Ulster v Cardiff Blues

:00:37. > :00:46.Ulster arrived tonight to take on Cardiff following 12 Pro12 wins in a

:00:47. > :00:51.row and 16th are still capable of making the top four. Not a bad time

:00:52. > :00:57.disease some of the 6 Nations stars return. Rory Best leads them out.

:00:58. > :01:02.When the sides met earlier in the season, Ulster fired with a bonus

:01:03. > :01:07.point win. He is going to get a second lead tried. A familiar face

:01:08. > :01:12.is back in Belfast tonight, Nick Williams spent four seasons with

:01:13. > :01:16.Ulster, he is on the bench for the Blues. Expect to see the wrecking

:01:17. > :01:24.ball make an impact when he gets his chance. Ulster cannot afford to slip

:01:25. > :01:28.up if they want to see silverware. It is Round 19 of the Guinness

:01:29. > :01:35.Pro12, Ulster against the Cardiff Blues from the Kingspan Stadium.

:01:36. > :01:40.Hello and welcome to Ulster Rugby life. But again we have in store and

:01:41. > :01:47.I am delighted to say hopefully to enjoy it, alongside me to star as of

:01:48. > :01:52.the past with Ulster and very snappy dressers, Ryan Constable and Stephen

:01:53. > :01:57.Ferris. We have said it for a number of weeks, is it win or bust? We are

:01:58. > :02:02.at home and the fans will want a big win, we will want lots of points

:02:03. > :02:05.scored. If we lose tonight, mathematically we could still get

:02:06. > :02:10.into the top four but I think everyone knows if we lose this home

:02:11. > :02:17.game, it will be very tough to get into that top four. A must win.

:02:18. > :02:22.Brutally tight isn't it? You look at Ospreys, Munster and Leinster, they

:02:23. > :02:26.are fighting to get that home semi. The challenge for Ulster is to make

:02:27. > :02:32.sure they have something to play for when they go into that tough run-in.

:02:33. > :02:37.They have to win this one tonight. Some of the Ulster big names are

:02:38. > :02:41.back tonight. I think it is crucial, someone like Rory Best, the

:02:42. > :02:45.experience he brings, he is also captain, Andrew Trimble is on the

:02:46. > :02:49.bench, he brings so much and it is not just on match like, it is

:02:50. > :02:53.through the week, making sure the accuracy is there. We have talked

:02:54. > :02:57.about the inconsistency, in the last six or seven games they put that

:02:58. > :03:02.right and Rory Best was at the forefront. It is a tough run-in, but

:03:03. > :03:07.what do you think Cardiff will present? They are playing for pride

:03:08. > :03:11.and when you come to a stadium like this and you have a crowd like this

:03:12. > :03:16.and you know the threat that Ulster present, you need to show up and

:03:17. > :03:22.personal pride will kick in. You look at Warburton and the back row,

:03:23. > :03:26.the likes of Halaholo, they will create problems, they have plenty to

:03:27. > :03:32.play for. The chances are we will see some British and Irish Lions on

:03:33. > :03:37.show tonight. Hopefully, Rory Best, Sam Warburton, will they be in with

:03:38. > :03:41.a shout of being captain? We will see another old Ulster favourite,

:03:42. > :03:45.Nick Williams, an absolute wrecking ball, really good guy and he will

:03:46. > :03:52.cause Ulster some trouble. Hopefully not too much. . What other key

:03:53. > :03:56.areas? It is the simple things, you need your set piece to function, you

:03:57. > :03:58.need to be aggressive with your line speed in defence and you need to

:03:59. > :04:04.control the breakdown which gives you temple to play the game you

:04:05. > :04:08.want. Perfect conditions. More from Ryan and Stephen at half-time, the

:04:09. > :04:12.teams are on their way, we will hand your cross to your commentators.

:04:13. > :04:25.Tony and Jem. Good evening. There is the most

:04:26. > :04:30.capped Welshman of all time, Gethin Jenkins and he leads a fairly strong

:04:31. > :04:39.looking side, particularly up where he is joined by Rees. Sam Warburton,

:04:40. > :04:42.there is also Lloyd Williams and Gareth Anscombe and let us not

:04:43. > :04:51.forget the threat of Alex Cuthbert on the right wing and Williams, the

:04:52. > :04:54.youngest player on the Cardiff side. He was a crowd pleaser

:04:55. > :05:00.extraordinaire in the four seasons he was here and I am quite surprised

:05:01. > :05:05.that Danny Wilson has left him off his starting 15, but an impact

:05:06. > :05:09.player like no other. I am sure we will see him. What a season it has

:05:10. > :05:14.been for the man leading out Ulster, for just the fourth time this

:05:15. > :05:17.season, Rory Best who took Ireland to victory on South African soil

:05:18. > :05:22.against the All Blacks were the first time and again against

:05:23. > :05:27.Australia and then denying England the Grand Slam in the Aviva Stadium

:05:28. > :05:31.at the end of the most recent 6 Nations, Rory David Besse, what a

:05:32. > :05:35.player. E is the only change in the Ulster front five from a few weeks

:05:36. > :05:44.ago, but there has been a reshuffle in the back row, Reidy, and the most

:05:45. > :05:49.capped player comes in. Paddy Jackson came off the bench at --

:05:50. > :06:00.against the Dragons and starts. Look at the back three. Mouthwatering and

:06:01. > :06:05.the extreme. Always enjoyed himself when he comes here and he was here

:06:06. > :06:07.about one month ago, 82 macro, rum Wales. The last time he was here,

:06:08. > :06:25.Ulster played Libra -- Ian Davies. -- Zebre. Gareth Anscombe gets us

:06:26. > :06:31.under way. If early decent cake. Knocked backwards by Treadwell.

:06:32. > :06:39.Ulster hope they can tidy it up -- kick. Pienaar looking for options.

:06:40. > :06:51.Told by the referee to use it, Piutau to chase. Carried in by the

:06:52. > :06:57.youngster, Williams. Tackled by Sean Reidy who was manhandled badly by

:06:58. > :07:05.Gethin Jenkins. Anscombe, clever kick. Well taken in by Scully and

:07:06. > :07:09.the flag has gone up. Gareth Anscombe opening up there. Good

:07:10. > :07:16.evening. Anscombe looks as if he is here to play, an interesting option.

:07:17. > :07:25.Craig Gilroy did well to defend, and even Stephen start. He struck it

:07:26. > :07:29.perfectly and it was Scully, the American International, born in

:07:30. > :07:36.California. Athleticism by Craig Gilroy. The first line-out of the

:07:37. > :07:43.evening goes to Cardiff Blues. Lloyd Williams. Anscombe set a mark, well

:07:44. > :07:55.tackled. Williams then quickly. Rees gets it our way. Anscombe. Anscombe,

:07:56. > :08:09.lively stuff, the oldest man in the park, he will be 40 in June. Filise,

:08:10. > :08:17.38. Ruan Pienaar has to make the tackle -- Lee-Lo. This is a good

:08:18. > :08:37.start for the visiting side. Piutau sensibly waits. Rory Best is

:08:38. > :08:44.there to help. Alex Cuthbert has been held in by his ankle. Ian

:08:45. > :08:50.Henderson. Will he be on the plane to New Zealand this summer? We will

:08:51. > :08:58.wait and see. Pienaar. Gilroy. Enterprising staff. It started at a

:08:59. > :09:03.fair old pace, Ian Davies is being asked to look at some potential

:09:04. > :09:11.hands and air. Treadwell, he has had a good first season in Belfast.

:09:12. > :09:20.Gilroy, Henderson. Well taken down by Halaholo. Jackson. Back in the

:09:21. > :09:26.starting 15. Nice little soft pass by Rory Best and again. Jackson.

:09:27. > :09:35.Taken back into the 22 and that has gone down to Williams. Long lagged

:09:36. > :09:46.fellow. University student at Bangor in North Wales, he is only 19.

:09:47. > :09:52.Anscombe. Rees. Anscombe again, little flat pass, nicely taken by

:09:53. > :09:59.Earle who joined from the Scarlets. Navidi. Danny Wilson will be

:10:00. > :10:05.pleased, Ulster are defending well. Filise. That is the only way to take

:10:06. > :10:23.him and Olding did take, around the ankles. Still Blues are pressing.

:10:24. > :10:30.Lloyd Williams, and is, again, again it is Lee-Lo and again, the Ulster

:10:31. > :10:37.defending is pretty solid. What is evident, both teams are here to play

:10:38. > :10:40.and Ulster have to bear in mind, these Cardiff centres like Lee-Lo

:10:41. > :10:47.are very good step is with ball in hand. Lloyd Williams got the ball

:10:48. > :10:56.away beautifully, nice and soft by Anscombe and a good covering by

:10:57. > :11:10.Jared Payne on Lee-Lo, from Samoa. Rory Best. Stuart Olding, good

:11:11. > :11:19.covering tackle by Navidi. That was a good kick by Ruan Pienaar, Ruan

:11:20. > :11:24.Pienaar complaining that Rees was doing a bit of lazy running and I

:11:25. > :11:34.would not disagree. Rory Best is having a word with Ian Davies who is

:11:35. > :11:37.doing nothing about it. I think Rees, cut down the Ulster option of

:11:38. > :11:47.using the blindside. Ruan Pienaar had no option. You can tell that

:11:48. > :12:01.Ruan Pienaar is not happy. And scum. Little sidestep once again. -- Five

:12:02. > :12:07.Live. -- Anscombe. Lloyd Williams. Sam Warburton.

:12:08. > :12:18.Card of probing, looking for a little break-in that Ulster defence,

:12:19. > :12:28.a lot of men there. Navidi, out wide, took the pass from Halaholo.

:12:29. > :12:32.Filise. Played almost 240 times four Cardiff, here goes Anscombe, no way

:12:33. > :12:43.through, Roger Wilson makes the tackle, helped by Jared Payne. Ian

:12:44. > :12:46.Henderson. This is Alice Jenkins, starting his first game for about

:12:47. > :12:59.three months, had a few concussion problems -- Ellis. Cuthbert. Taken

:13:00. > :13:05.by Roger Wilson. All the pressure coming from the visitors. Now they

:13:06. > :13:11.have created a gap, that is nicely away, it was Williams, Scully. The

:13:12. > :13:19.first serious bit of daylight now between the two sides. Rees. This is

:13:20. > :13:28.great stuff. Anscombe and the Ulster defence has really been tested.

:13:29. > :13:39.Filise again. Well tackled by his opposite number, Herbst. Gethin

:13:40. > :13:51.Jenkins. Anscombe. Warburton. To get well. Sean Reidy managed to put in

:13:52. > :14:02.the tackle. And Ulster have conceded a penalty. What with the crowd

:14:03. > :14:10.booing about? Just in the Ulster 22, it involved Hoeata. Nothing really

:14:11. > :14:15.there at the end of it. That is Rory Best on the ball. Cardiff are

:14:16. > :14:31.maintaining the ball brilliantly, using the full width of the pitch.

