yet, but Ulster have

:55:09. > :55:15.the upper hand at half-time after deadlock earlier on, with a penalty

:55:15. > :55:21.apiece, one magical intervention by Andrew Trimble kept Ulster in the

:55:21. > :55:27.lead. Are they sliding their way to another Pro12 victory? It is 13-3

:55:27. > :55:32.at half-time, helped by those eight points by Paddy Jackson. We have

:55:32. > :55:37.been watching, what has been a pretty scrappy first half, but the

:55:37. > :55:42.weather has played its first half. -- played its part. The weather has

:55:42. > :55:45.played a massive part, but there is a lot of tension as well. They want

:55:45. > :55:49.to up their standard from the previous two weeks, and they have

:55:49. > :55:54.certainly done that in certain areas, but credit to the Scarlets,

:55:54. > :55:59.their defence is hard, they are pushing up in difficult conditions,

:55:59. > :56:02.and it is difficult to get the ball into the right channels where

:56:02. > :56:07.Ulster have been strong in recent weeks. It seems to be a catalogue

:56:07. > :56:11.of errors. Yeah, look, the weather is the pervasive feature in this

:56:11. > :56:15.match, and when that is the case, both teams are going to struggle to

:56:15. > :56:19.get tempo into the game. They are going to have to adjust their

:56:19. > :56:23.tactics. We will see more tactical kicking to establish field position,

:56:23. > :56:28.primary possession from the set piece becomes Michael, discipline

:56:28. > :56:32.in the opposition half, maintaining possession. -- Michael. No point

:56:32. > :56:36.playing rugby in your own heart. Ulster had started to establish

:56:37. > :56:41.that tactic in the first half, and expect to see that continue in the

:56:41. > :56:46.second. We saw the coach saying he wanted to improve the line-out, and

:56:46. > :56:50.that has happened, they have functioned very well. This goes to

:56:50. > :57:00.his point as well, they can afford to play his game when they need to

:57:00. > :57:05.the scrum or having a Scarlet line- out. The pressure keeps demanding.

:57:05. > :57:10.The more this continues, the more the Scarlets will feel the pressure.

:57:10. > :57:15.Did Ulster give too much ball away? The decision to kick was fine,

:57:15. > :57:19.early in the game we were not finding the open spaces, a lot of

:57:19. > :57:23.balls being taken and contested, but they addressed that well into

:57:23. > :57:28.the latter half. They made it a contest double kick, and that has

:57:28. > :57:32.been the key feature, and that is why we saw then start the rhythm in

:57:32. > :57:37.the latter stages of the first half. Scrummaging, very powerful against

:57:37. > :57:41.another very good scrummaging team. Very much so, it is a real platform

:57:41. > :57:46.for them, showing a lot of strain on the Scarlet ball as well as

:57:46. > :57:50.their own. In this situation, it became very messy, that was

:57:50. > :57:56.probably the worst scrum of the game in Venice. But from here on, a

:57:56. > :57:59.bit of a power-play from Ulster. You cannot underestimate the

:57:59. > :58:04.psychological impact on the opposition, when they are heading

:58:04. > :58:09.backwards on roller-skates in the scum, -- scrum, and it really goes

:58:09. > :58:15.throughout the whole spine of the team, and Ulster will feel it in

:58:15. > :58:19.Carmont at present. It feels like grinding the opposition down.

:58:19. > :58:24.much so, and it is a real psychological blow. If the referee

:58:24. > :58:28.calls a scrum, especially if it is your own ball, there is a little

:58:28. > :58:33.bit of panic in the back of the mind, so Ulster will not be averse

:58:33. > :58:37.to putting the ball down to the 22, applying the pressure. We will come

:58:37. > :58:42.away with something. It does not feel like when or where the winners

:58:42. > :58:49.should be involved, but they have been, Kilroy and Trimble, a lot of

:58:49. > :58:53.focus on them with Tommy Bowe. -- Gilroy. It is an enviable position,

:58:53. > :58:58.to have world-class players. Craig Gilroy gets over the advantage line

:58:58. > :59:01.courtesy of that footwork, and then they have got to perform the basics

:59:01. > :59:06.as well, Andrew Trimble claiming that ball and moving forward. That

:59:06. > :59:12.is what you want as 18, when the ball is in the air, knowing that

:59:12. > :59:17.one of your back three will claim that. -- as a team. I suppose a

:59:17. > :59:22.little bit disheartening for the Scarlets, the first time to the

:59:22. > :59:25.Ulster 22, in pop's Andrew Trimble. Thank goodness for that, because

:59:25. > :59:30.they were looming on the outside, and it could have been dangers of

:59:30. > :59:35.Ulster. It has just gone through their hands, Paddy Wallace al

:59:35. > :59:40.Darren Cave putting on a lot of pressure to allow that to happen.

:59:40. > :59:44.Credit to Andrew Trimble, he really read that well. It was a very good

:59:44. > :59:47.defensive breed, he recognised the overlap, comes into nullify that,

:59:48. > :59:52.then he changes tack and goes for the interception. That is what you

:59:52. > :59:57.want from him out wide, that game I've been changing ability. He has

:59:57. > :00:00.done it on plenty of different occasions before, and that is the

:00:00. > :00:05.experience he has of playing at that level, and he is drawn on that

:00:05. > :00:09.experience. That could be crucial. This is not going to be a thing of

:00:09. > :00:19.beauty, Ulster are not going to score four or five tries, so that

:00:19. > :00:23.

:00:23. > :00:27.opportunities. And discipline will be the key thing, the kickers

:00:27. > :00:34.missed their first couple of kicks. That bonfire we have just seen

:00:34. > :00:39.might be the only try in this match. It isn't a night for a pretty when,

:00:39. > :00:43.but it is for victory and Ulster have a very impressive bench.

:00:43. > :00:46.Coming into this game, you felt the bench was there to we used and to

:00:47. > :00:54.integrate them for next trick. Judgment calls have been made On

:00:54. > :00:58.the Run. But Rory Best, Tom Court, Dan Tuohy, established

:00:58. > :01:03.internationals, they will be integrated. As and when the coach

:01:03. > :01:07.decides they are needed. Thank you for that. Any of Ulster as talented

:01:07. > :01:10.young players came through the conveyor-belt of one of Northern

:01:10. > :01:20.Ireland's top rugby schools, Methodist College. We took three of

:01:20. > :01:34.

:01:34. > :01:44.been back in a while but it has brought back some good memories -

:01:44. > :01:47.

:01:47. > :01:57.and bad ones as well! You are looking well. Watching him train,

:01:57. > :01:59.

:02:00. > :02:08.nothing has changed. Since we used Did you ever look at these when in

:02:08. > :02:13.third year and think, I want to be in the first 16? Yes. Marshall. He

:02:13. > :02:23.is the same size. Jackson. That is the dream team, right there.

:02:23. > :02:26.

:02:26. > :02:30.Undefeated. Jackson? Right there. The most successful side in the

:02:30. > :02:34.history of the competition. It is great to see them coming through,

:02:34. > :02:42.the boys from the academy and the guys on the fringes who have come

:02:42. > :02:46.through that Methody team. Only his second competitive Ulster's dark,

:02:46. > :02:51.what a seasoned the youngster is having. If I didn't play this year,

:02:51. > :03:00.I would not have been involved, that would have been my

:03:00. > :03:02.professional career over. It was make or break. The opening try with

:03:02. > :03:08.Luke Marshall and Craig Gilroy, that was straight from the training

:03:08. > :03:12.paddock. It was good, I remember seeing Craig go over and I started

:03:12. > :03:16.jumping in the air, I was so happy. I have seen him going over so many

:03:16. > :03:24.times for Methody but it is great to see him going over in the green

:03:24. > :03:33.jersey. It has been a better world went. But something I have worked

:03:33. > :03:37.hard and. -- bit of a whirlwind. It has been a great couple of weeks.

:03:37. > :03:42.It is great that he steps up when it matters. I knew he would be fine.

