Ulster v Zebre Ulster Rugby Live

The Ulster faithful have a lot more to cheer recently as their team

launched for wins in a row. Tonight we will try and make the as they

take an Italian opposition for the third successive game. A win against

Zebre and Ulster will push themselves into a play-off place

with just five games remaining. Kick-off is just a couple of minutes

away at Kingspan Stadium. Good evening. The six Nations

championship action may be over for the weekend but still lots of live

rugby to enjoy here on BBC Two for the next couple of hours in the

Guinness brewed 12. Joining as here for the rearranged fixture,

postponed last year because of a frozen pitch, no such problems

tonight. It is very, very mild, the pitch looks OK, very playable.

Ulster with a great chance to put themselves in the top for position.

Definitely. The groundsman and today credit, it is looking well, the

pitch after last week only eight days ago with the bit of a mud bath.

It will be firm underfoot. Hopefully a lot of running rugby, the boys get

the ball underhand nights and early. If Ulster play like England did

today, or we will maybe see if you running tries. The Ulster backline

star-studded deceiving. Stuart Olding out tonight, an interesting

team selection. He is such a talented footballer. Such a good

either the game of rugby and we all know his feet are magic. One thing

he will bring the line and offering the thread and take the ball right

on the game line, hopefully creating space out wide but taking an attack.

He will put them on that line all day long. It is a good shout to the

outside backs. Ulster slipped up, not getting a bonus point last week.

They can't afford to do that tonight, can the? Absolutely not.

The play them away, but the four tries in the bonus point even though

it was in the performance they would have wanted. They would have talked

about it that this week as well. You've really got to put your foot

on their throat. I want to see passion, I want to see the boys

going hard at it tonight from minute one two minute 80 and when the

back-up is grading the keep it going. Craig Gilroy was with the

Ireland team in Wales, he has flown in to take its place. Happy birthday

to him and to Stuart Olding as well. There must've been some kick in a

changing room this evening. We will keep a steamy night because he loves

a bit of kick. It is great. Great to see Gilroy back, such a cracking

player. The conditions tonight will sit to be outside backs. The

groundsman have done a great job, no doubt about it. Considering where we

were at this time last week, it's looking good tonight. Thank you.

Ulster pit six tries past Zebre when they met a couple of weeks ago in

Italy, let's see how these there tonight in the company of Ian

Humphrey and Jim Neilly. COMMENTATOR: A special night for

Bernabo. Eddie side which is languishing at the bottom of the

table. Italian prop comes in, the only one changed behind is

scrum-half where Carlo Engelbrecht born in South Africa comes in for

Pat Danny who is on the bench. -- the Vanni. March comes in like a

lion and out like a lamb, there was a lot of it march last time we were

here. The pitch take a dreadful battering but fortunately we have

got a nice onward springlike evening with a little bit of sunsetting just

not too far away. Rob Herring captaining as for the 26th time,

leads the side out. His 150th Ulster cap. In front of a decent crowd. A

special night for those who get their pictures taken with the team

captain. There is the team. The same front row but changes behind, Alan

O'Connor coming in, Robbie Diack, Chris Henry behind the scrum. A

number of significant changes, Craig Gilroy in Wales last night as backed

and Jacob Stockdale is there as well, playing on the wing this time,

Luke Marshall, Jared Payne moves back to full back, hoping to catch

the eye of Joseph Smit. The referee is from Wales, is fairly regular

visitors year, Ian Davis, his 58th pro 12 game. Vastly experienced. The

is Craig Gilroy, happy birthday, happy 26. Youngest man to reach 100

caps for Ulster, a couple of seasons ago. There is the man who was only

two years younger, Stuart Olding playing at number ten, starting at

number ten in the second chamber his Ulster career. The 21-year-old

Argentinian. Ulster leave that to twinkle toed Piutau. I say to the

22, he now shipping off to kick down the touchline. That is the beautiful

kick. New Zealand born full-back, Engelbrecht, his first time at the

Kingspan Stadium. Good solid tackle. That was good defending by Robbie

Diack. Engelbrecht gets quickly. This is enterprising staff. They

seem to be happy enough with it. Ulster will try to hustle a bit with

the touch and we will get the first set piece which has been taken

quickly. That is into a fair bit of space now. Jared Payne is leading

it, that is an awkward ball. Great support play from Kieran Treadwell

who was up very quickly from the second row forward. Zebre have

secured it. Bernabo, 100 Italian caps. That is going to give Ulster

the line-out. I think a sign of what Bulls teams are trying to do, moving

the ball around, lovely conditions. I think Ulster shouldn't try and run

everything. A good attacking line-out to put the first set play

in place. Not quite maximum points from the last four games. Well taken

in by Treadwell. That is not a very good clearance kick by Lloyd Greeff,

and other South African. Good following up by Jacob Stockdale. He

very nearly still that one. -- stone. Makes the first tackle. Good

wrestling by Ulster's captain, good upper body strength by Herring.