:14:32. > :14:33.Their ball security is first class. The TMO is from Italy, Stefano

:14:34. > :14:48.Roscini. All the pressure has come from Cala,

:14:49. > :14:52.no real surprise that they are getting the chance of the opening

:14:53. > :14:59.point courtesy of this man, Gareth Anscombe. His mother is Welsh. He

:15:00. > :15:06.made his debut against Ireland a couple of seasons ago. Fast

:15:07. > :15:20.approaching 200 league points for his new club. Pretty straightforward

:15:21. > :15:27.and just over nine minutes gone and Ulster are trailing. Ulster will

:15:28. > :15:32.have to beware of Gareth Anscombe. Any chance, may not have the longest

:15:33. > :15:37.boot in the world but I can see, in 40 metres, he is deadly. This

:15:38. > :15:45.restart kick from Paddy Jackson should give Ulster the first bit of

:15:46. > :15:50.card of territory. Not a bad kick, knocked back untidily. The referee

:15:51. > :15:56.says play on. Here goes Lloyd Williams, good tackle by Andrew

:15:57. > :16:04.Warwick. Anscombe in the right position. You can see the twin

:16:05. > :16:23.threat posed by Lee-Lo and Halaholo. Cheeky little fellows. Lloyd

:16:24. > :16:32.Williams. The referee is saying that was contested. Another advantage to

:16:33. > :16:39.Ulster, well away, here goes Piutau, Olding is outside him. High tackle,

:16:40. > :16:50.I think the referee has called for Piutau. What a kick. Paddy Jackson,

:16:51. > :16:53.amazing try by Ulster. Finnish... By Jackson, but down to the sheer

:16:54. > :17:02.vision of Ruan Pienaar. Brilliant from Jackson, Piutau with the break

:17:03. > :17:07.and the thrust, Cuthbert had him from pace, Ruan Pienaar comes up,

:17:08. > :17:10.you see the break-out, goes through the hands, initially he takes

:17:11. > :17:18.comfort in the outside but Cuthbert closes the space. Piutau takes it

:17:19. > :17:22.in, but Pienaar picks it up, there is no fullback at home. Great spot

:17:23. > :17:32.from Jackson, superb footballing skills. Paddy Jackson has great

:17:33. > :17:37.footballing skills. I wonder does Jose Mourinho know about Paddy

:17:38. > :17:45.Jackson? I would imagine -- imagine on a wider angle, Pienaar saying

:17:46. > :17:48.there is no fullback. Beautifully judged kick from Ruan Pienaar. It

:17:49. > :17:53.was set up perfectly for Jackson and he is able to execute the five

:17:54. > :17:57.points. Cardiff have a man down injured as Paddy Jackson adds the

:17:58. > :18:02.point. Ulster having conceded an early penalty are now leading 7-3

:18:03. > :18:07.about really brought the crowd to their feet. Just what Ulster needed

:18:08. > :18:11.after those initial minutes with virtually no possession and no

:18:12. > :18:16.territory, first time in the card itself and they are going down under

:18:17. > :18:21.the posts. It looks like Scully came off worst following a collision with

:18:22. > :18:26.Gilroy. Hopefully he is OK. They will have to wait until he is ready

:18:27. > :18:31.before they can restart. They both went for the ball and Scully I think

:18:32. > :18:36.has done something to his elbow. I think he may well have dislocated

:18:37. > :18:39.his elbow. He was holding his elbow before he hit the ground. Two men in

:18:40. > :18:49.the air are just looking for the ball. He is leaving the field and he

:18:50. > :18:51.has been replaced by a very dangerous little fellow called

:18:52. > :19:02.Matthew Morgan. Formerly of the Ospreys. The end of the the US

:19:03. > :19:11.International. Scully has played in a couple of World Cups for the USA.

:19:12. > :19:23.7-3 up. Ulster collect. Sean really gets across his 22. Henderson. --

:19:24. > :19:31.Reidy. Jared Payne. Anscombe covered it well. Navidi, equally at home.

:19:32. > :19:41.Six or seven for the Blues. Taken on well by Lee-Lo. Back, Cardiff. They

:19:42. > :19:49.played some exuberant rugby. Matthew Morgan is very quick. Less so is

:19:50. > :19:55.Hoeata, but still quite a presence in the middle of the park. Jenkins

:19:56. > :20:00.could not quite get away. Andrew Warwick to Ruan Pienaar. The referee

:20:01. > :20:04.calls advantage over and other clever kick by Ruan Pienaar. Ulster

:20:05. > :20:11.lose the possession but they gain so much... He has been very prevalent

:20:12. > :20:16.so far in terms of his tight work and especially around the rock and

:20:17. > :20:20.contact area, he makes the initial contact. Roger Wilson is able to

:20:21. > :20:23.strip the ball away from Filise. Ulster on the counter, they have to

:20:24. > :20:28.look to slow down some of this Cardiff ball. Cardiff look quick and

:20:29. > :20:34.it all looks nice and fancy going side to side, not a lot of cut and

:20:35. > :20:39.thrust our line breaks yet. Ulster need to speed up their line speed

:20:40. > :20:43.and compete more. Cardiff had taken a couple of men out of the line-out.

:20:44. > :20:54.Taken by Hoeata. Rory Best are going in. The referee

:20:55. > :21:04.telling them they have to play, Lloyd Williams, left footed. The

:21:05. > :21:09.referee is asking his assistant on the far side and Ulster will have

:21:10. > :21:15.the option because it was knocked into touch. Ulster have the option

:21:16. > :21:22.of the line-out or the scrum. Rory Best has gone for the scrum. They

:21:23. > :21:29.fancy their set piste. It has been strong all this year. 98% success

:21:30. > :21:38.rate, but a couple of fantastic box kicks from Lloyd Williams. Two great

:21:39. > :21:47.box kicks from two great chases from the card of left-wingers. What a

:21:48. > :21:59.front row Cardiff are fielding, including 48 and Filise. Ulster,

:22:00. > :22:09.just ?1 and man lighter. That is a good Ulster scrum. Ruan Pienaar.

:22:10. > :22:15.That is great strength by Ulster and Paddy Jackson, he has made some

:22:16. > :22:20.ground. The referee says the turnover is fair, Ulster needed to

:22:21. > :22:23.get a few more men there, this could be dangerous. Anscombe gets it away

:22:24. > :22:32.to Matthew Morgan. Wonderful covering tackle. Again the crowd

:22:33. > :22:39.giving voice to something that happened in flight. Reidy came

:22:40. > :22:51.thundering end. The advantage coming to Cardiff. Very nearly caught. Ian

:22:52. > :22:58.Davis is being very straightforward about his decisions. I am pretty

:22:59. > :23:03.sure they will go for goal. I think they will, Andrew Warwick got

:23:04. > :23:09.caught. Absolutely clubbed him to the ground. Andrew Warwick came in

:23:10. > :23:15.on the steel and initially played the ball and looked like he would

:23:16. > :23:18.get it but lost his feet. There is the big hit from Herbst. Warwick is

:23:19. > :23:23.on the ball but not maintaining his own body weight. He was initially

:23:24. > :23:27.but he dropped onto his knees and once that happens, you cannot play

:23:28. > :23:33.it and he continued to play at. I do not think he meant to do it. I think

:23:34. > :23:40.he slept. Anscombe will prove me wrong and Cardiff have gone for a

:23:41. > :23:45.territory. 7-3 to Ulster. That is something that layers case has been

:23:46. > :23:50.looking for, bringing another edge to their game. It is carrying the

:23:51. > :24:02.ball and making those offensive pets. -- Les Kiss. Rory Best just

:24:03. > :24:11.disputing that last call. Ian Davies is having none of it. Rees, cleverly

:24:12. > :24:18.done, Gethin Jenkins back in to Navidi. Filise, what a tackle

:24:19. > :24:25.thereby Roger Wilson. Taken on by Hoeata. Capped three times for New

:24:26. > :24:32.Zealand. Bit of crossing, Ulster get the penalty. Much to the delight of

:24:33. > :24:42.the home crowd. Take quickly by Pienaar. Alex Cuthbert, just getting

:24:43. > :24:49.in each other's way. It had gone to the hands of Lee-Lo.

:24:50. > :25:00.The penalty was given for a little bit of crossing. No question about

:25:01. > :25:09.that. Taken quickly by Ruan Pienaar but first and foremost he makes sure

:25:10. > :25:17.that he found his touch. Reidy and Roger Wilson in the middle of the

:25:18. > :25:20.field. Great take by Henderson. Jackson, Olding, that looked highly.

:25:21. > :25:30.Pienaar. The referee has acknowledged that

:25:31. > :25:35.the tackle was high, he is talking about a penalty now. Our way go

:25:36. > :25:41.Ulster and away it goes Reidy. The referee is still plain advantage to

:25:42. > :25:52.Ulster. Good work by Alan O'Connor. Jared Payne. Nicely done. Marshall.

:25:53. > :26:05.Delayed it slightly. Advantages over. That is sloppy. And here is

:26:06. > :26:18.Lee-Lo. Our way to Williams on the far side. Lloyd Williams. Josh the

:26:19. > :26:24.media. -- Navidi. Here comes Cuthbert who is enormous.

:26:25. > :26:46.Anscombe. Sam Warburton. Anscombe again, Matthew Morgan. Look at the

:26:47. > :26:49.pace of Williams. Knocked forward. You can see just the small glimpses

:26:50. > :26:56.we have had of this Cardiff fullback, while he is rated so

:26:57. > :27:03.highly. Twinkle toes, isn't a? Just teed up the defenders, sucked in

:27:04. > :27:07.Gilroy and Reidy. Williams looks good running as well with his big

:27:08. > :27:14.gaping stride. Good with ball in hand.

:27:15. > :27:26.It was pretty long and you made a good gain of territory.

:27:27. > :27:38.That was pretty high and Stuart Olding has this ability, he does

:27:39. > :27:44.pick up a lot of swinging arms because of it. Anscombe was a little

:27:45. > :27:49.bit reckless. The opening quarter of this game has firmly flown men.

:27:50. > :27:55.Penalty to Cardiff by Gareth Anscombe followed later by a

:27:56. > :28:03.splendid try by Paddy Jackson. Jackson added the point himself.

:28:04. > :28:11.Ulster have a very tough run in. They face Munster in Limerick and

:28:12. > :28:20.then I way to the Ospreys. Finally here at the Kingspan Stadium, they

:28:21. > :28:30.face former champions Leinster, Connacht other current champions. --

:28:31. > :28:40.are the current champions. Not much wrong with that Ulster scrum. Stuart

:28:41. > :28:50.Olding. Ruan Pienaar switches, Ciaran Treadwell into contact.

:28:51. > :29:03.Pienaar has brought that infield. A bit of obstruction there by Rees.

:29:04. > :29:06.That was knocked on and played. Keith Allan just confirming that a

:29:07. > :29:14.Cardiff Blues player knocked the ball forward. It is a penalty to

:29:15. > :29:17.Ulster. It was Jenkins, the Cardiff number six who must get behind his

:29:18. > :29:21.own player before he can play the ball. He cannot play it in front of

:29:22. > :29:29.them without the ball being knocked forward.

:29:30. > :29:36.Rees, we are delighted to say, he has recovered from a battle with

:29:37. > :29:44.testicular cancer are a few seasons ago. Good to see him back to his old

:29:45. > :29:54.ebullient, aggressive self. Rory Best. Henderson. Jackson, he did not

:29:55. > :29:59.get much protection merit, Reidy, when he took the ball. I think he

:30:00. > :30:05.has jarred his knee. Knocked forward. This could be interesting,

:30:06. > :30:09.Cuthbert is out wide, Lee-Lo has beaten the first defender rather

:30:10. > :30:20.easily. Lloyd Williams, Matthew Morgan. Hoeata. That is a great run

:30:21. > :30:27.by the all and good support from the men in blue and may be.

:30:28. > :30:35.Herbst See what happens when you make a mistake? Straight through!

:30:36. > :30:40.All too easy. And here is Rey Lee-Lo.

:30:41. > :30:51.The referee wants to check if there was a forward pass in all of that.

:30:52. > :30:54.Cardiff looking so dangerous. Anscombe, Ulster shot right above

:30:55. > :31:01.the line there. There is a chance for Cardiff. Here comes Cuthbert. A

:31:02. > :31:06.little dummy by Matthews Rees. Brought down and this is dangerous

:31:07. > :31:13.times for Ulster. A drive through the line, the referee is there to

:31:14. > :31:22.have a look. And he's given a try. It may be Sam Warburton.

:31:23. > :31:26.He's going to go and check it. But I reckon Sam Warburton has the first

:31:27. > :31:30.try for the visitors and it came from an Ulster mistake in the middle

:31:31. > :31:36.of the park. An Ulster mistake. It's the turnover

:31:37. > :31:42.ball with the passes. That is where the vast majority of tries comes

:31:43. > :31:46.from in the modern game. Rey Lee-Lo, he can cut you trow

:31:47. > :31:52.shreds. Ulster are unable to slow down the ball. And for me, Warburton

:31:53. > :31:56.is in there, quite clearly. Is he going to ask Stefano Roscini

:31:57. > :32:03.to have a look at that? I think he will be.

:32:04. > :32:07.Filise seems in trouble, the Cardiff tight head. I think that the try

:32:08. > :32:13.must have been given. Anscombe is going to have a pop at this.

:32:14. > :32:19.They asked for a pass to be checked in the other corner. The position

:32:20. > :32:26.for Sam Warburton was first class. He couldn't have been in a better

:32:27. > :32:33.place. Anscombe with the opening points of

:32:34. > :32:37.this game after eight minutes. 15 minutes can he add a conversion?

:32:38. > :32:50.Stuck nicely right between the posts. It's a good kick from Gareth

:32:51. > :32:53.an come. What a see saw game we are having this afternoon at Mervyn

:32:54. > :32:56.King. If Ulster thought that Cardiff were

:32:57. > :33:01.turning up for the appearance, they have had their answer if the first

:33:02. > :33:10.20 minutes. Cardiff have had good lead.