:03:42. > :03:48.I kept telling him that. And he went over for the try. We were in

:03:48. > :03:54.the stands, going bonkers! He had a brilliant game. I have enjoyed

:03:54. > :03:58.every bit of this, I just hope it continues in the future. You have

:03:58. > :04:02.even been mentioned this week as a potential British Irish Lion.

:04:02. > :04:07.would be getting ahead of myself! I'll get my face back at Ulster

:04:07. > :04:14.first. He has his feet on the ground and the serious point about

:04:14. > :04:18.us competition is the competition for places is very healthy. These

:04:18. > :04:23.boys have to stay on their toes, one bad match and their back on the

:04:23. > :04:28.bench. But it is creating a very healthy environment at the Ulster

:04:28. > :04:32.level and for the supporters and spectators, this is only a very

:04:33. > :04:37.healthy situation we find ourselves in. Only one of many schools

:04:37. > :04:40.producing quality players but they have not left that long ago so I

:04:40. > :04:43.suppose for young people playing schools' rugby, there is that real

:04:44. > :04:48.pathway and it shows what you can achieve. You can get in quickly if

:04:48. > :04:53.good enough. The outside back, Ulster have got the talent

:04:53. > :04:57.identification Hathway and the development pathway and that is

:04:57. > :05:00.enshrined and it comes from the schools and the engine that academy

:05:01. > :05:05.structure and they are fast-tracked. Do in Australia and New Zealand, if

:05:05. > :05:08.you don't make it by the age of 23, you probably are not going to sell

:05:09. > :05:14.it is refreshing to see youngsters being given an opportunity at the

:05:14. > :05:20.highest level. Lots of credit to that group of guys, and David Wells,

:05:20. > :05:23.who heads up the rugby at Methody, he has been a fantastic servant for

:05:23. > :05:26.Ulster rugby in terms of what he has brought through and they are

:05:26. > :05:31.starting to read those rewards. Methody has been very strong over

:05:31. > :05:35.the years so it is full credit to divot Wells. What do these young

:05:35. > :05:40.fellows need to do in the second half? To make sure they secure

:05:40. > :05:43.another win for Ulster Day? Stick to a very well-defined game-plan,

:05:44. > :05:47.no point in playing in your own have, established territory and go

:05:47. > :05:51.through the possession. They have the primary set piece sorted and

:05:51. > :05:54.the need to continue that and they have established the lead. Kick the

:05:54. > :06:00.goals and take the opportunities but it is about discipline,

:06:00. > :06:04.defensive alignment and maintain possession. Cut out the mistakes.

:06:04. > :06:09.Brit flick, the next score is absolutely key? Without a shadow of

:06:09. > :06:19.a doubt, it will seal the deal. Thank you very much indeed. Back to

:06:19. > :06:22.

:06:22. > :06:27.half underway and Ulster have made a couple of changes at the interval.

:06:27. > :06:34.Johan Muller has made way for Irish international Dan Tuohy. And Tommy

:06:34. > :06:38.Bowe is back on the park. And he might just be playing in place of

:06:38. > :06:42.Craig Gilroy. I'm pretty certain I saw him coming out wearing No. 23

:06:42. > :06:49.and he has gone over to the left wing, not normally his position.

:06:49. > :06:57.Tommy Bowe is on. And Dan Tuohy. The Scarlets are the same as at the

:06:57. > :07:00.interval. They replaced their hooker. So, Ulster are 10 points to

:07:00. > :07:10.the good and Paddy Jackson starts the second half with not a bad kick.

:07:10. > :07:19.

:07:19. > :07:26.Tommy Bowe puts the pressure on. The it is going to be the first

:07:26. > :07:34.line-out and it is going to be the line-out for Ulster. Dante's jersey

:07:34. > :07:43.is nice and dry, number 19. -- Dan Tuohy's jersey. The line-out duties

:07:43. > :07:49.of Johann Muller, the skipper. Neil McComb comes along to help.

:07:49. > :07:54.Henderson. Gets across the gain line. Paul Marshall. Roger Wilson.

:07:54. > :08:01.Well, that was a good, bruising run by Roger Wilson. Paul Marshall,

:08:01. > :08:10.Luke Marshall. Nice little show. Peter Nelson does well. He scored a

:08:10. > :08:16.try last week in Italy against Treviso. Paddy Jackson. Ulster

:08:16. > :08:26.conceded about him metres. Darren Cave, it's all about the past and

:08:26. > :08:27.

:08:27. > :08:31.the kick and tea sets it up nicely. Paul Marshall. Dan Tuohy. Penalty

:08:31. > :08:34.against the Scarlets. Not many would Ulster wanted but they will

:08:34. > :08:40.take the chance for three more points. That is a very good start

:08:40. > :08:44.by Ulster. Couple of great balls. Henderson, that nice soft shoulder.

:08:44. > :08:50.And Roger Wilson, again, over the gain-line. Ulster need a good

:08:50. > :08:54.platform to gain momentum. Clever as well with Paddy Jackson, Paul

:08:54. > :08:58.Marshall under pressure and he had to throw it up. Knowing the

:08:58. > :09:03.conditions, rather than picking up from his shoelaces, he let the ball

:09:03. > :09:11.go on and that is clever play. He can just rebuilt, even if losing

:09:11. > :09:17.five yards, start again, with the opportunity to increase the lead.

:09:17. > :09:24.Jackson with eight of those first half points. Just to make life that

:09:25. > :09:32.little bit more difficult for the Scarlets. Swinging the right foot...

:09:32. > :09:37.And up goes the flak. Another cracking kick by Paddy Jackson.

:09:37. > :09:44.Ulster stretch the lead. 16 - 3. And only 2.5 minutes of the second

:09:44. > :09:49.half gone. They know from the first half they have dominance. If they

:09:49. > :09:53.just continue in that vein, Cape to those structures, they will be very

:09:53. > :10:03.confident of coming away with a victory. Gathered in by Roger

:10:03. > :10:04.

:10:04. > :10:14.Wilson. Tackled well by Marshall. Inside the 22. That is another good

:10:14. > :10:29.

:10:29. > :10:35.strike by Ulster. Jackson is a con flab about who will start the

:10:35. > :10:45.line-out. They had decided to keep all their forwards in it. Nicely

:10:45. > :10:51.done. Taken on Welbeck Gareth Owen, who has had a quiet afternoon.

:10:51. > :10:55.Gareth Davies gets under way. Tommy Bowe came across and just about the

:10:55. > :11:01.Scarlets to take the inside shoulder. The referee playing

:11:01. > :11:06.advantage. There will be a penalty going against Ulster. What were the

:11:06. > :11:12.scorers do if it goes to the panel to? The advantages being played.

:11:12. > :11:17.Andrew Trimble. He let the kick take place. No advantage came from

:11:17. > :11:22.it. They have gone back for the penalty. Bobby d'Arc, the man

:11:22. > :11:28.penalised for not running at the breakdown. -- Robbie Diack. Ulster

:11:29. > :11:34.looked a little bit stretched. That was very good play in the centre.

:11:34. > :11:38.He spent all last year injured with the Ospreys. Speaking to Tommy Bowe,

:11:38. > :11:46.they reckoned he was the next Gavin Henson. He doesn't use as much fake

:11:46. > :11:52.tan but he is a quality player. They will see the benefit of pen

:11:52. > :11:57.being fit this season. Not the opportunities today. -- of him

:11:57. > :12:07.being fit. Aled Thomas. One successful penalty in the first

:12:07. > :12:26.

:12:26. > :12:36.half. Trying to just reduce that not. It remains 16 - 3. Simon

:12:36. > :12:38.

:12:38. > :12:48.Easterby in the middle, just that little shake of the head. Jackson.

:12:48. > :12:49.

:12:49. > :12:56.Into space. Gathered in by Christian fops. Alan Thomas.

:12:56. > :13:06.Wonderful take by Wilson. Absolutely superb. Here comes Tommy

:13:06. > :13:06.

:13:06. > :13:13.Bowe. And he has made good ground. He has help from Marshall. Jackson.