Trying to recycle this quickly, they have done just that. Good driving

nearby Ulster yet again. That was high. Can also take advantage?

Herring, a very quick back for read. They are going to come back for the

penalty. It was clumsy. His footwork just pick the open side under a lot

of pressure. He left an arm hanging. He has got a yellow card. He is

going to have a look at that. He may change his mind about the sanction,

he hasn't imposed a sanction yet added and the penalty. A pretty

straightforward yellow card, the way things have gone with head injuries

and player welfare, he pretty much straight yellow card. Ulster are

pretty threatening. It gets worse every time you see it. The slower it

goes, the worse it gets. They may get this sorted out between the

referee and the TML. It starts in a high position from the get go. He is

saying the right arm coming and started in a very high position. He

is going to have another look at it. Minimum yellow, the way the docking

is potentially stronger than that. He is a high, it's clumsy, happy

with a yellow card under the says he is not actually trying to swing, it

is high from the start. Are you happy with that? ICB same thing. It

is going to be a yellow. Unfortunately for Zebre, he is going

to go to the bin. Bernabo is not entirely happy with that decision,

needless to say. Ulster have to go through the corner. It's a

no-brainer. They will go green for the try each time. When they played

a couple of weeks ago, the one quite come to break even though the

performance wasn't there and even if he tries don't come, the note by the

80 minutes they should have got them.

Great position for Ulster. Dude take by Kieran Treadwell at the front.

Ulster just moving towards the touchline. Stockdale has been an

fine form, just one behind Tommy Seymour. You can see how pressures

that it is because he very nearly lost his footing. Good strong long

run. Just to the left of the post. Ulster is doing everything but

score. Treadwell thundered towards the line. Managed to squeeze it

back. Clever stuff by Chris Henry, too clever? They have come back from

the penalty. Ulster made a mess of that but they knew the penalty was

coming. A little bit scrappy, the struggle to get the set piece, great

food work by Jacob Stockdale. A couple of good carries by Treadwell.

It is good to see Treadwell and O'Connor back in the second row,

that the partnership that did so well a few weeks ago. Good to see

Ulster here showing plenty of attacking and intent. Had a fair old

number of options there. Six minutes gone. Zebre down to 74 words. --

seven four words. Herring stands his ground and waits for some support.

Decent bit of defending thereby Zebre. Here comes Wiehahn Herbst

looking for his second try. Fabulous stuff. Luke Marshall straight

through. First of the evening. It was nicely done. A lovely bit of

play by Ulster. Plenary hit the outside line, Wiehahn Herbst, that

gets to the outside edge of the defence. Very risky. It needed a lot

of force on it. That is one of the skills that some people don't

necessarily appreciate. The passing that Stuart Olding brings. We talked

about her discover he is with his feet. -- how skilful he is. Luke

Marshall with 99 Ulster caps to his name incidentally. P now with 135 52

headers. Dearly mention again what a loss it's got to be. -- Pienaar.

What a lovely fine crisp night it is and if I'm crisp contact and a very

good conversion by Pienaar. Ulster 7-0 up. The perfect start. We've

talked about slow starts in conceding points but that should

give Ulster the confidence to keep playing and rack up the bonus point

pretty quickly. Bordoli starts. Alan O'Connor has got plenty of support

from the men in white. Chris Henry is standing back in a bit. Outside

him, Treadwell, but it is Pienaar again. Play on, says the referee.

Berryman take -- took a little tab. Not much room there for the

attacking Zebre midfield. Engelbrecht got away again to the

left-hand side. That is good ground made by Zebre. Engelbrecht again,

Bordoli. Engelbrecht waiting for a runner, it gets it in there for

Bernabo. A little overlap there. Good covering thereby Craig Gilroy.