:33:11. > :33:19.Paddy Jackson has not made an error. I was watching them against

:33:20. > :33:24.Gloucester. It was good value for the lead. You start to find as the

:33:25. > :33:30.weather gets better these two Southern Hemisphere centres are

:33:31. > :33:34.potent with ball in hand. And the mid-field defensive system sorted

:33:35. > :33:41.out, they are a little ahead of each other at the minute with a dog leg.

:33:42. > :33:53.With two steppers, if you are not in synch, you are going to find a hole.

:33:54. > :33:57.Happy with that so far. His side leading by three points.

:33:58. > :34:06.Let's see if Ulster can excerpt pressure in the scrum.

:34:07. > :34:16.Warwick starting his second successive game, likewise, Herbst.

:34:17. > :34:21.It's a good squeeze by Ulster. Great work by Warwick there. Here

:34:22. > :34:26.comes an come. It's gone wide to Rey Lee-Lo.

:34:27. > :34:33.That was a forward pass. Roger Wilson gathers and moves well.

:34:34. > :34:38.Marshall is outside of them now and away from the first, second and the

:34:39. > :34:44.third tackle. Good work by Sean Reidy.

:34:45. > :34:48.And Warwick with a position... Again, the crowd don't like what

:34:49. > :34:51.they thought was a high tackle. Here comes Treadwell.

:34:52. > :34:59.Ulster have to keep possession. No panic setting in.

:35:00. > :35:08.A little more settled now. Holding the outside-half.

:35:09. > :35:15.Food hell told to get out of it. Pienaar with a delay on the pass.

:35:16. > :35:22.There goes Roger Wilson. Coming to an end of an outstanding

:35:23. > :35:27.career for Ulster and the Northampton Saints.

:35:28. > :35:32.A good drive-by the second row forward. Jenkins making a real pest

:35:33. > :35:38.of himself at the breakdown. Luke Marshall doing well. He's broken

:35:39. > :35:45.away. A big head of steam built up by

:35:46. > :35:51.Ulster who have the penalty. The crowd are baying... But Ulster

:35:52. > :35:58.may settle for the penalty. What to they do? Go for the three or for the

:35:59. > :36:03.corner and go for more? The win is the important thing, so you take the

:36:04. > :36:11.points. Somebody is down injured. It looks

:36:12. > :36:16.like George Earle. The second row. Good support play by the tighthead

:36:17. > :36:20.prop, Herbst. At that point, Cardiff were all over the ball. Rey Lee-Lo

:36:21. > :36:24.was in there. Herbst looks as if he has shed a

:36:25. > :36:30.pound or two. He looks like he has trimmed himself down. We spoke about

:36:31. > :36:34.his impact with the tackle. It's a nice trail line off Marshall.

:36:35. > :36:38.Putting himself into position to pick off that pass.

:36:39. > :36:43.James Down is coming down for the unfortunate George Earle who is

:36:44. > :36:52.leaving us. A late two replacements because of injury. Firstly, Blane,

:36:53. > :36:58.Scully, now it is George Earle, the 30-year-old born in der BA Durban.

:36:59. > :37:06.He a played for the Scarlets on 91 occasions. 6ft 7, James Down coming

:37:07. > :37:09.on for his seventh league performance. That is unfortunate for

:37:10. > :37:15.George Earle. It looks like he has twigged a knee.

:37:16. > :37:20.Clearly he cannot continue. James Down, as you say he has played many

:37:21. > :37:24.times for Cardiff. Well versed in what they are doing.

:37:25. > :37:36.He drops the average age of the front five.

:37:37. > :37:41.There are two plops on the bench, they are under 20, 19 and 20 years

:37:42. > :37:44.old. Perhaps this is where the future lies for Cardiff over the

:37:45. > :37:48.next few years. A generous round of applause for the

:37:49. > :38:00.unfortunate George Earle, leaving the field.

:38:01. > :38:04.Now to a decision about what to do with the very kickable penalty. Into

:38:05. > :38:09.the corner may be what Rory Best is thinking about. And that's exactly

:38:10. > :38:14.what they are going for. Henderson has been the primary

:38:15. > :38:21.receiver. Rory Best on the touch line. He's going to get there early.

:38:22. > :38:27.Pick out his man. One would imagine Henderson has been the man early

:38:28. > :38:35.doors. He may try to stem the Uhl sure driving maul.

:38:36. > :38:38.Taken by O'Conner. And initially shot off with the

:38:39. > :38:43.Ulster driver. Ulster have it. Here goes the

:38:44. > :38:50.captain. A stumble from Best. He is hanging on to it. Best is not so far

:38:51. > :38:56.away. The referee has given a penalty try, taken down by Cardiff

:38:57. > :39:00.as Ulster were in the act of scoring a try.

:39:01. > :39:14.Beautiful. Rory Best throws the dart. That's brave of them.

:39:15. > :39:18.O'Conner gets up well. This is something that they have versed them

:39:19. > :39:23.well in, the Ulster coach. Best at the back. He does well. He

:39:24. > :39:27.goes to one knee but is back up quickly.

:39:28. > :39:35.I think he probably had the ball down. The referee has gone under.

:39:36. > :39:39.It would make up for the try he thought he got during the Six

:39:40. > :39:50.Nations. An intervention by a colleague,

:39:51. > :39:56.shall which say, will be nameless. The information I have is number

:39:57. > :40:02.three. Well, both captains engaged in

:40:03. > :40:15.various series of conversations with Ian Davies so far.

:40:16. > :40:23.I wonder if he has had trouble identifying the culprit? Certainly

:40:24. > :40:27.he is looking at the card of number three.

:40:28. > :40:32.If Ulster spin this off, that is a real good effort at the front. The

:40:33. > :40:40.men at the front working hard. Filise came in from the side.

:40:41. > :40:45.I'm not convinced that a particular took that day.

:40:46. > :40:51.Yep, the penalty try will stand. I don't think that Filise was the

:40:52. > :40:55.man on his own caused that. It was a collective fault by the Cardiff

:40:56. > :41:00.defence. Ulster get the penalty try and Paddy Jackson has added the

:41:01. > :41:10.conversion so Ulster are back in the lead. What a first half we have had.

:41:11. > :41:14.Nearly half an hour gone. The first Timex cueings and Ulster

:41:15. > :41:25.get seven points and for the first time now they take the lead.

:41:26. > :41:30.Good decision-making. This was good work from the captain.

:41:31. > :41:44.Understated and he gets his point to the referee as well.

:41:45. > :41:59.Paddy Jackson with the high kick. Anscombe, caught by Roger Wilson.

:42:00. > :42:01.Anscombe has wriggled away. The feet there of Rey Lee-Lo.

:42:02. > :42:27.Williams is loose. Trim defending by Ulster's captain

:42:28. > :42:31.and the youngest member of the Ulster side, Kieren Treadwell.

:42:32. > :42:38.It's the tackle that you hear people talking about. Naffedy takes it in.

:42:39. > :42:41.Treadwell takes and hold it is high. Treadwell is able to lock himself on

:42:42. > :42:45.to the ball. There is no why that ball is coming

:42:46. > :42:55.from there. Roger Wilson adds his weight. Clearly held up and scrum

:42:56. > :43:07.down put into Ulster. Half an hour gone. 14-10 to Ulster.

:43:08. > :43:12.What an odd season they have had. They sett off they have won six in a

:43:13. > :43:20.row and are aiming for seven in a row for the first time for four

:43:21. > :43:28.seasons. Pienaar! Nicely done! And Payne is through.

:43:29. > :43:41.Away they go. Pienaar in quickly. Sean Reidy and

:43:42. > :43:43.Cardiff have men back. They will try to stretch them here. Here goes

:43:44. > :43:58.Herbst. From the Cardiff line, that was well

:43:59. > :44:01.taken by Payne. He managed to change direction as he took a very

:44:02. > :44:07.difficult pass. Ulster have managed to lose it. Away

:44:08. > :44:11.goes Morgan. He's found a pretty decent touch and

:44:12. > :44:15.Cardiff relieved the pressure. This is one of the most dangerous broken

:44:16. > :44:18.field runners in the business. Absolutely.

:44:19. > :44:24.We saw it with the Ospreys. Absolutely. But what a line by

:44:25. > :44:30.Payne. Ulster took the ball to work the overload. They blind sided

:44:31. > :44:39.Jenkins. Pulling him too far across the pitch.

:44:40. > :44:39.Cardiff. Williams going down and Morgan

:44:40. > :44:47.hoping to clear the lines but you can see the ball come out. Williams

:44:48. > :44:53.is down. They're able to clear. Morgan might have thought he had a

:44:54. > :45:00.shot at that. He boots it away. But a great scramble defence from

:45:01. > :45:05.Cardiff. You can see what Ulster can do when

:45:06. > :45:11.they can identify individual runners, such is the quality of the

:45:12. > :45:15.back three. The strike running ability and line running is as good

:45:16. > :45:25.as you'll see in this competition. On a night like tonight when the

:45:26. > :45:28.ball is dry, it can cut some rounds. Taken quickly by Ulster.

:45:29. > :45:37.Pienaar looking for a forward to take it on.

:45:38. > :45:47.The biggest is evenian Henderson and he's still going. Jenkins again,

:45:48. > :45:51.looking close to the offside line. That was a real thump on Craig

:45:52. > :45:57.Gillroy. This could be dangerous. Lloyd

:45:58. > :46:02.Williams. Anscombe is away from the tackle of Wilson. Chip and chase

:46:03. > :46:06.goes Cuthbert. Play on, says the referee.

:46:07. > :46:13.They are happy to go into touch. That nearly could have been

:46:14. > :46:17.Cardiff's second try and indicative, Tony, of how dangerous these guys

:46:18. > :46:23.are? Absolutely. They flood the tackle situation. They get the turn

:46:24. > :46:28.over. Anscombe breaks. Nothing, a clever decision. He has no support,

:46:29. > :46:38.Payne is involved. Good cover but one thing I have to say, I didn't

:46:39. > :46:44.realise how much pace Cuthbert has. He was given there two or three

:46:45. > :46:48.yards. Maybe he could be carrying an

:46:49. > :46:53.injury. But Cuthbert covers the ground quickly.

:46:54. > :47:01.It's been a difficult few months for Cuthbert. He has come in for a lot

:47:02. > :47:06.of stick from people. He played in a Test for the Lions four years ago.

:47:07. > :47:11.That wasn't straight. It is one of those silly things that everybody

:47:12. > :47:17.regrets you do. It has given Ulster a chance to clear the lines. If they

:47:18. > :47:23.can clear it and stick it 14-10 by the very value, they will be happy.

:47:24. > :47:29.Down there, no excuse. Ulster will clearly stay on the ground. Matthews

:47:30. > :47:32.Rees has to throw that straight. It doesn't matter where it hits. As

:47:33. > :47:40.long as it is straight they're going to win it. For a man of his

:47:41. > :47:46.experience, that's unforgiveable. Yep, 60 international caps for

:47:47. > :47:52.Wales. He played in all three Tests, remember.

:47:53. > :47:57.The Ulster scrum has been solid. Here goes Wilson.

:47:58. > :48:03.Luke Marshall, taken by Warburton. Still moving forward.

:48:04. > :48:08.It is all a little bit on the scruffy side and they turned that

:48:09. > :48:16.one over. Anscombe gets it away.

:48:17. > :48:23.Halaholo a is almost indistinct wishable from his side kick in the

:48:24. > :48:29.park, Rey Lee-Lo. Here come the Cardiff Blues and who is to say they

:48:30. > :48:31.went get a second try and regain the lead through yet another Ulster

:48:32. > :48:48.error? Here they come again. Cardiff have

:48:49. > :48:56.men lined out at decent angles to attack.

:48:57. > :49:01.So, come back. Ulster dig in. The referee has spotted them not

:49:02. > :49:09.forward. Waiting for advantage to Ulster. Rory Best pick it is up.

:49:10. > :49:16.Ulster get it away. It's Olding. Still going forward. He's done well.

:49:17. > :49:24.It looks good. But how sensible is it? Here is Mr Sensible.

:49:25. > :49:43.That's a clever kick. He needs the bounce to be kind.

:49:44. > :49:52.Lloyd Williams showed the ball and found the gap.

:49:53. > :50:04.Ulster have made a good tackle. Back on the Cardiff side. Filise is still

:50:05. > :50:10.moving forward. Lloyd Williams, that's gone loose.

:50:11. > :50:14.Knocked forward by somester. Referee playing advantage to Cardiff and

:50:15. > :50:20.Cardiff have another player injured. Dear oh, dear.