:13:13. > :13:18.Wilson really has been busy and he gives away the penalty. Red Ed

:13:18. > :13:23.penalty. Ulster very enthusiastic but not getting the accuracy.

:13:23. > :13:27.Another close call. Slow at the breakdown and that allows the

:13:27. > :13:32.Scarlets to get over that ball and forced a penalty. And now look at

:13:32. > :13:35.that opportunity to get back into Ulster territory and spring another

:13:35. > :13:39.attacking phase. That is the first time we have seen this car it's

:13:39. > :13:44.getting behind Ulster and that will have given them confidence. They

:13:44. > :13:48.will look to do the same again. Look to use those sectors of the

:13:48. > :13:54.middle of the park. Get their hands free to get runners coming onto the

:13:54. > :13:58.ball. Mark Anscombe's selection was quite clever initially, given the

:13:58. > :14:06.game coming up on Friday. Completely resting Ruan Pienaar,

:14:06. > :14:09.Wallace, Nick Williams, Jared Payne. And those from Down players on the

:14:09. > :14:17.bench but he has now brought on Tommy Bowe and Dan Tuohy, giving

:14:17. > :14:27.them a little game time. Bodger was in getting underway. -- Roger

:14:27. > :14:29.

:14:29. > :14:33.Wilson. A Johan Snyman. Much better by the Scarlets. Good tackling by

:14:33. > :14:37.Ulster and by Darren Cave, the referee has given away the penalty.

:14:37. > :14:41.That is being played. The Scarlets would have preferred the try. But

:14:41. > :14:47.they had to take the penalty. Ulster putting the tackle in, they

:14:47. > :14:53.have been so adept at this this season. The Scarlets, good stuff by

:14:53. > :14:58.George Earle but no advantage. I am pretty sure the Scarlets will take

:14:58. > :15:02.the three points on offer. The Ulster discipline needs to pick up.

:15:02. > :15:08.That is the scarred it's coming back into it, building, confidence

:15:08. > :15:12.is gaining. You can hear the crowd getting into it. They will try to

:15:12. > :15:18.be a little more positive. You can see that already, moving the ball

:15:18. > :15:22.one pass wider and get hands free. If they can get one of runners,

:15:22. > :15:32.that will not be the way forward against this very solid Ulster side.

:15:32. > :15:36.

:15:36. > :15:41.Strong defensively. They will have captain in Ulster after Molo went

:15:41. > :15:44.off, and the referee has had a word and said if there is any more

:15:44. > :15:48.infringing, it will result in somebody getting themselves a

:15:48. > :15:56.yellow card, which Ulster cannot at this stage afford to do, because

:15:56. > :16:05.they lead is by no means unassailable. -- and their lead. He

:16:05. > :16:10.just squeezes it over, that is what counts, 10 points between them.

:16:10. > :16:14.Just over eight minutes of the second half played. Scarlets

:16:14. > :16:17.managing to be very patient. If they continue to play the way they

:16:17. > :16:24.have been the last five minutes, they will be able to eat into the

:16:24. > :16:34.lead, so Ulster have to put the pressure on. Jackson with a long

:16:34. > :17:04.

:17:04. > :17:14.take by Luke Marshall, well- weighted, tremble. He is going

:17:14. > :17:22.

:17:22. > :17:32.from Nelson, oh, good take by the Scarlets, and away they come. A

:17:32. > :17:37.

:17:37. > :17:41.faces. The home side are still inside their own half. That is a

:17:41. > :17:51.clever kick, and Reynolds is chasing, getting the better of

:17:51. > :17:51.

:17:51. > :18:32.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 41 seconds

:18:32. > :18:38.murmur and burble and bubble behind the busy number 8. Ulster might

:18:38. > :18:43.just have turned that over, what a crucial time to do it! Well, the

:18:43. > :18:49.Scarlets have got the put-in to the scrum. Well, Ulster may be sat back

:18:49. > :18:53.after those initial three points from Paddy Jackson, and he is not

:18:53. > :18:57.giving too much away in terms of facial expression, but he must be

:18:57. > :19:01.churning inside. We can see the intensity of the Scarlets has

:19:01. > :19:05.picked up substantially from the first half. They have obviously had

:19:05. > :19:09.a good talking-to at half-time. They have been told to be more

:19:09. > :19:13.positive with the ball, not kick away as much possession, and

:19:13. > :19:18.whenever kicking in the air, or kick to retain possession. We saw

:19:18. > :19:24.the benefits of being able to challenge for the ball, coming

:19:24. > :19:28.through, able to get their hands free and offload the ball and how

:19:28. > :19:37.the Scarlets attackers coming on to them, putting the Ulster defence

:19:37. > :19:43.under pressure. Aled Davies, the replacement. A good position, this,

:19:43. > :19:48.for the home side, but can Ulster's good scrummaging be maintained?

:19:48. > :19:53.Penalty against Ulster, and that is going to B3 points, and gradually

:19:54. > :20:00.the Scarlets are coming back into this game. This will B3 more points,

:20:00. > :20:05.I am sure. As a full-back, I find that difficult to understand, you

:20:05. > :20:11.could probably educate me more about that front row play, but when

:20:11. > :20:15.the scrum is so dominant, I cannot see why it Ulster would want to

:20:16. > :20:19.take that down a straight away. am sure they did not, there was

:20:19. > :20:23.probably a sled on the far side by Callum Black. We did not hear from

:20:23. > :20:29.the referee or the touch judge in respect of the offence, but the

:20:29. > :20:39.penalty has been given. Aled Thomas, who has been on from the start,

:20:39. > :20:52.

:20:52. > :20:57.now a converted try would level this game up. 9-16. I think they

:20:57. > :21:02.will be happy to pick away at his lead and just pick up the penalties.

:21:02. > :21:08.There is no reason they cannot keep continuing to do that. Ulster will

:21:08. > :21:12.have to try to get the next score. Well taken in by the Scarlets. The

:21:12. > :21:16.man who caught the pair was the number eight, Kieran Murphy, and he

:21:16. > :21:20.ran into one of his own players, and that is the old accidental

:21:20. > :21:24.offside, and the referee reckoned an advantage was gained, so that

:21:24. > :21:30.gives Ulster the scrum, and they want to be doing something from

:21:30. > :21:33.this pretty good field position. good attacking opportunity, two or

:21:33. > :21:37.three attacking options, and they will want to get over the gain line

:21:37. > :21:41.here, retain possession and do what the Scarlets have been doing for

:21:42. > :21:46.the last five minutes, try to retain possession, and if not break

:21:46. > :21:56.and score a try, at least forced a penalty and kicked three points and

:21:56. > :22:24.

:22:24. > :22:34.only seven points between them. from his back row, and he gets it

:22:34. > :22:35.

:22:35. > :22:45.control, and there is now greater treasure -- greater aggression from

:22:45. > :22:45.

:22:45. > :22:55.the Scarlets at the breakdown. -- prop. Now Paddy Jackson, inside to

:22:55. > :23:21.

:23:21. > :23:26.Luke Marshall, who was quite happy but loads of red jerseys there, and

:23:26. > :23:30.he is hustled into touch. That is good defending by the Scarlets, and

:23:30. > :23:34.when you defend as comfortably as that, it gives you good confidence.

:23:34. > :23:40.Excellent defence from the Scarlets, disciplined, they held their line,

:23:40. > :23:47.and it is not a day for throwing 50-50s, it is going to be difficult

:23:47. > :23:57.to get the offloads Inn, but Ulster need to straighten up. Nelson was

:23:57. > :24:09.

:24:09. > :24:13.left in a situation where he could have a feeling. Scrum to Ulster.