Some great rocking by Craig -- Stockdale. Coetzee has given away

the penalty. Bit of a controversial chap, Berryman, he bit of a doping

scandal in a few seasons ago. This is Federico ripped that, emerging in

the Italy under 20s. He will come back for the penalty giving against

Coetzee. Will lead over the coroner? Definitely the corner. They might

come over and think they early points. He seemed to struggle to

roll away there. He has had a couple of knee problems. He has had both

knees operated on any fairly major way. I think they will just try to

chip away and stay within touch. While they are in touch with an

Ulster's score line it gives them nerves and it gives them hope for

the Italian teams, the national or club side, while the in scoring

touch the our competitive but when they are to three scores behind that

the needle out the gate. The key is per Ulster to be chipping away at

the scoreboard and get them to lose interest. That looks a little bit on

the worrying side this man. I remember he couldn't play at all

with the last month are still because of that, a major knee

operation. This is just his fourth game for Ulster and here it is

Bordoli, looking for his first point for his new club. He has made a bit

of a hash of that. I would be a little bit worried now about Marcel

Cooksey, I don't see anybody warming up at this stage. What do you think,

Ian? He went in there and he just jarred himself. I didn't see the

knee make any contact with the opposition, he may have twisted it

when it went in for the tackle. I think it was from a few rocks

earlier. -- ruck. Engelbrecht trying to move it nearer to his side. This

is a better stuff by Zebre. Engelbrecht in the quickly. Ulster's

defence absolutely sweated. A couple of weeks ago in Italy, Ulster

started off like a house on fire and then sat back. Andrea De Marchi gets

his first try of the season. Very unexpected. A couple of good carries

by the front row. A bit of disorganisation and a brilliant line

by the foreword by the second row. Ulster didn't organise quickly

enough. That is just a great front row play and they started that from

their own ten metre line and just held on to the ball. You have to

give them credit. Ulster's defence around the fringes was very pure and

Alan O'Connor could not be tackling. He is not going to miss from there.

Bordoli, the 21-year-old from Argentina, has got the point and

there is a scoreline you'd expect to see, Ulster seven, Zebre seven. It

can also be the reverse, you sweat job and think it's going to be an

easy job done. They need to switch on again and 80 minutes is what

matters, as long as they've got the tries by them. Those seven points

for a Zebre came when they were going to 14 men. That has gone

loose. Robbie Diack goes through. Well set up by Zebre. Gets it away

but only as far as Piutau. What's going to happen here? Coetzee is

outside. Lovely pass by Payne, beautiful hands by Payne. Luke

Marshall in for a second try, what a combination of truly world-class

players. Luke Marshall... That is the lesson for Zebre to make sure

they don't stay loosely into the back three. Jared will be talking to

him the whole way. That is just class. World-class skills. Full

marks to Luke Marshall for being in that position. He is one of those

guys who worked so hard on the ball, you don't see a lot of the stuff he

does on TV. He will be talking to Jared Payne the whole way there, it

is one of the drills that Ulster do. The work on supporting each other

and that is very approved and got its dividends. 15 minutes gone and

Ruan Pienaar to attempt to convert after's second try. Remember, bonus

points are just about essential for this game tonight from an Ulster

perspective. CHEERING

Perfect. Beautiful. That could be the hardest space in the pitch to

kick, P now at through the middle it will hold his line nicely and he

struck -- struck the ball beautifully.

16 minutes gone, 14-7 to the home side. Coetzee, no sign of that me

bothering him. Clever little dummy stepped inside. This is Federico

ripped that, the six feet six foreword. Stewart Golding went in

and Didier flankers job. Penury gets it away. Gilroy is liking it. This

could work out very interesting way. Jacob Stockdale without Amat right

wing, I thought it was Craig Gilroy. See if they can manage to retrieve

the ball, they have lost about 40 odd metres. Coetzee is down again

and holding that knee. All of a sudden the is Piutau, there is no

Coetzee. Hugo 's Piutau. Pienaar is there. Nobody is going to lay a

glove on him, Ulster's third try within 17 minutes. What a fine piece

of counter attacking, but disappointingly I have to say

Marshall Coetzee is going off and limping rather badly. A great try

but what are the consequences going to be for the rest of the season?

Again, Zebre are going to have to learn you cannot kick loosely to

this backstreet and it is brilliant counterattacking, it's what the fans

want to see. It's his vision to know when to bounce back on the blindside

and spread the width of Stuart Olding. Building managed to put

Charles Piutau away. A great bit of support work. That is a very sad

sight indeed. I hope it's nothing too serious. Maybe just a little bit

-- bit of a tweaked or something. In the meantime, Pina adds his third

conversion, the third of his own try and Ulster lead by 21 point - seven.

A little bit of a switch around, it is a bit heavy reshuffle. It

shouldn't cause too much disruption hopefully. Not the site that Ulster

fans wanted to see. So much power and strength in that

light frame of his, Payne. Penury gets it away. Nice pass by Geac. --

Geac. The referee has got his hand out for the penalty. What a kick by

Pienaar, look at that. The referee has got to go back. I don't think

he's going to get the hat-trick. He was in front of the ball that was

kicked by Jared Payne. We could see Luke Marshall did seem to be in

front of Craig Gilroy, you want Craig Gilroy to be screaming at him

to leave it alone because you'll know he was in front of him and

there was no defender in sight. A missed opportunity. Whether he goes

back to the original penalty we will have to wait and see.