:50:21. > :50:24.The Ulster forward is throwing off a few tackles, going too high in my

:50:25. > :50:28.opinion. They could come off second best.

:50:29. > :50:39.What Cardiff can do, is when the bounce comes they are able to get

:50:40. > :50:44.the offload away. Warburton Warburton is down.

:50:45. > :50:52.Ulster are turning their own ball over. It is a bigger worry as

:50:53. > :50:57.half-time is fast-approaching. That is not a very good sight for

:50:58. > :51:07.the Northern Hemisphere rugby. Sure it is only a minor thing.

:51:08. > :51:11.28-year-old Sam Warburton, who captained the Lions is going off the

:51:12. > :51:20.field. I'm hearing from my good friend and

:51:21. > :51:27.BBC Wales colleagues that Jones is not in good shape at the moment.

:51:28. > :51:33.He has had a shoulder injury he picked up from Paris in the last

:51:34. > :51:38.match. Certainly Warren Gatland will be looking for Alun Wyn Jones to be

:51:39. > :51:43.on the plane and here's hoping that Warburton can make it too.

:51:44. > :51:50.Now, who is packing down in the middle of the car if back row to add

:51:51. > :51:55.extra beef and bite to the whole thing, it's Nick Williams. So Nick

:51:56. > :51:59.Williams on. Cardiff trailing by four points. They've had to make

:52:00. > :52:04.three changes due to injury. Williams with the pick-up. Not the

:52:05. > :52:11.greatest return. Here's Morgan. Now watch out for him.

:52:12. > :52:16.Luke Marshall getting no room. Here is Williams taking off at the ankles

:52:17. > :52:22.by Alan O'Conner. That's gone loose.

:52:23. > :52:28.Clever stuff by Ulster. Here comes Craig Gillroy. I think he has

:52:29. > :52:34.stepped back. Sean Reidy is coming. Cuthbert will have a go.

:52:35. > :52:39.Play on, says the referee. Knocked forward by Ian Henderson.

:52:40. > :52:44.Had Ulster caught that, it was a half decent chance of a try.

:52:45. > :52:50.Cuthbert was lucky. Good by Gillroy and Olding. He is so quick and reads

:52:51. > :52:56.the game so well. Hammers it in behind. Cuthbert is back and gets

:52:57. > :53:05.the deflection off Pienaar. Henderson struggle to pick it off

:53:06. > :53:13.the boot laces. There's Nick he played no more than

:53:14. > :53:17.76 times for the All Blacks with a round the houses career. Had a spell

:53:18. > :53:26.with Munster. Signed by Ulster.

:53:27. > :53:32.Enjoying himself now at Cardiff. He has had a fractured season in

:53:33. > :53:38.Cardiff. Had some injuries. Came back. But not quite fulfilled the

:53:39. > :53:47.promise. Well, a pretty decent performance by

:53:48. > :53:58.Pat Lambside. It has not done them harm for the play-off places.

:53:59. > :54:03.Ulster, 14-10, up against the Cardiff side who have taken the lead

:54:04. > :54:10.twice. Gethin Jenkins, I remember him many

:54:11. > :54:14.years ago, he scored a fine try for Wales against Ireland when he ran in

:54:15. > :54:19.from who metres. And he is still doing it as well.

:54:20. > :54:24.Sam Warburton with a bang on the knee. Looking reflective and with a

:54:25. > :54:29.little discomfort. A big ice pack there.

:54:30. > :54:32.The clock will start again. Two minutes remaining until the

:54:33. > :54:38.interval. This first half has flown in.

:54:39. > :54:41.We expected tries and we've got the tries.

:54:42. > :54:49.We didn't think it would be this close.

:54:50. > :55:04.Have to make the first tackle and they didn't. Intercepted by Pienaar.

:55:05. > :55:11.There are a few tough tackles by Ulster but just not so clean.

:55:12. > :55:18.This are too high. He low, the easy pass was to Morgan.

:55:19. > :55:27.He chose the pass comingonside, constable.

:55:28. > :55:38.He chose the pass coming onside. Over a minute to go and Cardiff are

:55:39. > :55:42.just outside of their own 22. A shortened line-out yet again. A good

:55:43. > :55:47.challenge by Ulster. Hoeata with the ball.

:55:48. > :55:55.Or it could have been James Down. No, it was Hoeata.

:55:56. > :56:00.Tucked in at the back there. Conjuring the drive well. Good work

:56:01. > :56:07.by Herbst. Before that, Roger Wilson, poised to attack somebody

:56:08. > :56:12.around the fringes. Into the last-minute. Naffedy to

:56:13. > :56:23.Filise, who slip it is to Lloyd Williams. Gillroy... Payne had a wee

:56:24. > :56:30.glance. Dear oh, dear. Kick and chase and

:56:31. > :56:41.the advantage is over. Back goes Jared Payne. Pienaar left it.

:56:42. > :56:46.Reidy had a look outside. Tackled by the Cardiff skipper

:56:47. > :56:51.Jenkins. Here comes Roger Wilson trying to

:56:52. > :56:56.make a bit of ground. Payne is hobbling. He has had a bit

:56:57. > :57:02.of a bang. That's gone into touch. That's the end of the first half and

:57:03. > :57:06.it's been played at fair pace. Lots of mistakes, the majority of which

:57:07. > :57:11.have been made by an Ulster side. But they will be pleased, albeit

:57:12. > :57:17.with a small margin. They will be but for me, Cardiff

:57:18. > :57:22.played more of the rugby. And they are lucky to be going into the

:57:23. > :57:25.second half four points down only. More tries out there from both

:57:26. > :57:31.sides. A friendly hug from Nick Williams to

:57:32. > :57:38.his old playing buddy, Paddy Jackson as they leave the field.

:57:39. > :57:44.There will be words about tightening up and the fundamental errors. What

:57:45. > :57:49.a glorious scene that is. I hope those children are enjoying

:57:50. > :57:54.themselves. We certainly are here at the Kingspan Stadium Kenning it's

:57:55. > :58:00.Ulster, 14, and the Cardiff Blues, 10.

:58:01. > :58:06.Breathless stuff and magic from Jackson. A lot of physicality from

:58:07. > :58:11.Cardiff. They have their moments but Ulster have etched it.

:58:12. > :58:16.-- edged it. Ryan Constable and Stephen Ferris.

:58:17. > :58:24.The punters have their money's worth? Yes, lots of running and lots

:58:25. > :58:30.of rugby. . Cardiff came to play. We were

:58:31. > :58:34.talking in the first half. I think that Ulster would like it more

:58:35. > :58:39.structured. Cardiff want a loose game. Because of the guise, Halaholo

:58:40. > :58:45.in mid-field. They are breaking tackles for fun. Ulster, half-time,

:58:46. > :58:48.a little more structure. Playing to the corners, field position and then

:58:49. > :58:53.get on top. Great to watch. I bet that the

:58:54. > :58:57.coaches are stressed out? A lot of missed tackles. High tempo.

:58:58. > :59:02.Throneing back these which both teams are trying to get into the

:59:03. > :59:08.game. It comes down to the tempo with which a they want to play. And

:59:09. > :59:14.the tackles. Both teams have issues there to address. But certainly

:59:15. > :59:18.flowing rugby and entertaining stuff to watch.

:59:19. > :59:24.And the first try? That was clever. The contest early on for the ball.

:59:25. > :59:28.Leaving Scully on the ground as a result of this legal challenge. Both

:59:29. > :59:34.players in the air. A number of phases there. Then the intelligence

:59:35. > :59:39.of the plays. So they managed to hold the inside defenders. And

:59:40. > :59:44.Piutau is an open space. When he is in open space you know you are

:59:45. > :59:48.making open ground. Pienaar is aware there is no wing coming across and

:59:49. > :59:52.Jackson runs the line. The communication between the two of

:59:53. > :59:59.them and Jackson is in acres of space. Clever, intelligent play.

:00:00. > :00:05.It reminded me of Spencer a few years ago. Treviso at home. Paddy

:00:06. > :00:10.probably could have caught it earlier but a great try.

:00:11. > :00:16.More of Ryan's stuff. And there has been lots of that this first half?

:00:17. > :00:24.Lots of big hits and high shots. But missed tackles. The guys have to go

:00:25. > :00:28.lower. Wilson is going for a wrap around tackle, defended by Anscombe.

:00:29. > :00:34.But you cannot question the Boyce' endeavour. Both teams are putting in

:00:35. > :00:39.the effort. But great to watch. It's what the punters are paying the

:00:40. > :00:41.money for. And in the second half, I'm sure there will be more big

:00:42. > :00:46.hits. And Rory Best with the famous grip

:00:47. > :00:52.he has. Latching on, you can't get rid of him? He has the farmer's

:00:53. > :00:59.strength. When that guy gets you in a head lock you know about it. We

:01:00. > :01:05.spoke about the influence that the centres have tor Cardiff. And the

:01:06. > :01:10.Warburton try? Outstanding. Off to the right, to the left, pace

:01:11. > :01:15.to go through and offloads here. This was a try with a number of

:01:16. > :01:19.missed tackles that led up to it. Rey Lee-Lo using his feel to stay in

:01:20. > :01:24.the field of play. Good ball security. This is the end. The

:01:25. > :01:30.palm-off promoting the ball forward. The pace of ball is allowing Cardiff

:01:31. > :01:32.to make the inroads. Warburton with the strength to the line to power

:01:33. > :01:47.over. I think Ulster should learn from

:01:48. > :01:52.this. You can see from that, the only person from us whose uses it is

:01:53. > :01:58.Charles Pier tell. When it is a one-on-one tackle, if you can do

:01:59. > :02:01.that, you can really make yards. The guys from card for causing trouble,

:02:02. > :02:07.hopefully not too much of the second half. It will be addressed at

:02:08. > :02:11.half-time. We talked about the influence of the key Ulsterman, like

:02:12. > :02:17.Rory Best, he made a big call for what would be the penalty try. He

:02:18. > :02:22.made those big calls throughout the 6 Nations and some people questioned

:02:23. > :02:26.them when they did not work out against Wales, but he calls it, they

:02:27. > :02:32.have a great setup and it is not just Rory Best and the boys at the

:02:33. > :02:36.back, it is the guys working hard up front, they are keeping themselves

:02:37. > :02:41.squarer and steady and look at that. The referee had no other option

:02:42. > :02:47.apart from two awarded the penalty try. That is teamwork, the training

:02:48. > :02:54.ground, all the hard yards put in, it is an easy seven pointer. The

:02:55. > :02:58.influence of Rory Best feeds through the team. And it is not just on the

:02:59. > :03:05.pitch, it is the week before, giving the right messages when they are in

:03:06. > :03:08.the changing room, he will be there at right -- at half-time, he has a

:03:09. > :03:14.huge amount of experience and players look up to him. He sets the

:03:15. > :03:22.tone for this team. Interesting stuff, let's get the perspective

:03:23. > :03:27.from pitch side. We have got the operations manager Bryn coming ham.

:03:28. > :03:35.Can I ask, there was a lot of speculation that Cardiff, near but

:03:36. > :03:38.not a lot to play for. We would not have expected them to come and not

:03:39. > :03:43.try and put their best foot forward and try and be aggressive. We tried

:03:44. > :03:48.to keep the ball in hand a lot, it is a nice night, firmer ground and

:03:49. > :03:52.they like to play a bit of rugby. I thought they started well, we could

:03:53. > :03:59.not get possession. I thought our defence was outstanding, some of the

:04:00. > :04:02.best we have shown all season. It was probably only really towards the

:04:03. > :04:04.end of the half only missed a couple of tackles only need to make sure we

:04:05. > :04:09.shore up that defensive of tackles only need to make sure we

:04:10. > :04:14.and large I thought are speed off the line been pretty good and we

:04:15. > :04:19.have been good at not chasing rocks, just coming back, no loss causes are

:04:20. > :04:23.by and large it has been good. The one place where they seem to be

:04:24. > :04:27.punching holes is that access between Jackson and holding and two

:04:28. > :04:31.playmakers is something we are seeing right throughout Irish rugby

:04:32. > :04:37.but is that the price you pay, they are weaker in that particular area?