:24:13. > :24:18.Ulster are going to bring on a replacement at prop, down below us,

:24:18. > :24:22.the familiar figure of Tom Court. The even more familiar figure to

:24:23. > :24:27.Ulster fans, Rory Best, is getting himself ready, maybe not for this

:24:27. > :24:32.scrum but for the one afterwards. There are they go into bring them

:24:32. > :24:34.in together to give them an all- international front row resulted

:24:34. > :24:40.through the Heineken Cup campaign last season all the way to the

:24:40. > :24:44.final? The answer is absolutely yes! It is hardly surprising, with

:24:45. > :24:50.the way the game has panned out over the last 10 or 15 minutes,

:24:50. > :24:54.that Ulster needed to regain the momentum in his game. The calendar

:24:54. > :25:00.of these players to come on, the Scarlets will not be too happy to

:25:00. > :25:05.see that. -- the calendar. Absolutely not. So Rory Best and

:25:05. > :25:14.Tom Court, having missed the last four games because of a neck injury,

:25:14. > :25:17.Rory Best, sustained in his last trip to Wales against the Dragons.

:25:17. > :25:23.Tom Court will be anxious to prove to the Irish management that his

:25:23. > :25:27.international career is by no means gone. Very good scrum by Ulster, it

:25:27. > :25:31.forces the penalty straight away, take that, they say! That is the

:25:31. > :25:38.impact of fresh blood, and pretty good but at that, the scrummaging

:25:38. > :25:41.power of those two. Rory Best is well renowned for being a strong

:25:41. > :25:44.scrummager. They have regained the advantage they had throughout the

:25:44. > :25:49.first half, and getting a penalty now puts them in a position to

:25:49. > :25:54.extend that lead. Look at that driving position by Afoa, he lost

:25:54. > :25:59.his footing, but parallel to the ground, legs really thrusting, Rory

:25:59. > :26:09.Best in the middle, all those years of running pedigree cattle around

:26:09. > :26:12.

:26:12. > :26:22.the farm has done him no the harm get Ulster back into a slightly

:26:22. > :26:28.

:26:28. > :26:31.more dominant position as we come Paddy Jackson. And Ulster will be

:26:32. > :26:38.happy with Paddy Jackson, because he has landed at Dorn, and the gap

:26:38. > :26:42.opens up to 10 points once again, and a small band of Ulster

:26:42. > :26:49.supporters roared their approval. Plenty for them to muse upon. A

:26:49. > :26:53.quick turnaround, as we have seen before from Ulster. The Northampton

:26:53. > :26:58.Saints next Friday for the Heineken Cup game, which you can here on BBC

:26:58. > :27:08.Radio Ulster. Taken in by Tommy Bowe, who is taken down by Richard

:27:08. > :27:16.

:27:16. > :27:21.Murphy! This could change they can move this. They have

:27:21. > :27:25.committed, and the Cannes has gone forward. Well, they seemed to have

:27:25. > :27:30.an overlap, and the Ulster defence very nearly did not get away with

:27:30. > :27:33.that. The crowd is not happy with Peter Fitzgibbon, who has given one

:27:33. > :27:43.or two decisions which would not have pleased the Ulster vans, but

:27:43. > :27:44.

:27:44. > :27:49.this one will, what a letter of! That was a serious lack of -- let

:27:49. > :27:53.macro off. The defence was trying very hard to shut it down, but that

:27:53. > :27:57.puts pressure on the inside man to produce an excellent pass, and

:27:57. > :28:03.obviously it has gone slightly forward. Great tackle by Paddy

:28:03. > :28:06.Jackson, the last line of defence, very good to have a 10 in mayor who

:28:06. > :28:11.puts his body on the line. Not only that, he was on his feet and tried

:28:11. > :28:15.to steal the ball as well, just slowing it down for a second.

:28:15. > :28:20.Ulster will be disappointed that he got so far in the first place.

:28:20. > :28:24.replay showed that the ball was passed by the Scarlets ball-carrier

:28:24. > :28:31.from outside the 22 and was gathered inside the 22, so if that

:28:31. > :28:38.does not signify something going forward, I have no idea. However, I

:28:38. > :28:43.have a feeling Mike McComish is preparing to come on, so Robbie

:28:43. > :28:47.Diack or Ian Anderson will leave the field. Ulster scrum. That is

:28:47. > :28:51.another good scrum by Ulster, that has been their clear period of

:28:51. > :28:56.dominance. The Scarlets give away the penalty under fierce pressure,

:28:56. > :29:01.and they have collapsed. Ulster will be relieved about that. If

:29:01. > :29:05.Ulster are to win the game, it will have been the scrum that does it.

:29:05. > :29:10.There is little doubt of that. They have not had a lot else to go on,

:29:10. > :29:14.it has been a fragmented affair, difficult for either side to really

:29:14. > :29:18.gain substantial momentum with the nature of the slippery ball, and

:29:18. > :29:24.certainly at the set-piece Ulster will be very happy, moving into the

:29:24. > :29:30.next couple of games, that their scrum has been so dominant. Well,

:29:30. > :29:33.this is interesting. Neil McComb is leaving the field, and Mike

:29:33. > :29:40.McComish is coming on, which would indicate that Henderson will

:29:40. > :29:46.probably go into the second row. Henderson, of course, spent most of

:29:46. > :29:52.his schoolboy and under-age rugby as a second row forward. So Mike

:29:52. > :30:02.McComish is on. Well, that is not the line-out that Ulster wanted

:30:02. > :30:08.

:30:08. > :30:16.from their own throw. That is not a The Scarlets gather this, I Ulster

:30:16. > :30:19.could be in trouble. But they have not. The ball was forward. No

:30:19. > :30:23.complaints from the sky and its fans, they were very grateful that

:30:23. > :30:32.Peter Fitzgibbon was right on the spot and the Eagle eyed man from

:30:32. > :30:36.Ulster if spotted that forward pass. Into the final 20 minutes.

:30:36. > :30:42.probably just was marginally forward. It never looks like that

:30:42. > :30:46.when the player is taking the run onto the ball. And that was a great

:30:46. > :30:51.offload, showing the full scale set. His kicking out of hand has been

:30:51. > :30:55.very good. He managed to get the ball high enough to challenge or at

:30:55. > :30:59.least put the opposition under pressure. Nice to see the Ulster --

:30:59. > :31:04.the other Ulster supporting players expecting that loose ball and

:31:04. > :31:14.trying to get onto it. If the pass was marginally forward, it

:31:14. > :31:24.certainly would have been a try. Tomas Vallejos has come on, he

:31:24. > :31:25.

:31:25. > :31:30.plays on the back row. Playing on the blind side of the flank. The

:31:30. > :31:39.scrum comes down on the side. To under fierce pressure from John

:31:39. > :31:43.Afoa. That was a slap, says Peter Fitzgibbon. Keep your heads and

:31:43. > :31:53.shoulders up on engagement. He have to have her head and shoulders

:31:53. > :32:10.

:32:10. > :32:15.penalised. Time for the Scarlets to come back. Tom Court penalised. He

:32:15. > :32:20.is a very tall man for a loose head prop. Close to six feet and two

:32:20. > :32:30.inches. That is along back for that particular position. And that is a

:32:30. > :32:30.

:32:30. > :32:36.good strike. Good to see Rory Best back in and Ulster Jersey.

:32:36. > :32:39.Ireland's most capped hooker of all time. His brother, Simon, was a

:32:39. > :32:45.former Irish captain. But too often that brothers play for Ireland,

:32:45. > :32:55.never mind captain the side. Substitutes coming on thick and

:32:55. > :32:55.

:32:55. > :33:04.fast. No. 17. Shaun Hopkins has come on. And Deacon Manu, wearing

:33:04. > :33:11.number 18. The captain of the Fijian side. And they just about

:33:11. > :33:20.got away with that, Anne Davies. Into Rory Best. No scrum half, the

:33:20. > :33:28.replacement hooker will have to oblige. Ulster up quickly. The

:33:28. > :33:36.drive by Murphy, who has been outstanding. This is very kickable.