We are going to have a look at this. Everyone at Kingspan Stadium will

see it on the big screens. Was there an offside? This is through the ball

came back. Penury pit in the initial little chip. That was fine. The is

Marshall. He was ahead wasn't she? The Zebre fellows have looked at

that and said look, no try. REFEREE: He is marginally in front. Though

try, offside. Looks like offside. That is a missed opportunity for

Ulster, for sure. A lovely bit of vision and a nice kick. Ulster found

a bit of space just behind the defensive line. The short kick game

reaped a lot of rewards. They just have to try and get this fourth try

before half-time. Two tries by Luke Marshall, one by Ruan Pienaar who

has converted all three. This is the Italian international, Fabiani. A

strong drive by the former Leinster Academy player. Good hands. Gilroy.

Stockdale. Got it back inside before he hit the touchline. Ulster close

to the opposition. That was away nicely. Chris Henry did well to get

it back. Building not afraid to get his hands and his jersey dirty.

Ulster's captain makes a decent bit of ground.

Just as well for Zebre that Engelbrecht was there. If they pass

it inside the 22, they can kick the ball to touch.

It is inside the 22 so they can go for touch. Bart le Roux takes it

forward for Zebre. That will give Ulster the line-out.

Good bit of pressure by Ulster. Very good defence and nice attack. You

see that time Zebre put the ball ten yards back to take away the threat

but the defence of Ulster has been so solid. I expect to see another

few tries hopefully. Herring has to execute the throw.

Picked off. Still working hard at the breakdown,

not making life easy for the Italians.

What is he going to do? He's going to run is the answer. I thought he

was going to slip it inside to Payne but he makes it available to

Pienaar. That was a good dummy by Herbst. Good to see him back and fit

again. Here goes Piutau. Taken in by Ruan

Pienaar. The advantage is over. But of a forward pass. Good

enterprising play by Ulster. The good thing is that they are carrying

hard to the line and they've been off-loading and playing at the back

so it is giving the Zebre defence so many questions. What they are

managing to do is a lot of one-on-one tackles and with the

quality of carriers and ball players also have, the one-on-one, the likes

of Marshall, Piutau, they are making it a good way for Pienaar, who is

pulling the strings very well tonight. They are away to the

Newport Gwent Dragons and they are here to the Cardiff Blues. Then they

are away to Munster and the Ospreys, and then their last game is at home

here to current leaders Leinster. The last three games in four threes

sides in the top five. Piutau, try number four for Ulster

with just 25 minutes gone! The bonus point in the bag and a lot more to

come if Ulster do what they did last time out. Nicely done. Brilliant

play. A couple of good carriers. What a piece of switch play between

Jared Payne and Piutau. Lovely hands, and then the timing. What do

you think of Olding? He has been brilliant, he attacks the line, he

gets the team moving forward. I do know if he has kicked the ball

tonight. His handling and his ball carrying, he's got everything. I

think it is both Ulster and Ireland are interested in exploiting. I know

Joe Smith has been a fan of Stuart Olding for a long time. And this man

has a lot of fans here. For reasons including that one. Four conversions

for Ruan Pienaar and four tries for Ulster. And there is a lot more to

go. What a great little switch from Jared Payne. He must be on the radar

for the game next week against England. You'd think so. You can see

Jared Payne is good at shoring up the defence. What a welter of the

left foot! That was a very good rattle of the ball. Great kick. It

relieves the pressure and it's always nice to see a left footer out

there. Always looks so much more elegant! Just what Ulster needs to

be doing. Great work by Robbie Diack, who is

playing in his favourite position. Slight miscue, and Berryman catches

it. He is allowed to run. He's gone five metres and Ulster tackling

well. Where is it going? Into the hands of

Robbie Diack! Very nearly gets away. Ulster looking for another one.

Zebre told to leave Pienaar alone. Everyone around the Kingspan Stadium

is asking that! So much pressure being exerted,

Zebre starting to creak. Should be an Ulster line-out. Good

defence by Zebre with Ulster having plenty of possession. At no time did

Zebre seem to be under much pressure. The difficulty for all

stories to keep the momentum going. They've got the fourth try and

mentally you can relax but, at the same time, players don't get to play

in these games where you know you're going to win comfortably. If I was

Les Kiss, I'd be thinking to take Pienaar off, to save him for the

bigger games towards the end of the season. Diack, moved to number rate.

-- number eight. Straight through! Try number eight for the season,

Stockdale, and he is joint top of the try scoring list, Stockdale.

Scampered through for Ulster's fifth try within half an hour, and try

number eight this season. He can play anywhere! He is a special

talent, Jacob Stockdale. This try is a piece of art. Great ball off the

top and there's a lot of small things there. It seems bad defence

but Luke Marshall's line attracts the defender and Stockdale steps to

is right, and makes the defender who is ball watching, he's so strong,

and if you don't get a hit, he's gone. Just 21 years of age and that

was within the last month, so he is the baby of this site by a long,

long way. Maturing week on week. Pienaar does it again. Not the

greatest contact in the world but it doesn't matter. I think his legs

might be tired with the running and he didn't commit but it is a

beautiful set piece try. It seems simple but there are so many pieces

to it. It just shows how big runners are and it's much was the case of

whoever is getting the ball. Five tries for Ulster, all converted.