:04:38. > :04:41.I would not agree. They are very good defenders. There is no doubt

:04:42. > :04:45.there has been the odd slip tackle but by and large those guys defend

:04:46. > :04:53.well, Paddy Jackson has been one of the most solid and offensive terms

:04:54. > :04:56.around. He can get nice and low on players on the main thing for him is

:04:57. > :04:59.when he goes low, he is outstanding. If he goes high, it can be

:05:00. > :05:04.difficult, but I would be happy with their defensive partnership and the

:05:05. > :05:08.same with Luke, it is about getting more possession. They have probably

:05:09. > :05:13.made the breakdown difficult, they have thrown bodies in their weather

:05:14. > :05:17.it is legal or illegal, it is discretionary, but we have to look

:05:18. > :05:20.after the ball better and if we do that, we have shown that we are a

:05:21. > :05:29.dangerous and capable of scoring tries. Thank you. Not quite as happy

:05:30. > :05:36.as you would expect, but lots for Ulster to build on. It is about

:05:37. > :05:40.possession and if you deny a card of the ball, they cannot play that

:05:41. > :05:44.width game and I think a lot of the problems have come when they have

:05:45. > :05:48.developed this and when you have got the quality of outside backs that

:05:49. > :05:52.Cardiff have, when you get mismatches, they will expose that. I

:05:53. > :05:57.think it is more about structure, they have an advantage, they need to

:05:58. > :06:00.bring that to bear on the game. A little bit more kicking, they will

:06:01. > :06:04.see what happened last week with Cardiff where they seem to run out

:06:05. > :06:11.of steam and Ulster at home have more to play for. That will come

:06:12. > :06:20.through. It is looming large, the Lions tour, but a big blow for some

:06:21. > :06:25.Lions fans to see Sam Warburton limping off. It is not a nice thing,

:06:26. > :06:29.when the Lions is looming around the corner and you pick up a knock.

:06:30. > :06:33.Hopefully it is not serious, he has had his fair share of injuries,

:06:34. > :06:39.hopefully he can do with this and get back. A lot of people are at to

:06:40. > :06:43.bring him to be a captain. I think there is another Rory Best on the

:06:44. > :06:50.pitch tonight who has thrown his hat into the ring. Disappointing for

:06:51. > :06:55.Cardiff to lose him. Even when he lost the Welsh captaincy, he seemed

:06:56. > :07:01.to be playing very good rugby. It is disappointing for everyone here, but

:07:02. > :07:05.fingers crossed he will be OK. That announcement is on the 19th of

:07:06. > :07:09.April, how many Ulsterman do you think will be going to New Zealand?

:07:10. > :07:14.They have not had the European platform to show their wares and I

:07:15. > :07:18.think Rory Best, he has captained Ireland against New Zealand and beat

:07:19. > :07:23.them and that has to count for something. Jared Payne has played

:07:24. > :07:28.well, he has versatility, Henderson has the ability to play second row,

:07:29. > :07:31.Paddy Jackson, there are plenty of guys in the contenders category and

:07:32. > :07:38.it depends what game plan they employ and that has to dictate what

:07:39. > :07:43.they select. You have been there, is it stressful? For me, I think we had

:07:44. > :07:46.Cardiff the week before the Lions tour was announced and Andy Powell

:07:47. > :07:51.had an absolute storm and team more or less played himself into the

:07:52. > :07:54.squad. These games, Warren Gatling will be watching and they are

:07:55. > :07:58.important, so the guy should have that in the back of their mind. Not

:07:59. > :08:02.just the win, that will be important, but for their own

:08:03. > :08:05.personal performance to make sure they give it everything, because you

:08:06. > :08:10.just never know and this Lions tour is going to take its toll, there are

:08:11. > :08:16.going to be injuries and call ups, so everyone has to be on their toes.

:08:17. > :08:21.And Ulster and if collectively to get over the line? They know what is

:08:22. > :08:28.coming, plenty of confidence, they have had six wins on the trot, they

:08:29. > :08:30.have got to be confident, they have to back their ability, tighten up a

:08:31. > :08:35.little bit defensively, particularly when they get stretch, deny that

:08:36. > :08:42.kick return game that they have got and Ulster should have enough to eat

:08:43. > :08:46.come through and win this game. What is the half-time message? More

:08:47. > :08:51.structure, try and get through some multi-faces and break these guys

:08:52. > :08:56.down. Get a couple of passes and I get it into the hands of Charles

:08:57. > :09:00.Piutau. Ulster were playing towards the park and hopefully we will get a

:09:01. > :09:08.couple of tries and said the supporters home happy. Thank you. We

:09:09. > :09:14.will rejoin our commentary team. What a second we have in prospect.

:09:15. > :09:20.Good to see a few Cardiff Blues fans here. There is a man who the fans

:09:21. > :09:27.adored when he was at the Kingspan Stadium. I am reliably informed that

:09:28. > :09:32.Cardiff having lost Scully to injury have made a replacement at the start

:09:33. > :09:36.of the second half and they have brought on as a ratty to play tight

:09:37. > :10:08.head instead of Filise. Paddy Jackson to get the second half

:10:09. > :10:17.under way. Ulster, as they prefer to do in the second half, playing

:10:18. > :10:27.towards the war memorial end. Good chase by Piutau, wrapped up Matthew

:10:28. > :10:36.Morgan. Navidi, aggressive as ever. Back to Anscombe. Jared Payne seems

:10:37. > :10:45.to have recovered from that little knock that he had. His leg was

:10:46. > :10:51.twisted. Pienaar. Henderson, well taken, no change out of the Cardiff

:10:52. > :10:59.defence. Pienaar again. Jackson, well done by Alan O'Connor. Pienaar,

:11:00. > :11:06.chance of an overlap. Treadwell has a lot of pace. Loads of pace,

:11:07. > :11:10.likewise, Jared Payne, that lying is the Cardiff 22 and this is

:11:11. > :11:25.Henderson, at the cheque. Nick Williams. Piutau with not a lot of

:11:26. > :11:37.room in which to move. Reidy, from Ruan Pienaar. Andrew Warwick.

:11:38. > :11:42.Pienaar to the narrow side, Olding, I think it has gone backwards. It is

:11:43. > :11:46.scruffy. Paddy Jackson tidies up and does well and Ulster being too

:11:47. > :11:58.overambitious with the little backhanded Flex. They are trying to

:11:59. > :12:05.tee up the defender. I think the boys made a good point, Jared Payne

:12:06. > :12:11.is hobbling. It looks like Jacob Stockdale is coming on. They go

:12:12. > :12:16.through a few faces, getting into this Cardiff pack. Try and tie them

:12:17. > :12:24.in, find some space for their own outside backs. Jared Payne has left

:12:25. > :12:29.the field. He has not recovered from that little bump. On comes the man

:12:30. > :12:35.who has had a splendid season with eight tries so far, second place

:12:36. > :12:42.behind Rohan Omar Hannay. Rory Best, that is not the time to overthrow.

:12:43. > :12:48.Anscombe, chance for Cardiff and Matthew Morgan, not bad pace and

:12:49. > :12:55.this is another youngster. Williams. Piutau. Ulster living pretty

:12:56. > :12:58.dangerously. Craig Gilroy did well to get the back turned to stop the

:12:59. > :13:07.Cardiff attack are getting close to the football. Aggressive stuff by

:13:08. > :13:11.cup bird. Roger Wilson and Ulster, from having been in the card of 22

:13:12. > :13:18.are back within ten metres of their own line, even less. Pienaar. Did

:13:19. > :13:26.not find his touch, here is Williams. Good clearing out, Cardiff

:13:27. > :13:39.on the front foot thanks to Ulster errors again. Halaholo. Don't think

:13:40. > :13:45.there was even close. It was at least a yard! Ian Davies was in a

:13:46. > :13:49.good position, you saw that Cardiff tried to shore up the Ulster defence

:13:50. > :13:54.and work to the outside and Treadwell did well managed to keep

:13:55. > :14:08.space, back his own pace to make sure he was not left for dead.

:14:09. > :14:11.Hoeata, 34 years of age, but the introduction of Assiratti has

:14:12. > :14:18.brought the average age of the Cardiff front five down by about 20

:14:19. > :14:23.years, he is only 19. He will have his work cut out against Andy

:14:24. > :14:32.Warwick. Small figure, quite stout, technically very good. A great

:14:33. > :14:43.prospect they reckon in Wales. Roger Wilson. Olding. Good leg drive.

:14:44. > :14:51.Navidi cleared out of the way. Luke Marshall. It is from outside the 22

:14:52. > :14:57.and that is going to be a line-out to Cardiff back on the 22.

:14:58. > :15:02.Fundamental errors by Ulster again. Just the shank this time from Luke

:15:03. > :15:05.Marshall. Potentially to be Plainmoor down the side of the

:15:06. > :15:09.pitches he is going to kick rather than narrow the target. You can

:15:10. > :15:14.understand what Ulster are trying to do, trying to clear their own gain

:15:15. > :15:20.line, get the ball out and reset the defensive line and chase after it.

:15:21. > :15:30.Good line-out by Carla. Anscombe. Lovely pass. There is a huge hole

:15:31. > :15:37.there. Williams gets it away, Gareth Anscombe. Would love to score a try

:15:38. > :15:43.against the side who dispense with his father's services a few seasons

:15:44. > :15:51.ago. Good interception by Henderson. It must come away. Cardiff get the

:15:52. > :15:55.penalty. Three points would close the gap to one but I have a feeling

:15:56. > :16:02.they will go for the corner. There is a bit of a con flab going here.

:16:03. > :16:09.Iain Henderson will take that. Stripping one off Nick Williams. The

:16:10. > :16:13.reason the penalty was given away was because although Henderson was

:16:14. > :16:16.on his feet, he was the second Ulster tackler and the referee had

:16:17. > :16:19.deemed that the man carrying the ball had to be released in the

:16:20. > :16:25.tackle so he really should have given up the ball. He was fair in

:16:26. > :16:30.terms of being able to strip it away from Nick Williams. That is the

:16:31. > :16:35.first that done, Cardiff saw Ulster again a penalty try. Ulster I don't

:16:36. > :16:43.think you're going to commit the same offence. The referee says... Is

:16:44. > :16:53.immensely strong. Likewise Alan O'Connor who has tackled him.

:16:54. > :17:00.Assiratti. Kim off a standing start pretty well. Navidi. The Ulster fit

:17:01. > :17:13.came round. Beautifully done, what a lovely try, well

:17:14. > :17:22.taken by Lee-Lo. That has been on the cards from the first minute.

:17:23. > :17:27.Cardiff have really attacked Ulster. Fantastic line, Anscombe with a very

:17:28. > :17:33.slick pass. He knows exactly where Lee-Lo is going to be. Great line

:17:34. > :17:41.under the post but it has been coming. For the third time, Cardiff

:17:42. > :17:47.take the lead and that was coming and Ulster's midfield defence, at

:17:48. > :17:50.sixes and sevens there. You can take that back to the piece play that led

:17:51. > :17:56.to the penalty, that was kicked through the corner and Ulster were

:17:57. > :18:00.split wide open, outside runner, Ulster defensive centre combination,

:18:01. > :18:04.they are too far apart, there is a space they get beaten by the step

:18:05. > :18:13.and then Cardiff pour through the hole. Anscombe adds the extra point.

:18:14. > :18:20.It was 3-0 to Cardiff and then 7- to Ulster, now Cardiff are back in the

:18:21. > :18:26.lead, albeit by three points, 17-14 to Cardiff. There was no one within

:18:27. > :18:32.toasting distance. Wonderful sleight of hand from Anscombe. It is the

:18:33. > :18:35.turn of Cardiff to make a mistake and Ulster could not capitalise.

:18:36. > :18:47.They have the ball and it was dropped. This is one of the

:18:48. > :18:47.dangerous combinations. Nick Williams, typical short ranged

:18:48. > :19:03.burst. Hoeata. He just about got it at the second

:19:04. > :19:10.attempt. Knocked forward. Williams leaves it for Lloyd Williams.

:19:11. > :19:23.Lloyd Williams has played very well tonight. He has kept that Enfield,

:19:24. > :19:29.Gilroy, Jenkins outside him. Gets into a bit of white space, capped by

:19:30. > :19:42.Anscombe. Here is Matthew Morgan. This is enterprise indeed. Jenkins

:19:43. > :19:47.gets hit away. Hoeata, out wide for Williams, Rory Best, Gethin Jenkins,

:19:48. > :19:58.the skipper. Cardiff with their tails up at the Kingspan Stadium.