:33:36. > :33:41.Once again, the Ulster lead is starting to be attacked. And Dan

:33:41. > :33:46.Tuohy has gone to the sin-bin. This will not help Ulster's cause. Left

:33:46. > :33:51.with only one specialist second row, if you could call Iain Henderson

:33:51. > :33:58.that. The referee did warn them and dad to be infringed. The Ulster

:33:58. > :34:02.management will be thinking, can we hang on? They were starting to

:34:02. > :34:05.infringe a little bit too much for the referee's liking. It was

:34:05. > :34:10.inevitable that somebody was going to be sent to the sin bin sooner or

:34:10. > :34:15.later. The Scarlets will try to capitalise on this. This will bring

:34:15. > :34:19.it down to the converted try, within one converted try. They will

:34:19. > :34:26.look to just eat away and maximise with 14 men. He reckoned he was

:34:26. > :34:31.trying to get away. And Alan Thomas has blown it the chance of three

:34:31. > :34:37.points and reducing the gap to the converted try. So, his goal-kicking

:34:37. > :34:45.has not been anywhere near to the accuracy of Paddy Jackson. Which is

:34:45. > :34:55.fairly good news for Ulster. He must be wondering. Jackson gives it

:34:55. > :34:55.

:34:55. > :34:59.quite a decent whack. Alan Thomas, returns. Not quite with interest.

:34:59. > :35:05.That was somewhere up in the stratosphere. It has gone amiss.

:35:05. > :35:15.Offside. Against the Scarlets skipper, Johnathan Edwards. One of

:35:15. > :35:15.

:35:15. > :35:20.his team-mates touched it. Well, no need for translation from that man.

:35:20. > :35:24.He was ahead of the man who played the ball. Sometimes it's very

:35:24. > :35:27.instinctive, you just go for the ball. The first reaction is to

:35:27. > :35:32.concentrate on the ball and you don't realise you are off site.

:35:32. > :35:36.That is right but that stemmed from that excellent up and under from

:35:36. > :35:40.Paddy Jackson. To get that sort of distance and the players underneath,

:35:40. > :35:50.putting the Scarlets under pressure. It is just again for Ulster to

:35:50. > :35:50.

:35:50. > :35:55.grind out a victory. There are no major rushers. No huddling. You

:35:55. > :35:59.knew it was the line-out, get on with it as best you can. Henderson,

:35:59. > :36:06.he has brought on his head protector. Since he is playing in

:36:06. > :36:10.the second row. Gets across 22. Murphy made the tackle. Mike

:36:10. > :36:16.McComish, in the scrum half position. He does just that. That

:36:16. > :36:22.is good work. Another penalty against Ulster at the breakdown.

:36:22. > :36:28.Not releasing. Another chance for the Scarlets to get back into

:36:28. > :36:33.Ulster territory with 14 minutes remaining. If they win this game,

:36:33. > :36:38.they will need 10 unanswered points. That was solved by Ulster, they

:36:38. > :36:42.will be disappointed. Having got down into that territory, it is

:36:42. > :36:45.unfortunately about winding the clock down and keeping the

:36:45. > :36:48.possession in the opposition half and being clinical at the breakdown.

:36:48. > :36:53.Forget about getting numbers into the back line to try to create

:36:53. > :36:58.something, just get the numbers into the ruck to go through the

:36:58. > :37:01.phases. That is all they have to do to come out on top. The referee

:37:01. > :37:08.cannot be happy with the Scarlets taking their time. But they have

:37:08. > :37:18.lots of options. Ulster have lost Dan Tuohy. Kirby Myhill. Stolen by

:37:18. > :37:23.

:37:23. > :37:32.Henderson. Marshall. Wilson gets it. Jackson. Underneath, Andy Fenby.

:37:32. > :37:39.Marshall. Here is Jackson. Into the high tackle. That was a clever kick

:37:39. > :37:44.into space. It needs to roll. Dan Newton got back. And that was a

:37:44. > :37:50.good kick by Dan Newton. James Jones on the nearside. Ulster take

:37:50. > :37:59.it quickly. Paddy Jackson. Into a huge amount of space. Trimble has

:37:59. > :38:05.to retreat. Thomas. They have to make the first tackle. Just about

:38:05. > :38:15.and no more. Charged down by Tommy Bowe. Good tackle by Tommy Bowe.

:38:15. > :38:17.

:38:17. > :38:22.Well covered by Thomas. Oh, big gap. Aled Davies! Tom Court promptly

:38:22. > :38:31.drops it. The referee said it went backwards. Ulster got away but that.

:38:31. > :38:37.This game has gotten very scrappy. Jackson. He needs to get this right.

:38:37. > :38:44.And has he ever? That was a fabulous kick by Paddy Jackson.

:38:44. > :38:47.Super kick. But it was a comedy of errors creeping in. Just as the

:38:47. > :38:52.Scarlets break out and there is the potential for a try, Ulster steal

:38:52. > :38:55.possession back. It all stemmed from a very good line-out steal by

:38:55. > :39:00.Henderson, who read the play very well and was very quick off the

:39:00. > :39:05.ground. Ulster, kicking has been pretty good and Marshall probing

:39:05. > :39:10.down into the corners. Ulster will be happy enough if the Scarlets

:39:10. > :39:20.continued to make those sort of mistakes. A scarlet slide out, only

:39:20. > :39:25.about 80 metres from their own line. -- the Scarlets line out. Trimble.

:39:25. > :39:35.Peter Nelson. Tommy Bowe outside. He decides to put it up into the

:39:35. > :39:40.air. The possession has been given away. The Scarlets going forward.

:39:40. > :39:46.They have got men out wide. This could be interesting. Tommy Bowe.

:39:46. > :39:51.Good tackle. This guard it's not quite able to put it together. Luke

:39:51. > :39:58.Marshall defending well. Dan Tuohy must be due to come back on

:39:58. > :40:01.producing. -- the Scarlets. 10 points between them. At this point

:40:01. > :40:05.it is about Ulster recognising where they are in the park. There

:40:05. > :40:09.is no doubt it inside you don't have at this stage, they want to

:40:09. > :40:14.just kick territory and press and stay down into their half but if

:40:14. > :40:18.they get inside the ten-metre line, that is the time to keep possession

:40:18. > :40:25.and keep things nice and tight and run the clock down. Particularly

:40:25. > :40:30.with one man off the pitch. Back with the Scarlets, Thomas, bringing

:40:30. > :40:36.in the men from the far side. Darren Cave. Hanging on. Ulster

:40:36. > :40:41.hoping to do the choke tackle and put the boot into the scrum. The

:40:41. > :40:47.referee says, let it come. Deacon Manu, the veteran from Fiji. That

:40:47. > :40:51.was a good tackle from Roger Wilson. No penalties from Ulster and they

:40:51. > :41:01.get their foot into the scrum. Good work at the breakdown by Rory Best.

:41:01. > :41:02.

:41:02. > :41:05.As ever. Dan Tuohy, still sitting below us on the knotty step.

:41:05. > :41:10.looking too happy with himself. We saw Rory Best, and although the

:41:10. > :41:16.scrum was already given, who saw him over the ball and that was

:41:16. > :41:23.excellent at stealing. He is now down on one knee and he is holding

:41:23. > :41:29.his chest. Hopefully, that is nothing serious. He did get that

:41:29. > :41:34.bang in the ribs. I can just see him below was. One of the Scarlets

:41:34. > :41:40.players getting treatment as well. Just having come back from that

:41:40. > :41:49.neck injury. It would be awful luck if Rory Best got himself a chest

:41:49. > :41:53.injury. They're having a word. The doctor is down there, as well. And

:41:53. > :42:03.with the scrum coming up, the last place you want to be is in the

:42:03. > :42:08.middle of the front row if you have a dicky chest. One breakaway try.

:42:08. > :42:18.By Andrew Trimble. Rory Best seemed to be well enough to take part in

:42:18. > :42:19.

:42:19. > :42:28.the scrum. The clock will start. Under nine minutes remaining and 10

:42:28. > :42:32.points between them. The free kick against the Scarlets. Early

:42:32. > :42:41.engagement, just a little bit too exuberant from the replacement prop,

:42:41. > :42:45.Shaun Hopkins and Deacon Manu. Hopkins wearing No. 17. Free kick,

:42:46. > :42:52.so Paddy Jackson is going to give it the old-fashioned kick. The

:42:52. > :42:58.highest of the night. Not forward by Robbie Diack. He did not really

:42:58. > :43:04.know when the ball was. Alan Davies, complaining it isn't coming out

:43:05. > :43:10.quickly enough. That is a slow ball for the Scarlets and they have to

:43:10. > :43:20.kick. Nelson. Could take by the young full-back. And a clever kick

:43:20. > :43:24.