Pienaar glances to see where Piutau is.

Herring and the other skipper having a go at each other. A handful of

South Africans playing for Zebre. The same could be said for Ulster.

It was unfortunate, Herring, nice tackle. The referee saying he didn't

release. Rob is one of the best poachers of the ball so he will be

disappointed not to show this clearly is but good defence by

Ulster. They are playing pretty physical because that is a big Zebre

pack, but they need to know not to give them easy penalties. It is a

dry night. The man in the middle, Gianluca Guidi, must be wondering

what to do with this Zebre. That wasn't the worst pass in the

world. Piutau will be muttering under his breath as he gives Payne a

pat on the back. The pass was fine, I was the idiot. Those two have

linked up brilliantly. They haven't managed to be on the pitch too much

this season. It shows what could be happening this year. That's just

child is taking his eye off the ball, nothing wrong with the past.

Great ambition shown by Ulster, and a great smile on his face, they are

enjoying themselves to mind. They play best when they enjoyed. Five

minutes remaining, Ulster with five tries in the bank. A win of any kind

was going to take them up into fourth place, just ahead of the

Scarlets, who have the easier run-in. This will bring Ulster level

in terms of games played. This is Ulster's 17th game of the season. To

win this, as they probably went, they will have won 12, lost five,

but tougher ones to come, starting with Dragons and a couple of weeks.

It will be on BBC Two Northern Ireland.

It is very slow, giving also time to gather their defences. The man with

the ball wasn't held. That is good work, Koegelenberg is up to the

Ulster 22. Can Zebre get back in the game? Long way to go to level it up

from here. It is a little bit slow and

predictable. Fooled everybody into thinking he

was going to kick the ball, Jared Payne.

Pienaar has the option of kick, and touch and Ulster will try to run

this one. They have to combat for the penalty.

Great offence again by Ulster and nice turnover by Herring. They are

showing their intention at attacking and Pienaar is asking for the

penalty. I think he will try to drill this long and that's hopefully

see a nice set piece. Ulster need to maintain the intensity, no point

dropping off the pace. And Pienaar made it into touch. We had our

hearts in our mouths! That could not have been better. He strikes the

ball so cleanly and that is just the confidence you see, all the players

walking around with the swagger, they will enjoy themselves tonight.

Hopefully, they will try something different.

One of those evenings for Piutau. He does a magnificent things and then

he makes a fundamental error now and again. We're so used to him doing so

well, it is a bit of a surprise. Ulster are just creating chances

every time they've got the ball so it's just a case of being patient.

Still some time left, Ulster will have to put-in for the line-out.

Gilroy unable to gather that. Bordoli, breathing quite heavily

like some of the others. When they've been attacking, they've been

running into brick walls. Ulster are running some ragged so these guys

will be looking forward to half-time. Ulster need to keep this

intensity up. Probably last set piece of the first half.

Play on, says the referee. I thought Pienaar might have shunted it

forward. The referee will probably say that

is the first half over. It hasn't been a first half that Ulster can

look back on other than with pleasure. A couple of tries from

Marshall, one from Pienaar, one from Piutau and one by Stockdale. Pienaar

adds five conversions. Half-time, 35-7 to Ulster.

We've been enjoying what has been a very entertaining first half, over

16,000 people here. The Ulster boys came out strong, throwing the ball

around, making the Zebre pack work hard. And it's paying off. The

handling, their accuracy and tempo has been up there with the boys

putting a very good performance. There wasn't one scrum in the first

half, it was unbelievable and very entertaining. Hopefully a lot more

in the second half. It's been comfortable and Ulster have been

cruising. Six tries in all in the first 40 minutes, five of them for

Ulster, bonus point in the bank already and lots to look forward to

in the second half. Lots to look back on and reflect on as well. It's

been a pretty clinical Ulster performance, it has to be said.

Marshall could've had a fabulous hat-trick, as it was, great tries.

We said the weather will play into the back three's hands. Stuart

Olding is setting these boys are light and we have some talent on

show tonight. And Luke Marshall is the recipient of a lot of stuff

that's good. This is the start of the game, he is a hearty little man

and he keeps bouncing, and setting boys up left, right and centre. He

oozes class. Every time he touches the ball, something is going to

happen. He is calling all the shots, he is filling the boots of Paddy

Jackson very well and he is so exciting to watch. He looks

comfortable and awesome at Number Ten and if you watch on the second

half if he carries on like in the first, he is receiving the ball

within about two metres of the gain-line, he such a threat. He has

such skill that he can pull a pass back. His magic, he's awesome. He is

very difficult to defend. He isn't scared to take the ball on himself.

Obviously, that has been helping the backline. Let's look at those tries.