:19:59. > :20:01.Anscombe. There is the try scorer. Stockdale covers back and Cardiff

:20:02. > :20:06.are playing with great exuberance and no little skill. They have got

:20:07. > :20:10.this ball on a string and they have the Ulster defence on hate, moving

:20:11. > :20:13.the ball around endlessly, side to side, the guys talked about it at

:20:14. > :20:18.half-time, there was very little structure, they tried to read what

:20:19. > :20:24.each individual player is going to do. It is that combination, stepping

:20:25. > :20:28.up, I am really impressed with Williams. Looks very much like Liam

:20:29. > :20:35.Williams who plays for Wales and the Scarlets and that Bandy Leggett

:20:36. > :20:43.approach,... Nobody could be as Bandy Leggett as him! He reads the

:20:44. > :20:48.game so well, he is full of promise. This is just his sixth league game,

:20:49. > :20:52.played nine times for the Wales under 20 team and has another season

:20:53. > :20:58.to come at that level. Born in Bangor, North Wales, he is a student

:20:59. > :21:03.at the university there. Danny Wilson will be happy with things.

:21:04. > :21:09.Hugely disappointed at the second-half capitulation away to

:21:10. > :21:13.Gloucester. Herbst is getting treatment. Rory Best, fast

:21:14. > :21:26.approaching 200 games for Ulster. I wonder what is going through his

:21:27. > :21:32.head? Ulster have got the hardest run end of any of the sides in the

:21:33. > :21:36.Pro12. They have got to play the three teams here are currently above

:21:37. > :21:40.them in the league table. And remember, one eye over their

:21:41. > :21:46.shoulder, because the Scarlets are at home to Treviso tomorrow, should

:21:47. > :21:57.be a 5-point for the men from the Scarlets. Ian Davies telling Ulster

:21:58. > :22:00.to get on with it, seems to be some miscommunication there. Rory Best is

:22:01. > :22:11.going to throw it in. Time for a year and Davies to step

:22:12. > :22:38.in. You step up. Stay there. Behave yourselves. Good take by Alan

:22:39. > :22:46.O'Connor. The scoreboard is not what Ulster wanted to be. Pienaar. Find

:22:47. > :22:51.Cuthbert. Here is Matthew Morgan. Third on the gas, good tackle, going

:22:52. > :22:58.forward. Referee plane advantage to Ulster. At least Ulster will get a

:22:59. > :23:04.foot into the scrum, there are still looking dangerous. It is all on the

:23:05. > :23:08.structure. Morgan takes the ball, so quick, ball in both hands, it looked

:23:09. > :23:13.as though he was going to get beaten. You can see what Morgan was

:23:14. > :23:16.trying to do, flicked the ball out, looking for a support runner to pick

:23:17. > :23:25.it up and Ulster perhaps lucky the knock-on came and they get a pretty

:23:26. > :23:29.decent midfield scrum. Cardiff obviously with the advantage on the

:23:30. > :23:38.back line. Maybe a little bit of a move here. Herbst was the most

:23:39. > :23:43.capped player of all-time. A good solid Ulster scrum, one good

:23:44. > :23:49.positive tonight. Pienaar and the other side, Jacob Stockdale. Not for

:23:50. > :23:53.the first time, Ulster having done all the good stuff, just gave it

:23:54. > :24:00.away, Stockdale could not keep a grip on the ball. The Cardiff

:24:01. > :24:06.replacement tight head prop, Assiratti is in trouble. I am not

:24:07. > :24:10.sure if he has got cramp or has strained a calf muscle. He is down

:24:11. > :24:14.and he is in trouble. He has only been on the field for ten minutes.

:24:15. > :24:22.You would hope it is not cramp after only ten minutes. A bit of strapping

:24:23. > :24:27.will be applied here, just to get him back onto the field. Stockdale

:24:28. > :24:37.did all the hard work. Early transfer. 19-0 at the minute to

:24:38. > :24:51.Connacht. There is a lot of ice on that. A couple of metres of tape for

:24:52. > :24:57.Assiratti. Rory Best has pulled his Ulster side in and is giving them, I

:24:58. > :25:01.would not say a rollicking, but he is having serious words to say

:25:02. > :25:06.concentrate, concentrate, because that is all it is. It is just focus

:25:07. > :25:11.and attention to detail, even going back to the last line outcome of

:25:12. > :25:14.miscommunication, Rory had to step back and to clarify the call,

:25:15. > :25:21.clarify who the ball was going go to. If you get that sorted out, yet

:25:22. > :25:26.let she execute your own ball better, but do not give the

:25:27. > :25:34.opposition and the chance to get in there and make a mess of things.

:25:35. > :25:36.Cardiff scrum, in the Ulster half. Assiratti, back in the Cardiff tight

:25:37. > :25:55.head side of the scrum. Good squeeze by Ulster, Navidi.

:25:56. > :26:03.Anscombe had got around Morgan. There goes Cuthbert. No room on the

:26:04. > :26:09.far side for the six foot six winger, Lord Williams, Anscombe

:26:10. > :26:18.looking for the Scout gap. -- looking for the inside gap. Cuthbert

:26:19. > :26:26.has really put himself about tonight, likewise Lee-Lo and his

:26:27. > :26:29.partner Halaholo. Matthew Morgan. Nabbed by round peeler, Lloyd

:26:30. > :26:42.Williams, cleverly done. That will be Ulster line-out. Ulster are

:26:43. > :26:48.trailing -- Ruan Pienaar. It is uncontested ruck time, tackles may,

:26:49. > :26:54.Ulster happy to assess the situation. Trying to stay on their

:26:55. > :26:59.feet and either get hold of scrum-half or driving through and

:27:00. > :27:06.been able to turn the ball over. Stay where you are. Ulster have

:27:07. > :27:19.called a five-man line-out, Roger Wilson and Sean Reidy have departed.

:27:20. > :27:27.Good pass from Pienaar. Navidi. Pienaar from the near side. Williams

:27:28. > :27:35.takes it well and he gets Gilroy at the same time, Rory Best was in

:27:36. > :27:42.quickly. Rory Best told to get out of it, Assiratti, the replacement

:27:43. > :27:46.prop, Jenkins. Lee-Lo, he has got away again, what is going on in the

:27:47. > :27:59.middle of the park for Ulster? Here goes Nick Williams. Matthew Rees.

:28:00. > :28:07.Williams, Lloyd, Ulster up quickly. Marshall, did well to hang on. Still

:28:08. > :28:16.the Blues keep the ball. Nick Williams. Infanticide and their

:28:17. > :28:27.replacement prop Assiratti came in from the side and a rueful grin from

:28:28. > :28:36.Nick Williams. -- in from the side. Assiratti around the back. Through

:28:37. > :28:42.the gate as the referee calls it. Now they're on the defence. Ulster

:28:43. > :28:48.had got themselves in close, this is about the first time in this

:28:49. > :28:58.second-half, there is the handoff, he did well to hold on. The penalty

:28:59. > :29:05.kick has taken Ulster to within reasonable striking distance, it is

:29:06. > :29:15.all about accuracy here. Phil line-out, Herbst at the back. Ruan

:29:16. > :29:22.Pienaar. Jackson. Ulster into the 22, now Ruan Pienaar, Roger Wilson.

:29:23. > :29:33.That is dreadful, that should be a yellow card. Crowd calling for the

:29:34. > :29:40.card. This would bring the sides back to level terms. That is spot

:29:41. > :29:46.on, it has levelled up scores from the perspective of Ulster. He is

:29:47. > :29:56.going to have a poacher at those. For everyone that you give away, you

:29:57. > :30:01.might get one. Andrew Trimble, I have a feeling, is going to be

:30:02. > :30:08.coming on. Craig Gilroy is going to depart and a lot of the Ulster joint

:30:09. > :30:13.skippers is going to come on. Jackson, two conversion so far, this

:30:14. > :30:17.to bring it to level pegging and really a draw would not be enough

:30:18. > :30:26.for Ulster, they need a victory here tonight. Regulation from Paddy

:30:27. > :30:46.Jackson. Cardiff will have to make a

:30:47. > :30:52.replacement in the middle of their front row.

:30:53. > :30:56.If there is any doubt get checked out. There are plenty of

:30:57. > :31:05.replacements available. Gillroy has left the field.

:31:06. > :31:10.Andrew Trimble is on. We might have another former Welsh

:31:11. > :31:14.international, temporarily for Matthews Rees.

:31:15. > :31:30.It's Myhill. Still playing a lot of ball inside

:31:31. > :31:36.their own territory. Jackson hoists that.

:31:37. > :31:45.Trimble, the first touch of the ball since fracturing his hand a month

:31:46. > :31:51.ago. Cardiff regain possession. Henderson almost holds them up.

:31:52. > :32:03.Gethin Jenkins, well tackled by Rory Best.

:32:04. > :32:15.Cardiff are Varianying it nicely. -- varying it nicely.

:32:16. > :32:23.Blues again. Taken on by Kirby Myhill.

:32:24. > :32:30.Good impact by the replacement hooker.

:32:31. > :32:35.Anscombe again. Now there's that clever dummy by

:32:36. > :32:37.Willis Halaholo. He and Rey Lee-Lo have been thorns

:32:38. > :33:17.in Ulster's side. Morgan is outside of Marshall. Play

:33:18. > :33:30.on, says the referee. Piutau goes to ground. The referee playing a

:33:31. > :33:35.knock-on advantage to Ulster. As we come to the end of the third

:33:36. > :33:40.quarter, it is still tantalisingly close.

:33:41. > :33:45.Cardiff have done well this evening in terms of their ability to isolate

:33:46. > :33:49.Piutau. We have seen from their kick-offs that they are happy to

:33:50. > :33:52.kick to him. Chase line him, shut him down.

:33:53. > :34:00.There have been a couple of incidents with ball in hand but he

:34:01. > :34:08.has had nowhere near the impact he has had in other games this evening

:34:09. > :34:13.for Ulster. That's a lovely pass from Nick

:34:14. > :34:18.Williams. Cardiff making ground in the middle of the park. Oh, dreadful

:34:19. > :34:24.tackling by Uhlster. Straight through is Rey Lee-Lo. This is

:34:25. > :34:30.starting to unravel for Ulster's side. Cardiff with the second try in

:34:31. > :34:35.the second half. It has come from the mid-field supremacy.

:34:36. > :34:41.The second in 15 minutes. We made the point during the first half,

:34:42. > :34:47.Ryan and Stephen made the point again at half-time, and Ulster have

:34:48. > :34:51.not got it sorted. Whatever was said at half-time, it's been soft in

:34:52. > :34:56.mid-field. No communication. Nobody knows who is taking it. Lee-Lo steps

:34:57. > :35:01.inside of Piutau and hugely rewarded. Cardiff have been superb

:35:02. > :35:08.in the second half. Played the ball in hand. Spreading the ball wide.

:35:09. > :35:11.Ulster's defence as been inept. Cardiff more than richly deserve

:35:12. > :35:16.this lead. Cardiff have not won in Belfast

:35:17. > :35:21.since April of 2010. So a seven year gap and Cardiff, you

:35:22. > :35:26.have to say, thoroughly deserving of the lead with a chaps of a

:35:27. > :35:36.conversion to come. Gareth Anscombe has not missed anything this

:35:37. > :35:50.evening. Afterward he's not about to... Nick Williams is trying to

:35:51. > :36:01.keep things even but Lee-Lo has been magnificent tonight. Superb.

:36:02. > :36:13.A good challenge by Rory Best, Ulster's captain.

:36:14. > :36:24.Lloyd Williams, the 110% man. Williams has kept that infield.

:36:25. > :36:32.Jackson trying to find a gap. Support from Pienaar.

:36:33. > :36:38.Treadwell gets it away. Olding... Anything to atone for the missed

:36:39. > :36:44.tackle. There goes Stockdale. Pienaar again. Jackson up to

:36:45. > :37:04.halfway. Good strength by the Irish. Now Pienaar. Henderson. ...

:37:05. > :37:10.Stockdale looks threatening every time he gets the ball.

:37:11. > :37:17.A good covering tackle by James Down.

:37:18. > :37:28.17.5 minutes remaining. Ulster are trailing by seven points.

:37:29. > :37:44.the replacement prop. There is another prop, an

:37:45. > :37:49.interesting name, Domachowski. I tell you what, he held his line.

:37:50. > :37:56.He wasn't soft. He pushed straight up. He saw the inside pass was on.

:37:57. > :38:08.Perhaps unlucky not to put it in two hands. Cardiff have lost three

:38:09. > :38:12.players to injury in the first half, Scully, Earle, and Warburton. They

:38:13. > :38:17.have had to make a replacement in the front row.

:38:18. > :38:22.Stockdale looks menacing with the ball. Coming in good. Republicaning

:38:23. > :38:27.hard. Solid lines. He has a turn of pace as well. But the Ulster back

:38:28. > :38:32.that looks like he can punch across the gain line. He needs support on

:38:33. > :38:44.either shoulder if he is able to get through the gam.