:43:24. > :43:31.down the line. The Scarlets line out. Certainly the right idea from

:43:31. > :43:37.Peter Nelson. He just wanted to get possession back down. Their winger,

:43:37. > :43:46.the full-back, they were in good conditions -- positions so the only

:43:46. > :43:51.option was along the ground and hard. Another replacement. Adam

:43:51. > :43:56.Warren is coming on for Christian Phillips, who is leaving. And Dan

:43:56. > :44:02.Tuohy, it seems like a very long 10 minutes but we have had stoppages.

:44:02. > :44:12.Ulster are still down to 14 men. Well taken by the scarlet. Thomas.

:44:12. > :44:12.

:44:12. > :44:18.Into space. Well covered by Nelson. -- well taken by it the Scarlets.

:44:18. > :44:27.Ulster set it up. Here comes Roger Wilson, the Ulster captain. Paul

:44:27. > :44:34.Marshall. That is a good kick by Marshall. Trimble. Back in the

:44:34. > :44:38.Ulster side. Offside. The referee was playing advantage because the

:44:38. > :44:42.person he touched the ball initially was from the Scarlets and

:44:42. > :44:49.that is a chance for Paddy Jackson to put Ulster deep into the scarred

:44:49. > :44:54.its territory and may be close at this game. -- scarlet. That goes

:44:54. > :44:59.back to that excellent kick by Paul Marshall, it allowed Andrew Trimble

:44:59. > :45:02.to get up and contest that ball. And fairly poor play and in

:45:02. > :45:07.experienced play on the behalf of the Scarlets. He should have known

:45:07. > :45:11.he was offside. Ulster in a very good attacking position. And with

:45:11. > :45:21.Dan Tuohy back on the field, this is the opportunity to strangle the

:45:21. > :45:27.

:45:27. > :45:32.long as they do not concede 10, that is what matters. Only five men

:45:32. > :45:42.in the line-out. Dan Tuohy got one hand to it, but that was not

:45:42. > :45:54.

:45:54. > :46:02.terribly clever of. The referee is retreating position, they have done

:46:03. > :46:12.well. Luke Marshall has a go himself. A good impression of a

:46:13. > :46:21.

:46:21. > :46:31.overrun by Ulster. They need to scoop it up, and they have done. A

:46:31. > :46:40.

:46:40. > :46:44.quiet, because they know with five minutes remaining, it is going to

:46:44. > :46:51.be asking an awful lot of the Scarlets to get the 10 points they

:46:51. > :46:55.need to win this game. I think Ulster will be disappointed, and

:46:55. > :47:00.you have to question why they went for a long line out over the top.

:47:00. > :47:05.In that sort of position, and where we are with the scoreline, may be a

:47:05. > :47:11.simple throated and Julie might have been the best option, easy

:47:11. > :47:15.possession. -- a simple throw to Dan Tuohy. Impressed with Luke

:47:15. > :47:20.Marshall, he has looked to get involved as much as possible, and

:47:20. > :47:30.he has almost taken a role as an extra four would run at times, and

:47:30. > :47:35.

:47:35. > :47:39.he has looked strong and physical of rugby here at Parc y Scarlets,

:47:39. > :47:46.but Ulster and very much in the winning position, but they will

:47:46. > :47:53.take that, because Scarlets are outside having the losing bonus

:47:53. > :48:01.point, so Ulster would have a four- point lead. The Scarlets have had a

:48:01. > :48:07.lot of bonus points, five so far. It looks like being 10 from 10 for

:48:07. > :48:11.Ulster unless something untoward happens. That is a messy scrummage.

:48:11. > :48:21.Peter Fitzgibbon saying both front rows went down, no-one at fault.

:48:21. > :48:29.The Scarlets have made three replacements in their front row,

:48:29. > :48:33.John Afoa has been there from the start. Tom Court and Rory Best,

:48:33. > :48:38.both of Ireland. The clock resumes again. Just over three minutes

:48:38. > :48:45.remaining. Some of the crowd are starting to drift away, they have

:48:45. > :48:55.seen enough. Ulster are happy enough to let them see the clock

:48:55. > :49:16.

:49:16. > :49:20.ticked away. The referee will have bit of a mess. He gives it to Bowe,

:49:20. > :49:25.and Robbie Diack, who has not played badly at all, reverting to

:49:25. > :49:29.the blind side now that Mike McComish has come on, he spilled it

:49:29. > :49:33.thought. Time is still ticking away, and I honestly cannot say the

:49:33. > :49:38.Scarlets coming back to win this one. I cannot see it either.

:49:38. > :49:42.Marshall, the right idea again, putting Tommy Bowe under a little

:49:42. > :49:47.bit of pressure with the pass. Maybe a kick into the corner was

:49:47. > :49:51.the option. But it runs down the clock, and at this stage the

:49:51. > :49:54.Scarlets are probably out of the game. Ulster have you just stay in

:49:54. > :50:00.this part of the park, stay down here, and Llanelli cannot do much

:50:00. > :50:06.about it. Ulster have pretty much taken at a patent on winning and

:50:06. > :50:11.glee at the moment, two in Italy, and maybe one here, you would think.

:50:11. > :50:16.-- winning it and belief. The Scarlets will at least one to get a

:50:16. > :50:21.winning bonus point out of this. There's time for them to do more,

:50:21. > :50:26.but are they capable of it? Aled Thomas does the first bit right,

:50:26. > :50:31.get a decent bit of ground. If they get any penalties, they will go for

:50:31. > :50:38.the points. All those bonus points at the end of the season add off,

:50:38. > :50:41.and in terms of third or 4th place, it could be very important. From

:50:41. > :50:48.Ulster's point of view, it could be important, they will want to

:50:48. > :50:53.restrict Llanelli and not allowed and the bonus point back row. --

:50:53. > :50:59.allow them. The Scarlets have not won that quickly or cleanly. Not

:50:59. > :51:04.much more than a minute to go, and Ulster pressure in all the way

:51:04. > :51:08.through. That was knocked forward by Ulster, the referee is playing

:51:08. > :51:13.advantage to the Scarlets. Ulster have got to the last four of this

:51:13. > :51:17.competition and won every single game in Wales. This is their 4th

:51:17. > :51:20.game in Wales, the beginning of December, and they may come away

:51:20. > :51:24.with a 4th successive victory in the principality. The referee

:51:24. > :51:27.brings them back for the put-in at the scrum, which the Scarlets

:51:27. > :51:31.probably would not want. All they can hope for is a penalty from this

:51:31. > :51:36.and somebody to kick it and get the losing bonus point, because they

:51:36. > :51:40.are not going to win this game, we can say with more than a fair

:51:40. > :51:44.degree of confidence. Ulster have played down and won 10 in the

:51:44. > :51:49.league. That is what they will take away from this game, nothing much

:51:49. > :51:53.to write home about, the scrum has been effective, but outside of that

:51:53. > :51:57.it has been an average display at best. They will accept that, but

:51:57. > :52:02.you cannot get away from what a victory does to their confidence.

:52:02. > :52:07.There is the penalty gate, and with 10 seconds remaining, I am sure the

:52:07. > :52:12.Scarlets will go for the post to try to get the bonus point. They

:52:12. > :52:16.got the scrummage, Ulster infringed, 10 seconds remain, and what are

:52:16. > :52:20.they go into do? They have to go for the post. Jonathan Edwards has

:52:20. > :52:24.asked his outside-half, who has kicked three penalties from six

:52:24. > :52:33.attempts so far, to try to get them the losing bone as point, because

:52:33. > :52:37.the game is over. -- Bowness point. Well, the conditions have actually

:52:37. > :52:42.got better in the last 10 minutes, but the rain which started mid-

:52:42. > :52:47.afternoon in Wales has really made it a bit of a nonsense in terms of

:52:47. > :52:51.decent handling rugby, which to be fair would suit neither side.