Two great tries, could have been brave. The build-up to all the tries

have been fantastic. They haven't come from set piece because we

haven't had too many of them. It is good to see all the forwards doing

the work. The guys have to be on the end of those passes. Luke has done

well because he hasn't had a good couple of weeks. The forwards are

doing great, their workrate, they are coming onto the ball at pace.

Zebre are playing at a Ulster's hands. Why are they not playing the

ball off the pitch? Pienaar, one of the greatest counter attackers. When

you do that, you're going to get points. I bet more patients, it

could have been a hat-trick. Very much so. He must've known he was in

front. There wasn't a Zebre man in place. He must've had a bonus for

something fresh hat-trick tonight. I'm sure Gilroy was telling him to

slow down. It's evident also have more class on show. Players like

Pienaar and Piutau have been pulling the strings tonight. They are

world-class players and they've stepped up. But Olding, so strong.

The cream rises to the top. These guys, how many times have we seen

Pienaar on the inside pass, running in, and to be set up by Piutau, and

when you look at Payne, they know the outcome of the situation before

it takes place and its class. It is the handling skills as well. The

ball is out front. It might look simple and easy on the eye but it is

the timing of the switch like here. And everything is just working for

Ulster tonight. A couple of loose place before the half-time whistle

but another tried to come after the second half. What do you make of

number 13? That is where he'd like to play. Absolute quality. It is his

turn of pace. Look at this, taking the ball to the line, a delayed

pass, then bang. If that was 70 yards out, nobody is catching him.

It is great to see the young talent coming through and when he sees an

opportunity, he is taking it, Stockdale. Let's talk about the one

downside in the first half, Marcell Coetzee going off. He might have

picked up a knee injury which would be pretty worrying for Ulster

because he was out with a long-term knee injury previously. And we've

been very excited about his inclusion, he was getting better and

better with more games. Tonight would have suited him beautifully so

hopefully that hasn't been a continuation of past problems just

something small that we can overcome shortly. He was getting some

momentum. Then we lost Trimble, and now Marcell Coetzee is out with a

knee injury, it isn't too concerning if he plays some rugby in the next

few weeks, but it is the only negative of tonight. Let's pause for

a moment and turn our attention to the Six Nations championship.

England crowned the champions this afternoon, of course, after a

comprehensive 61-21 victory over Scotland. France beat Italy 40-18.

We'd been hoping for the big finale in Dublin next weekend, Ireland

against England, but it wasn't to be, Ireland beaten by Wells last

night. Here is a look back at the drama in Cardiff.

We were sitting well in the table and we'd left ourselves with the

task of two wins. We came here to win. And we didn't do that. It is

disappointing. Ireland take the lead. CJ stander. Scott Williams

can't stop him! He won't be stopped. Moriarty. Rhys Webb! Scott Williams

is true! Long pass to Leigh Halfpenny! George North! George

North is back with a vengeance! We can't win the Championship, and it's

tough. Jonathan Davies! Jonny Sexton is going into the bin. Once you get

behind the Welsh team, they are tenacious and under pressure, it's

hard to build your way in. George North, second try!

Wales extend their lead. It's frustrating and it's tough to score

tries because they aren't great defensive teams. We didn't take our

opportunities which is disappointing. Rory Best edges

closer. Number 12 ran from a distance and made it start going

again, that is obstruction and penalty. He hoped to give us

momentum to get us across the line because we were in a good position.

You couldn't fault the physicality we brought, just lacking a bit of

clinical and smarts. Sexton. Jamie Roberts 49! Roberts! We have to dust

ourselves down. We wanted to win the Championship, it isn't going to

happen but we have to finish strong and hike up the table.

So, disappointment for Ireland's men but the women still have a great

chance of winning the Grand Slam. They beat Wales in Cardiff today to

set up a showdown with England on Saint Patrick's Day. Should be quite

an occasion. Where did it go wrong for Ireland last night?

International rugby, small margins between winning and losing. Last

night, Ireland were playing at 60% on this too could have won the game.

It's such a fine margins. The accuracy was off. And, on another

day, Ireland would have won, but it happened to me in 2011 at the World

Cup when we were favourites going into a quarterfinal and they took us

out of the game, they took the backrub out of the game last night

and we couldn't get going but we had a chance to win the match and we

didn't take it. When you don't take it, principality Stadium, they will

lose the game. England now have a chance to beat the All Blacks

winning streak, unbeaten in 18. Ireland can stop them in Dublin next

weekend, as they did against the All Blacks in Chicago. That add some

spice to the game. Do you fancy Ireland beating England? They will

come away with last I's performance hurt and upset about how it panned

out for them. A couple of issues and injuries, a couple of people getting

sent off. We wanted 100% but some credit has to go to Wales because

their defence was superb and cancelled a lot out. I think we can

go down there and everybody is looking forward to it. Which team

you support, and everybody says whoever is beating England! It is

going to be a cracking match. England will want to win that

because they are about creating records. You think they don't want

to beat the All Blacks record? Of course they do. They're getting

better and better and Reggie Jones. He's doing a great job and the

players are responding to how he's putting it together. I still fancy

Ireland to do it. We are at home, it's going to be tough, physical. If

they have their wits about them, we can do the job. Back to tonight.