:38:45. > :38:51.-- Gap. And here is Nick Timoney.

:38:52. > :38:52.Roger Wilson has left the field. Ulster are making another

:38:53. > :39:13.replacement. So a first cap for Nick Timoney.

:39:14. > :39:18.And as I said, Matthews Rees has come back on, after having had a

:39:19. > :39:23.head injury assessment and being pronounced fine.

:39:24. > :39:30.Timoney has in a number of good didisplace.

:39:31. > :39:36.-- displays. Looking to make an impact. He is 18,

:39:37. > :39:48.19. He wants to show these guys what he can do.

:39:49. > :40:02.Ulster's scrum has been one serious. The ball was in but he was dragged

:40:03. > :40:07.into touch. That gives Cardiff the line-out. The fine margins are being

:40:08. > :40:12.won by Cardiff. You can see what Ulster were trying

:40:13. > :40:17.to do, to come wide. But it required men to come on the switch and angle

:40:18. > :40:24.it back. Cardiff defended well. Happy to concede the touch line.

:40:25. > :40:28.Willis Halaholo, Anscombe and I think it is just feet that hit the

:40:29. > :40:40.line. What Ulster required was Trimble to cut the line, come back

:40:41. > :40:45.in field and keep the ball and play. Henderson has had an up and down

:40:46. > :40:54.season. The last couple of games he has played well. His scrummaging has

:40:55. > :41:01.been well. He is lasting longer. The time has gone when he was pulled

:41:02. > :41:05.in after 45 minutes here we are after 65 minutes and he is still

:41:06. > :41:10.going strong. 16.5 minutes remaining.

:41:11. > :41:17.Ulster's season might hang in the balance. But no matter what happens,

:41:18. > :41:22.they have been guaranteed champions cup rugby next season. But they

:41:23. > :41:26.wanted Pro12 and at the moment it will be a difficult proposition for

:41:27. > :41:27.them. Lloyd Williams has been splendid

:41:28. > :41:56.behind a good pack. Robbie Diack has to go into

:41:57. > :42:00.scrum-half. Stockdale in the middle of that.

:42:01. > :42:06.Rory Best taking it on. It's all a little cramped there. Cardiff have

:42:07. > :42:10.been good at the breakdown and disrupted Ulster.

:42:11. > :42:14.Trimble with the chase. Anscombe is underneath. A good tackle by

:42:15. > :42:16.Treadwell on the Cardiff outside-half. But Anscombe has set

:42:17. > :42:35.it up nicely. Williams gets away. Look at that step. My goodness. He

:42:36. > :42:40.is away. And Halaholo and Lee-Lo between them

:42:41. > :42:45.have caused all the elster problems this afternoon. That's going to be

:42:46. > :42:51.an Ulster line-out. There is one way to shut it down, to

:42:52. > :42:55.keep coming forward. The first step he is in, it outs the Ulster

:42:56. > :43:01.defenders on their heel. Then he is looking for space again.

:43:02. > :43:06.He is beating them all. He's picked up on the rebound. But

:43:07. > :43:18.they have to work in a bear to shut these guys down.

:43:19. > :43:24.Rob Herring is on for Ulster. A lot of changes being made by the

:43:25. > :43:45.director of rugby. Nearly a great take by Trimble but a

:43:46. > :43:55.very good take by Cardiff and by Williams.

:43:56. > :44:05.Are playing as if they had an awful lot to play for at the end of this

:44:06. > :44:07.season. They have been a bit too clever for

:44:08. > :44:45.Ulster. happy with the tackle of elyou are.

:44:46. > :44:49.Ulster get the penalty. Well, 13 minutes remaining, it's

:44:50. > :44:53.getting tight. But, it's the first time an Ulster

:44:54. > :44:58.player has come through the ruck. The first time they get a penalty.

:44:59. > :45:03.But you are right, this will be tight. Cardiff are good value for

:45:04. > :45:08.it. You can see what they are trying to do. They are not kick the ball

:45:09. > :45:12.away. They are running time off the clock. The centres are looking for

:45:13. > :45:18.spaces. Williams with the pick and the go. Ulster really have no answer

:45:19. > :45:23.to them. And Les is looking somewhat forlorn

:45:24. > :45:27.there. James Down trying to block the

:45:28. > :45:40.passage of that ball. Henderson wins it.

:45:41. > :45:53.Reidy and half a chance for Ulster. Morgan makes the tackle.

:45:54. > :46:00.Taken on well. Better stuff by the men in white.

:46:01. > :46:09.Diack and Matthews Rees puts in the tackle.

:46:10. > :46:17.He's through! Marshall is going to get in! Just what Ulster needed. The

:46:18. > :46:23.gap closed to two points with a conversion to come and there still

:46:24. > :46:26.is time. If Ulster have the inclination and the desire to win

:46:27. > :46:30.this game to do so, there is still time.

:46:31. > :46:37.A great line for Marshall. Cardiff too high with the tackles.

:46:38. > :46:43.Marshall rides it off. That's Ulster first real strike move in the half.

:46:44. > :46:49.Trimble going through the middle. Good control. Here's the ball. A

:46:50. > :46:54.swinging right arm from Down. Not good enough at this level. You have

:46:55. > :46:58.to be connected with the tackle. Marshall rides it and goes through.

:46:59. > :47:13.A flinging arm is not going to stop him.

:47:14. > :47:20.Jackson has nailed another conversion. That incidentally is

:47:21. > :47:24.Ulster's third try. But more importantly, it has brought things

:47:25. > :47:27.level pegging. Two turns will not be enough for Ulster.

:47:28. > :47:33.Definitely not. The win is all essential. A lovely line for

:47:34. > :47:38.Marshall. Jackson making no mistake with the conversion.

:47:39. > :47:44.Well, just over ten minutes remaining here.

:47:45. > :48:22.And it's a pulsating Mervyn King. it's a pulsating Kingspan Stadium.

:48:23. > :48:28.Trimble nailed him. The referee is saying it's a maul. And Trimble is

:48:29. > :48:35.so strong, he has won Ulster the scrum.

:48:36. > :48:40.Good tactics. Anscombe initially does well. Then

:48:41. > :48:45.Morgan steps in. Broken hand or not, there was no way

:48:46. > :48:51.he was letting go of that ball. Can you imagine what he would be

:48:52. > :48:58.like with two good hands? He has what looks like a hockey glove to

:48:59. > :49:02.give extra protection but he is immensely strong in the upper body

:49:03. > :49:09.department. Into the final ten minutes. 24-24.

:49:10. > :49:12.And three tries a piece. So for somebody, a try is going to give a

:49:13. > :49:32.bonus point. Williams takes a little touch. It's

:49:33. > :49:38.going to be an Ulster line-out. Clever, aggressive play by Ulster.

:49:39. > :49:45.George Piutau with a grin on his face, he enjoyed that.

:49:46. > :49:51.Ulster stacked to mid-field. Jackson to Olding with a beautiful pass.

:49:52. > :49:56.Intelligent play. A left-footed chip kick. And Williams does what he has

:49:57. > :50:03.done. As you say, Ulster on the offensive.

:50:04. > :50:14.Herring is good with his darts. And Diack has been good, they have

:50:15. > :50:17.almost a telepathic relationship. Well the place is absolutely

:50:18. > :50:24.buzzing. Herring... A good take with

:50:25. > :50:44.Treadwell. And Olding is very nearly through.

:50:45. > :50:53.Ulster win it back. Here's Robbie Diack. Well presented. Pienaar with

:50:54. > :51:01.a little flat pass. Reidy has another go. Again it's Rey Lee-Lo

:51:02. > :51:05.who makes the tackle. Diack nearly gets through.

:51:06. > :51:10.Trimble at pace! All the pressure coming from the men in white.

:51:11. > :51:16.Marshall gets it away. Piutau couldn't gather.

:51:17. > :51:25.Olding has gathered. Play on, says the referee. Ulster are still going

:51:26. > :51:29.forward. Ulster need to start again. Jackson

:51:30. > :51:38.away from Morgan. Little sortie on the other side from

:51:39. > :52:09.Trimble. Minutes remaining. It's gone very

:52:10. > :52:11.loose. Taken on by Nick Timoney. I thought that was turned over for a

:52:12. > :52:29.second. Cardiff tackling like demons. Ulster

:52:30. > :52:40.are to find a way to break down the defence.

:52:41. > :52:54.Kick by Robbie tie yack. A thundering run by the Irish

:52:55. > :52:59.international. Five mince remaining. Ulster have to win this game to keep

:53:00. > :53:04.serious hopes of a top four place alive. Cardiff get the boot into the

:53:05. > :53:09.scrum. So also have to put in the biggest set piece of the day.

:53:10. > :53:25.Cardiff are on the ropes. But at long last from Ulster we see urgency

:53:26. > :53:31.and vim and vigour. Punching holes, staying on their feet. They have

:53:32. > :53:36.showed the game up, rather than playing this side to side game and

:53:37. > :53:40.playing into Cardiff's hands. Cardiff are now starting to fall off

:53:41. > :53:45.the pace and there is space there for Ulster if they can exploit it.

:53:46. > :53:52.Both sides have changed the loosehead props. Calum Black on for

:53:53. > :53:59.Randy Warwick and Corey Domachowski has come on for the great man

:54:00. > :54:08.himself, Gethin Jenkins. A brief stoppage there. Once again

:54:09. > :54:18.it's the young replacement prop. The 19-year-old Assiratti there.

:54:19. > :54:29.Two very inexperienced prop forwards coming on.

:54:30. > :54:38.They have to look at what they can get away with here. Take a breather,

:54:39. > :54:41.get their breath back. Ulster are in touching distance but

:54:42. > :54:46.they don't have the ball. They need to get the ball. Cardiff will not be

:54:47. > :54:51.in a rush to kick it straight into touch. They might kick it down the

:54:52. > :54:57.field. A squeeze by Ulster, naffedy tackled

:54:58. > :54:59.by Pienaar. Ulster could have done with a few more back row forwards to

:55:00. > :55:22.assist the back half. Stockdale making decent ground.

:55:23. > :55:30.Black straight on the field for Andy Warwick. Ulster might go the narrow

:55:31. > :55:35.side, they have done. Here is Reidy. Good presentation by Ulster's joint

:55:36. > :55:39.skipper. Diack to Henderson.

:55:40. > :55:51.He nearly got away. He's been held on to.

:55:52. > :55:54.Into the final four minutes. Good tackle. It looks like Kirby

:55:55. > :56:20.Myhill. Ulster give away the penalty and has

:56:21. > :56:28.the last chance gone? Three minutes remaining. Cardiff will clear to

:56:29. > :56:35.touch and get the line-out. Josh knifedy does well.

:56:36. > :56:45.Able to squeeze himself through there. Timoney carries but naffedy

:56:46. > :56:54.is hanging on. -- Navidi hangs on there.

:56:55. > :57:02.The front Fife are out the gate. They don't have the puff to get to

:57:03. > :57:06.the far side. Cardiff, needless to say, tired or

:57:07. > :57:13.not, they are not in a rush to get the line-out. Following the Ulster

:57:14. > :57:20.penalty, they have managed to allow a minute to go past.

:57:21. > :57:25.Cardiff have taken a couple of players out of the line-out.

:57:26. > :57:30.Williams does well. One more flourish is there in the

:57:31. > :57:34.Cardiff side in there might just be. That's a clever chip and chase.

:57:35. > :57:35.Somebody has to claim that. Piutau does it and has knocked it

:57:36. > :57:58.backwards. Ian Davies has given the scrum to

:57:59. > :58:04.Cardiff. The bounce of the ball hard to read.

:58:05. > :58:09.But Cardiff worked that nicely. It's been difficult to disrupt their

:58:10. > :58:11.set piece. With that run-out, running around

:58:12. > :58:16.Morgan. The pack are able to put the

:58:17. > :58:23.pressure on. A clever kick by Morgan. A good

:58:24. > :58:28.chasing by Williams. And the knock forward by Piutau has given Cardiff

:58:29. > :58:32.seconds as we come up to about a minute and a half, maybe less to go

:58:33. > :58:37.before we at the end of the day game. Ulster really need to win it.

:58:38. > :58:41.Two points, I don't think it is going to be enough.