:52:51. > :52:56.Malone, the former Irish international, and Clarke, the

:52:57. > :53:06.former international who go. Both will be relieved. They are wrapping

:53:07. > :53:16.

:53:16. > :53:22.Thomas to nail this one. That does not look bad. And he has done it,

:53:22. > :53:25.what a great kick by Thomas. Well, they got something out of it, Simon

:53:25. > :53:29.Easterby will be pretty disappointed that it was not more.

:53:29. > :53:34.A fortuitous try by Andrew Trimble in the first half said the platform

:53:34. > :53:38.for Ulster, not the most solid of platforms, but they have come

:53:38. > :53:43.through it, maintained their unbeaten record, 12 out of 12 in

:53:43. > :53:48.all competitions. As far as the Pro12 League is concerned, played

:53:48. > :53:52.10, won 10, still leading the Scarlets. The Ulster will be happy

:53:52. > :53:56.with that. Performance wise, it was not what they were looking for, but

:53:56. > :54:01.it is the victory that counts, and they do not know how to lose right

:54:01. > :54:05.now. They will take that momentum into the next couple of weeks. You

:54:05. > :54:10.know, obviously the scrum was a big bonus for them, and that will

:54:10. > :54:17.probably be the only major bonus for them today. Obviously, it is

:54:17. > :54:23.confidence, that is the main thing. They know how to win, they went to

:54:23. > :54:26.Italy and played not particularly well. Big pluses, too, no apparent

:54:26. > :54:32.injuries, and obviously it puts them in reasonable form, albeit

:54:32. > :54:37.with a quick turnaround, quickly going to Northampton on Friday.

:54:37. > :54:41.does, and we see him out of players that have come on. They will be

:54:41. > :54:46.fresh for next weekend, and that is the most him -- most important

:54:46. > :54:56.thing, rotating the team well. final score here, Scarlets 12,

:54:56. > :54:59.

:54:59. > :55:03.the-table tussle by any means, but Ulster ground out a victory. Andrew

:55:03. > :55:08.Trimble's interception try was the stand-out moment as the visitors

:55:08. > :55:11.took a 13-3 half-time lead. Paddy Jackson, effective with the boot

:55:11. > :55:19.again this afternoon, and the Scarlets could not capitalise when

:55:19. > :55:23.Dan Tuohy was sin-binned. Jackson knocked over a 70 -- a penalty to

:55:23. > :55:27.seal the victory, and in the last minute of the game, the Scarlets

:55:27. > :55:37.got something from it, the losing bonus point. But it is another

:55:37. > :55:44.winner for Ulster. 19-12, including 14 points by Paddy Jackson and that

:55:44. > :55:49.Well, it was not pretty, but it was effective. I at the end of the day,

:55:49. > :55:52.you know, all that matters is the scoreline. I think they are

:55:52. > :55:55.probably been a fair few cups of tea made at a home saved and the

:55:55. > :56:03.knowledge you were not going to miss much, it was a bit

:56:03. > :56:06.disappointing as a spectacle. -- safe in the knowledge. The coach

:56:06. > :56:11.will not be pleased with the performance, but he comes away with

:56:11. > :56:16.another important victory. In the context of the Pro12 and what is

:56:16. > :56:20.coming ahead, it was important they got the victory. When you have that

:56:20. > :56:23.set-piece dominance, you have the option to establish field position

:56:23. > :56:28.through Paul Marshall, Paddy Jackson, Luke Marshall, and if you

:56:28. > :56:30.couple that with excellent kicking from Paddy Jackson in those

:56:30. > :56:34.conditions, and a piece of opportunistic brilliance from

:56:34. > :56:38.Andrew Trimble, there is your recipe for success today. Does it

:56:38. > :56:42.matter to the coaching staff that it was not that an impressive a

:56:42. > :56:46.performance, a ground that victory? Or is the victory the paramount

:56:46. > :56:51.thing? Without a doubt, they will be concerned in certain areas. They

:56:51. > :56:55.would have liked to have held the ball better, they gave it away

:56:55. > :57:00.cheaply at times. They will be concerned with that. Irrespective

:57:00. > :57:05.of the conditions, that is the same for both sides, and Ulster were

:57:05. > :57:10.struggling with control of the ball. There will be aspect of the game

:57:10. > :57:15.that the coaching staff will be disappointed with. We know Ray

:57:15. > :57:18.Burnell can be a cauldron, a place where Ulster know how to win, but

:57:18. > :57:23.this is something they have turned around on the road, they are hard

:57:23. > :57:27.to beat. You are going to win trophies later in the season, but

:57:27. > :57:32.to get into position to do that, you have to win away from home.

:57:32. > :57:36.Good teams travel well and get results. In teams like that, of all

:57:36. > :57:41.security is going to be an issue. They will look at discipline.

:57:41. > :57:44.Neither side was able to get any real tempo, but at the start of the

:57:44. > :57:52.second half the Scarlets really lifted their intensity, and that is

:57:52. > :57:57.what brought them back to the game. Strip out the try, it was 12-12.

:57:57. > :58:07.The Ulster coach said he wanted improvement in the set-piece, and

:58:07. > :58:08.

:58:08. > :58:15.and one to stay in the game, keep an eye on him. When the big guns

:58:15. > :58:19.came on... Certainly, the platform is so tight, Roger Wilson is in an

:58:19. > :58:24.armchair ride there. That was the first on, away we go, eight points,

:58:24. > :58:28.John Afoa is technically perfect there. They are all singing on the

:58:28. > :58:32.same page. It is one thing getting those penalties, but then it is

:58:32. > :58:38.what you do with them. With Paddy Jackson, all season and again

:58:38. > :58:43.tonight, you need 85% jigging to do that, and he has got the metal to

:58:43. > :58:48.deliver for Ulster. A brilliant decision in a way to release them

:58:48. > :58:54.at the start of the season, but Paddy Jackson has matured into that

:58:54. > :58:58.position very quickly, with great confidence and control. Look at the

:58:58. > :59:02.way he is imprinting himself on his team, the composure he is showing

:59:02. > :59:06.in what is effectively his second season, pretty much the first

:59:06. > :59:10.season he has been in control of that shed. The maturity he is

:59:10. > :59:14.showing, in a team that has got internationals across the park, you

:59:14. > :59:19.need your nine and 10 to give you direction, and he is doing that,

:59:19. > :59:23.putting Ulster in the right places, performing his basics well, taking

:59:23. > :59:29.out of hand is exceptional, kicking for goal is outstanding, and that

:59:29. > :59:35.is a wonderful package for Ulster across the park. Is that in getting

:59:35. > :59:38.experience? Very much so, we were quite concerned with him after the

:59:38. > :59:42.European exploits last year and how it affected him, but he has come

:59:42. > :59:47.back so much stronger. He has learned from that experience, and

:59:47. > :59:52.that is 80 of a top-class player, going through bad experiences and,

:59:52. > :59:55.at the other side. -- that is a cave. He is just getting stronger

:59:56. > :00:05.and stronger, and in two years' time we have to bear in mind he is

:00:06. > :00:09.

:00:09. > :00:13.just a young kid. He is going to be there but in this example, they are

:00:13. > :00:18.almost went their way when the forward pass was caught. Was that

:00:18. > :00:23.harsh? It looked like it on the first call, excellent work fielding

:00:23. > :00:27.deep in the Ulster territory and that was the key to their tactical

:00:27. > :00:31.kicking, they switched up for 20 minutes, contesting those balls and

:00:31. > :00:36.Peter Nelson is one of the quickest boys in the squad. That was harsh.