What will Ulster be looking for? One of the negatives about Ulster's

season is the inconsistency. One week brilliant, the next mediocre

and when you put any first-half performance like that you have to

back it up and put in another performance like we did in the

first-half, more of the same. Keeping the foot on the gas, be with

us tonight. Frei you have got, it with a mindset that it is nil all.

We have got to be clinical. We are striving to be the top four, we've

got to go get it. On a more positive note, we are hearing that Coetzee's

injury is to the other knee, not the one he entered last time, I don't

know whether that makes it any better or not. Let's hope that

injury is not too serious for him. Let's hope for lots more tries in

the next have. COMMENTATOR: No changes in the second half for

Ulster. 35-7 on the scoreboard. Zebre having one change, Engelbrecht

has gone off to be replaced by the Italian international Palazzani. He

has, wearing number 21. Pienaar, five convergence to his credit gets

this second half under. Taken in by Bernabo. Big bump in the middle of

his back by Alan O'Connor there. What a good start by Ulster. Well

taken by Robbie Diack. Nicely done by Ulster. Rob Herring,

Ulster's captain, tackled by the blindside flanker. Pienaar, what a

pass. He makes a decent bit of ground. A little bit every tackle

around the neck there. Herbst looking pretty mobile this evening.

Herring needs a bit of help and get it from penury.

Pretty restless stuff from Ulster's tight forwards. Pienaar had no clue

for that ball was, Gilroy has knocked that backward. Play on, says

the referee. Stewart Olding assists. Looking for his hat-trick, Marshall.

That has come off a defender, it could still be there for Ulster. No

advantage to Ulster because it came back of a Zebre player. Henry tries

to secure it. It is going to be a Zebre scrum. Did we have one any

first-half? I don't think we did. It's the first one. That is

extraordinary, in this day and age when games are dominated by set

pieces, we haven't had a scrum. That could be due to the weather

conditions. A very exciting start to the second half, started by Alan

O'Connor's hit. Ulster would be disappointed not to score their with

a counterattack and looking to the Zebre under pressure here get a good

position for next life. Palazzani with the ball in hand.

Ulster not making much impression on them. A bit of nonsense going on

there. Clever work by Pienaar, forcing Zebre back to their own

line. If they can get them over the line, Ulster would get their own

scrum. Palazzani, hugely experienced. Here comes Gilroy. Look

how quickly Pienaar got there. Olding take it on himself, great

work. This is Robbie Diack looking for in other try for Ulster to start

of the second half style. Beautifully done. Gilroy, what a

pass by Payne. What a pass by Jared Payne. A beautiful team tries. Crude

Gilroy drifted on the past because Jared Payne managed to pit one out

there. He is in the 22 and stands a little bit deeper than usual. If I

was there as Zebre for road, I think it starts with the physicality

around Pienaar. It is just great to see Ulster playing with so much

weight every time there is a bad kick the hour trying to spread the

field and the Zebre for red really struggling to keep up. Nice way to

celebrate birthday number 26, crude Gilroy. -- Craig Gilroy. Paul

Marshall has come on. Pienaar is not going to leave the field just yet as

he has got another conversion to attempt. Can he make it six from

six? Perfect. That was a beautiful strike. Tonight, Pienaar has been at

his best. What he has done is spared the play up, controlled it

beautifully and his kicking on and off the pitch has been perfect. The

warmest of rounds of applause from the crowd. His replacement, Paul

Marshall. Coming on for his 192nd Ulster periods, fast approaching

200. This is his first... That is a clever kick, that is the beauty.

Charles Piutau, very sensibly and let the Italian defender Dion

Berryman bring the ball to ground, get his feet to ground. Away he

goes. Shoves the man out of the way. This could be interesting. Piutau

touches down, that has got to be try number eight for Ulster, or seven, I

can't remember, I've lost count. That is Paul Marshall in a nutshell.

Picks up the turnover and straight down the blindside. Starting to run

out of fingers very rapidly. That's what Paul Marshall does better than

most, shoves his opposition scrum carve out the way, Peter kept on

going and Greeff made an absolute mess of that and Piutau would score

an easier one. I'm sure he'll be all right with that, he'll be pleased.

It is the physicality also have brought into the second half there

will be the most pleasing thing. It is quite easy to switch off and for

the rest of the game, it has got to make sure that the defence is up and

get through their faces. Building from a difficult angle, not too far

away. He hasn't been doing any goal-kicking at a long time.