:58:42. > :58:56.A drop goal opportunity, you might think? The Man of the Match award

:58:57. > :59:00.has gone to the centre, Rey Lee-Lo. Halaholo can't have been too far

:59:01. > :59:06.behind him. Cardiff on the front foot. Into the

:59:07. > :59:10.final minute. Anscombe behind. You can hear him almost talking to

:59:11. > :59:20.Williams saying he's in position, to give it to him. Williams wants to

:59:21. > :59:22.take it on. Considered Cardiff are finishing strongly. The last-minute,

:59:23. > :59:42.Ulster will have to shift this. Gathered in by Reidy. It's wide.

:59:43. > :59:46.Here goes Stockdale. Piutau is still running. A chip and

:59:47. > :59:51.chase by Morgan. That's gone into touch. There is

:59:52. > :59:58.just about time and no more. But it's a Cardiff line-out. Ulster have

:59:59. > :00:03.themselves from their own try line to deep inside the 22. A clever kick

:00:04. > :00:08.by Paddy Jackson. Well read by Reidy. What a clever pass.

:00:09. > :00:11.You fancy Piutau has to keep it in hand.

:00:12. > :00:16.Stepping off the right foot to the left. And to recycle and to give the

:00:17. > :00:21.Bach to Pienaar. The referee is telling Cardiff to

:00:22. > :00:29.hurry up. We are into what they call the red zone. It's Ulster, 24,

:00:30. > :00:36.Cardiff 24. If it stays like this, what a setback it could be for

:00:37. > :00:39.Ulster with tough games to come. Ulsterster have to disrupt this

:00:40. > :00:45.line-out, more than anything all season.

:00:46. > :01:03.I am pretty sure that card full circle for the. Lloyd Williams. And

:01:04. > :01:11.Ian Davies blows his whistle. The crowd are not happy about one or two

:01:12. > :01:15.decisions. Ulster are -- have only themselves to blame. They needed to

:01:16. > :01:20.make this seven in a row to give themselves any sort of a chance of a

:01:21. > :01:24.top four place, European Rugby guaranteed next year but Ulster

:01:25. > :01:29.wanted so much more but Cardiff were the hungrier side I felt tonight.

:01:30. > :01:34.From the Ulster perspective, there was no excuse. There was no game

:01:35. > :01:40.last week, they knew exactly what they had to do. I would not say they

:01:41. > :01:45.gave Cardiff too much respect, but it was only that last ten or 15

:01:46. > :01:50.minutes were we saw a hard direct line running, going across the gain

:01:51. > :01:55.line, but from a Cardiff perspective, Gareth Anscombe will be

:01:56. > :02:00.tearing his hair out. That would have given card of the victory.

:02:01. > :02:09.Perhaps they deserved it. Nice to see Nick Williams back here --

:02:10. > :02:20.Cardiff. There is a special one for his friend, Herbst. Lovely to see

:02:21. > :02:24.Nick Williams back at Ravenhill and Robbie Diack gets a special hug. Not

:02:25. > :02:30.the night that Ulster wanted or needed and not the result they

:02:31. > :02:36.needed. They managed a draw at home to the Cardiff Blues. 24 all. And

:02:37. > :02:45.that could be the ideal result for Nick Williams, both his teams, but

:02:46. > :02:49.Stephen Ferris and Ryan Constable are with us. Some of the fans

:02:50. > :02:56.looking disappointed but what do Ulster take out of this? Two points?

:02:57. > :02:59.It is pretty disappointing, the second half, they talked about

:03:00. > :03:05.coming out and playing with more intensity and I think we saw that,

:03:06. > :03:08.but a couple of mistakes crept in, we talked beforehand about the

:03:09. > :03:14.inconsistency in the Ulster performance this season and it came

:03:15. > :03:23.to the game again tonight, could not close it out. We could not get that

:03:24. > :03:26.crucial score. Hats off to Cardiff, they worked Ulster Rugby really hard

:03:27. > :03:32.and I think they will be happy going back home to Cardiff with two

:03:33. > :03:37.points. As the former centre, Lee-Lo was the star of the show? Lots to

:03:38. > :03:41.appreciate. What they did really well was the footwork allowed them

:03:42. > :03:45.to dominate that collision and once you do that, you control the speed

:03:46. > :03:51.that you get out of that breakdown. Because no one could get a shot on

:03:52. > :03:55.these guys, it was just perpetuating themselves. They dominated the next

:03:56. > :03:59.collision and that combination of fast feet and off-loading was what

:04:00. > :04:05.set the platform for them to play that chaotic style that works so

:04:06. > :04:08.well. Let us hear from the man of the moment. Point shared on the

:04:09. > :04:15.night but a lot of it down to your two tries. I can only remember a

:04:16. > :04:19.little bit but I think the boys did all the hard work and I was lucky

:04:20. > :04:25.enough to be there to finish it. You seem to be able to break the Ulster

:04:26. > :04:34.defence. You have got twinkle toes. I think the big man in me did all

:04:35. > :04:38.the hard work. It is all good. I know you guys won against Munster

:04:39. > :04:41.and you came close to beating Leinster, how much confidence to

:04:42. > :04:48.back give you coming here to Belfast tonight? Monster was pretty tough. I

:04:49. > :04:55.think we just beat them by one point. Even though we lost by one

:04:56. > :05:02.point. We were disappointed we did not get the win. When I woke up this

:05:03. > :05:12.morning, we knew we could play some football. It was pretty good. I am

:05:13. > :05:24.going to invites you to be awarded for man of the match. You called

:05:25. > :05:33.early on, centre was going to be the big factor, Ulster had so much

:05:34. > :05:37.strength and it fell short. It was not just Lee-Lo, Halaholo was

:05:38. > :05:41.outstanding as well. He was causing absolute mayhem. He has the change

:05:42. > :05:45.of pace, the footwork and across-the-board, they look like

:05:46. > :05:49.they knew what they wanted to do, this was a predetermined game plan,

:05:50. > :05:53.to play expansively, not give targets were Ulster could get into

:05:54. > :05:58.the game and Ulster looked as though they were chasing shadows. It was an

:05:59. > :06:01.exceptional performance by the Cardiff Blues, the conditions were

:06:02. > :06:13.favourable, they played a brand that suited their style of rugby.

:06:14. > :06:17.Ulster in the table, still mathematically possible to go

:06:18. > :06:19.through but it will be a big ask. It will be very tough, going away from

:06:20. > :06:22.home and then we have Leinster who are the most inform team coming to

:06:23. > :06:26.the Kingspan Stadium. Scholars play Treviso tomorrow, the way Italian

:06:27. > :06:30.teams are faring up, you would expect that Scarlett Scarlets to win

:06:31. > :06:36.that one. It is a disappointing night, I would like to get Ryan's

:06:37. > :06:44.take on it. You're constantly on your toes,. Are you suggesting he

:06:45. > :06:47.has experience of that? A few times. It can be difficult when you're in

:06:48. > :06:53.that position. That is where you need the trust on the in. If you get

:06:54. > :06:58.stepped on the inside, you need the likes of Johnny Bell who can fill in

:06:59. > :07:03.those spaces and it is about staying connected. Ulster were always

:07:04. > :07:06.shooting to get back to that onside position and Cardiff are constantly

:07:07. > :07:13.coming forward. Very difficult to get your defensive alignment off

:07:14. > :07:18.that if you are looking for ways to get back in position. It was the

:07:19. > :07:22.temple that Cardiff played out, they controlled a brilliantly in the

:07:23. > :07:28.first phase of the second half. They were getting the rewards. That is

:07:29. > :07:33.what made it difficult. If they got the threats, those second runners,

:07:34. > :07:41.they played particularly well. Ulster were down and they battled

:07:42. > :07:47.back into it. It was good play and Les Kiss has a lot of trust in his

:07:48. > :07:53.players, taking off Rory Best and bringing on Rob Herring and Robbie

:07:54. > :07:57.Diack. He nearly set up a try. Andrew Trimble worked his socks off.

:07:58. > :08:02.I think he was on the right wing and then he was on the left wing and

:08:03. > :08:07.then he was really working hard. We just came up short and that is every

:08:08. > :08:11.time, we have been talking about Ulster Rugby, we come up a little

:08:12. > :08:16.bit short and it happened again tonight. It is in our own hands, we

:08:17. > :08:21.have massive games coming up and we will have to do some serious damage.

:08:22. > :08:27.The real magic of the second half came from Cardiff. It did. That

:08:28. > :08:34.intensity was when the substitutes came on. It is Halaholo. There is

:08:35. > :08:39.covered their running at clever screen, he draws attention. They

:08:40. > :08:44.have the guys picking the angles, there is another one from Lee-Lo.

:08:45. > :08:50.They are difficult to defend. There are players in motion all around the

:08:51. > :08:55.ball and some of them are system errors. On a night like this, with

:08:56. > :09:01.guys without quality of possession, it is difficult to defend against.

:09:02. > :09:11.It was great value, even the first half, lot of great stuff. Lots of

:09:12. > :09:15.running rugby. Lee-Lo said at the start, he woke up this morning and

:09:16. > :09:22.he saw the sun shining and said now we can go and play football. They

:09:23. > :09:27.just wanted to play rugby and we saw this from the first whistle. I

:09:28. > :09:31.thought they would have kept it in play but they were happy to go home

:09:32. > :09:37.with the two points. What were the high points? The driving line-out

:09:38. > :09:42.functioned. The intensity that came from the substitutes off the bench,

:09:43. > :09:49.that is the standards they have to reach. We saw that desperation, but

:09:50. > :09:53.it was too little too late and if you do not have possession against a

:09:54. > :10:00.team that is playing that well, it makes it very difficult. If there

:10:01. > :10:07.was a low, we saw Sam Warburton limp off and Jared Payne, that will be a

:10:08. > :10:13.blow. You could see him limping off, I think he took on zero before

:10:14. > :10:18.half-time stop the medical team must thought he was OK to continue.

:10:19. > :10:28.Within the restart, he was off the pitch. He must have his ankle. He is

:10:29. > :10:32.vital for this Ulster tame. That is what he is capable of and he will be

:10:33. > :10:37.missed if he is not available for the next couple of weeks but fingers

:10:38. > :10:43.crossed, going forward for the Lions tour that he sticks his hand up for

:10:44. > :10:48.selection. He is such an organiser, and Rory Best, another big night and

:10:49. > :10:55.a big Ulster performance. He is a natural leader. He never let you

:10:56. > :11:00.down. He inspired by his actions. He has been around a long time. Ulster

:11:01. > :11:09.cannot look for one individual to carry them. Choke tackle, there is

:11:10. > :11:12.no one better in the game. Ulster across-the-board have to have more

:11:13. > :11:16.people standing up and taking a leadership role within a team. And

:11:17. > :11:22.things are not going your way, that is when you need the leaders. He is

:11:23. > :11:26.an inspirational player for Ulster and he will be extremely

:11:27. > :11:31.disappointed. He has got bigger things to come. He will be feeling

:11:32. > :11:35.now more than anyone in the changing room. Ulster have not managed to get

:11:36. > :11:43.the win they still needed. We saw him give the players a rollicking

:11:44. > :11:49.stop what is he going to do to try to influence the players around

:11:50. > :11:53.them? Rory has really high standards and for him tonight, that is not

:11:54. > :11:57.good enough. That is not up with a need to be and I think he will be

:11:58. > :12:01.telling the players that. That is a good card of team, but they expect

:12:02. > :12:09.to win that game. Everyone needs to know that, but I'd don't think every

:12:10. > :12:12.person in that dressing room has the same mentality. He will be

:12:13. > :12:15.addressing that in the changing room. The coaching staff will be

:12:16. > :12:23.doing the same thing but it is a huge few weeks. Ulster will play the

:12:24. > :12:28.best three teams in the competition, what do they do? If they get into

:12:29. > :12:33.that top four, they have got to go away for two of those three games.

:12:34. > :12:36.The only get the comfort of the home stadium against Leinster who may

:12:37. > :12:43.have secure top spot at that point and may be looking to secure some

:12:44. > :12:47.top players. Ulster need to work out why the could not get enough

:12:48. > :12:52.possession to impact on this game and how they are larded Cardiff

:12:53. > :12:56.Blues to dictate the pace. They will come back, get stuck in, whilst

:12:57. > :13:00.still a mathematical opportunity, they will be putting everything they

:13:01. > :13:09.can enter training to rectify the mistakes. Positive? Yes, we have to

:13:10. > :13:16.be. You can see it all the way with BBC Sport NI. We are on air next

:13:17. > :13:21.Saturday from 2:45pm and then after that, it is the Ospreys and

:13:22. > :14:01.Leinster. From all of us here, it is goodbye.

:14:02. > :14:07.You are the cream of the French aristocracy.