:00:36. > :00:40.I would rather have seen the attacking advantage given. Not the

:00:40. > :00:46.best camera angle but it looked as though Roger Wilson's hands were

:00:46. > :00:51.passing. The move was not finished. He would like to see some attacking

:00:51. > :00:55.advantage given the circumstances and conditions. Peter Nelson is an

:00:55. > :00:58.exciting young prospect. Another one who has come through the system

:00:58. > :01:04.and he seems to be more accomplished this season than he

:01:04. > :01:06.was last season so once again it comes down to gain time. It's a

:01:06. > :01:14.credit to everybody involved for spreading the load through the

:01:14. > :01:19.squad. He is getting more confidence and amongst those senior

:01:19. > :01:24.players, he is looking like a very strong contender. The Scarlets had

:01:24. > :01:29.a great opportunity when Dan Tuohy was put into the son Ben. What did

:01:29. > :01:33.you make of that? I thought it was harsh. It was not a repeat

:01:33. > :01:40.infringement, he dominates the tackle and falls alongside. It was

:01:40. > :01:44.a huge pile-up, obviously not enough for the referee. 50 metres

:01:44. > :01:50.out, that was crazy. High was the man supposed to get out of that?

:01:50. > :01:56.They know what thereat. Just one of those situations. You fall on the

:01:56. > :02:04.wrong side and you have a Tim Stone on top of you, it's not easy! -- 18

:02:04. > :02:07.stone. You don't want to give away cheap points and that looked like

:02:07. > :02:11.the on the way the Scarlets were going to brake Ulster down. Fairly

:02:11. > :02:16.composed performance, I want to look at the discipline and the

:02:16. > :02:20.number of penalties and ball security but different -- difficult

:02:20. > :02:25.to see it on a television just how difficult the conditions were.

:02:25. > :02:29.Ulster adapted well and ultimately, when 10 from 10, you are doing

:02:29. > :02:36.something right. The defining moment was that Andrew Trimble

:02:36. > :02:40.drive. This was so high that, I have to say. The Wicky future for

:02:40. > :02:47.the game was that line speed from Ulster, defensively. You can see

:02:47. > :02:54.where this tackle was being made, behind the advantage. That puts

:02:54. > :02:57.Ulster on the front foot. That has been key this whole season, the

:02:57. > :03:02.intensity and the lines bit defensively causes mistakes. They

:03:02. > :03:06.are conceding yards every time, that is down to the fact that there

:03:06. > :03:13.pushing hard and Ulster, not over committing, playing efficient rugby

:03:13. > :03:18.but the line has been coming up. Just putting that passed under

:03:18. > :03:25.pressure. That is what you want from outside men, identifying what

:03:25. > :03:29.is in front. They have the overlap, he needs to complain to nullify

:03:29. > :03:32.that and he switches from defence mode to attack when he sees the

:03:32. > :03:37.opportunity and that was the crucial score, that was what set

:03:37. > :03:42.these teams apart. What has the coach learnt from today as he goes

:03:42. > :03:46.into this crucial December period for a Ulster? European games,

:03:46. > :03:52.against Northampton and those big Irish derbies. It could define the

:03:52. > :03:58.season. And he carries momentum. Which is very important in team

:03:58. > :04:05.sport. Northampton, they will have Ben Foden, Woods will be back,

:04:05. > :04:10.other big names. It all be a step up in intensity, always that

:04:10. > :04:14.happens with European competition. Northampton have pedigree and

:04:14. > :04:19.Ulster will be very focused, the five-day turnaround, a lot of that

:04:19. > :04:23.will be based on mental preparation with some tough decisions to be

:04:23. > :04:28.made with selection but you want that choice and pressure as a coach

:04:28. > :04:34.in selecting. Where is the toughest call for the coach? In those back

:04:34. > :04:41.three positions? The winners? Obviously Jared Payne but he has to

:04:41. > :04:45.pick. Ultimately, you can have whoever you want at the back but

:04:45. > :04:49.there has to be some key decisions, Nick Williams and Roger Wilson had

:04:49. > :04:55.a good game today. He needs to be quite dynamic so he has big

:04:55. > :04:58.decisions but in the front five, has Johann Muller played enough?

:04:58. > :05:03.Going on today's performers, he looked quite good and he will only

:05:03. > :05:13.get better. Interesting to see how he finished that came. Is that his

:05:13. > :05:13.

:05:13. > :05:16.strongest front row? Every time, the last season there was the press

:05:16. > :05:20.announcement about the team and you knew what the team was going to be

:05:20. > :05:23.a but because of Ulster as recruitment in the off-season and

:05:23. > :05:26.the youngsters coming through, you are looking forward to seeing the

:05:26. > :05:33.announcement because you are unsure of what it is going to be because

:05:33. > :05:37.there are so many quality players being put into only 15. It's great

:05:37. > :05:41.to see, everybody will be saying, this should have been plant and he

:05:41. > :05:46.should have been picked but in years gone by, that was the team.

:05:46. > :05:51.Now we have some great headaches. Pro12, the table makes for good

:05:51. > :05:57.reading but for the coach, going into this key part of the season,

:05:57. > :06:00.winning breeds confidence and that is what this team has in abundance?

:06:00. > :06:05.It becomes a habit and Ulster are very good at it, those games

:06:05. > :06:09.against Leinster and Munster, that is a big impact, they are playing

:06:09. > :06:12.against competitors who are in that top four teams and Foster's

:06:12. > :06:17.ambition will be to get the home semi-final, hopefully finishing

:06:17. > :06:21.first on the table and that they can secure the next four games,

:06:21. > :06:26.that will really define the season. Can they go unbeaten right through

:06:26. > :06:36.to Christmas? Very difficult. But nothing is impossible. Looking at

:06:36. > :06:36.

:06:36. > :06:39.that table, the points difference, 128? 55? That sums up the way they

:06:39. > :06:43.have been playing, which is fantastic. The last couple of games

:06:43. > :06:47.that has not quite been there but the style of rugby is very

:06:47. > :06:53.entertaining and it's great. Just a little bit risque at times but

:06:53. > :07:02.that's what you have to do. And how tough when it before Ulster to go

:07:02. > :07:09.on the road again for the 4th week in a row? -- won it before Ulster.

:07:09. > :07:13.-- will it be for Ulster? That is a huge thing to draw upon on the

:07:13. > :07:17.pitch but the top teams go away to Europe and that is the only way to

:07:17. > :07:24.qualify, to secure away victories at having enough experience?

:07:24. > :07:30.Absolutely. When they do it? Wait five days. If they get the top five

:07:30. > :07:36.inches right, expect a result. there any reason why we could not

:07:36. > :07:39.go for the Holy Grail? They have to go for it. They have gained an

:07:39. > :07:44.experience from last season and this year they have started on the

:07:44. > :07:49.front foot and have started to generate momentum. This is a very

:07:49. > :07:55.trying time. The month of December will be very interesting. If they

:07:55. > :07:59.can get this next away when, we can certainly open the covers. In it's

:07:59. > :08:04.not just about qualifying out of the pool, when you looks at

:08:04. > :08:09.Toulouse, Clermont, Harlequins, real pedigree. You want to be

:08:09. > :08:13.playing in that quarter final. These next two games to find this

:08:14. > :08:18.pool. They will go a very long way to securing that home quarter-final.

:08:18. > :08:23.Once you hit the knockout stages, you are coming up against quality

:08:23. > :08:27.tains and you would rather be doing that at home. Exciting times for

:08:27. > :08:32.Ulster? Fantastic. And the turnstiles are telling us that. You

:08:32. > :08:35.cannot get a ticket. It's a fantastic situation. It's all

:08:36. > :08:41.coming down to the way they are playing and those results. Long may

:08:41. > :08:46.it continue. Thank you both very much for your company. Next up is

:08:46. > :08:50.that away trip to Northampton in the Heineken Cup in five days. You

:08:50. > :08:54.can listen to live commentary on BBC Radio Ulster medium wave. And

:08:54. > :08:59.the following Friday night for that home game. Next up in the

:08:59. > :09:05.RaboDirect Pro12, that Christmas special against Leinster. It is

:09:05. > :09:09.already a sell-out. The Irish Derby at Ravenhill, that will be live at