Properly simply played in his school's cup final for Belfast Royal

Academy are alongside his international body, Iain Henderson,

who has been missing because of international duty. Ulster have got

seven tries. Let's get it absolutely right. Taken in by Treadwell who is

tackled by Geldenhuys. Luke Marshall decided to kick to Serafin Bordoli,

to Dion Berryman who is quick. Ulster have lost that one. This is

Lloyd Greeff. Ulster have made a replacement, Chris Henry has gone

off. That would indicate Rob Herring goes into the back row.

Ulster changed the entire front row, if that's what they are up to. Zebre

very much on the back food. Luke Marshall putting in a very

useful tackle. Palazzani digs it out. Bellini, the first time he has

got the ball on his hands. There is an accidental offside and it is

going to be an Ulster scrum. Andy Warwick lining up to, an. Here is

the whole of front row coming on. He has completed match number 124

for Ulster. A view changes going on. A little bit slow. I am slightly

confused. John Andrews came on at open side for Chris Henry so it's a

case of making sure that Coetzee is injured and Chris Henry is vital and

taken off and wrapped in cotton wool over the next couple of weeks.

the difficulty is the are so narrow in attack. It is pretty easy for the

Ulster forward. That is a good solid looking Ulster scrum, controlled by

Geac. -- Diack. He is enjoying the freedom

of Kingspan Stadium at the moment. Marshall, good switch, back inside

to Gilroy. He has given that our way to a Zebre defender. Penalty against

Ulster. That is the second penalty they have conceded all evening.

Palazzani take that quickly. Good tackled by Stewart building.

Berryman gets clattered by Luke Marshall. Was that high? I don't

think it was anything illegal. He just got wrapped up by Luke Marshall

and you could hear his grimace, his knee got caught on the ground. He

just goes back over the top of Luke Marshall's leg. You can hear the

crowd gruelling. The boy. D'Amato Boni, only 24 years old, born in

Venice. There it is again. Marshall grabbed him around the waist,

flipped him round almost judo style. He landed very quickly. Getting dry

ice on there. -- very awkwardly. That is Luke Marshall, brilliant in

the contact, very unfortunate how that tackle ended up. I would like

to go back and be able to see the switch plate with Jacob Stockdale,

what we could hear from up here is him shouting to Jacob and not to

force the past. That's the experience that the likes of Jared

Payne and Charles Piutau bring. The players can learn off them. It is

just something... It can be as good for Irish rugby and the guys coming

through. Good see to that Tommaso Boni seems to be fine again. He is

going to play an. Joshua Furno has come on. When number 19. -- wing.

Nice bit of running the peers. Just 11 minutes played in the second half

and Ulster have added two more tries to the five these good in the

first-half. A couple by Luke Marshall, one by Pienaar, one by

Jacob Scott -- Stockdale, one by Charles Piutau. Second half, Craig

Gilroy and Piutau again. 11 minutes gone in the second half, 47-7 to

Ulster, the bonus point secured. They want to kick on and just get a

few more to give themselves that extra bit of confidence. You never

know how tries scored will affect things right at the end of the

season. Palazzani, hugely experienced. That is not a bad

tackle. That is a good bit of running there. Lloyd Greeff showing

his paces. Great defending by Stuart Olding. He has put in a masterful

performance this evening. Berryman goes into scrum half. Koegelenberg

spent ten minutes in the bin this time the first-half. D'Amato, taken

off at the ankles there. This is better staffed by Zebre. Ulster have

taken their foot off the gas it little bit, perhaps, can hardly

blame them. Berryman gathers it in. Slow ball for a Zebre, but they've

got the ball, which is what matters. Well met by big Alan O'Connor. It is

a bit congested there in the middle of the park.

Robbie Diack is told to get out of the way. This is better staffed. --

better stuff. Nothing is as breezy to the eye is a very large man in

full flight. Good stuff, Herring. Nicely done. Stockdale needs to get

that. A little chip. Paul Marshall. Wonderful stuff by Marshall. His

first Ulster try. Right underneath the post. He has got serious gas,

John Andrew, what a piece of appreciation. Just exactly where the

ball is going to pop up. He is a terrific player. A great all-round

footballer and he would be delighted with that, Ian. A brilliant try yet

again. A good turnover on the left touch. In I've carried to Kieran

Treadwell. Brilliant awareness by Craig Gilroy. To play it back in

field by Paul Marshall where he knew the support was needed. Paul

Marshall Newt did well to know that John Andrews was on his shoulder to

finish off. Stuart Olding, Jared Payne has left the field and on has

come Nelson. We look again at John Andrews's moment of glory. He was

unlucky enough to score at the end of last down the left touchline. He

just better be careful he doesn't go too well. Would be happy if he was

picked for scrum half. Zebre a couple of changes, both props have

been replaced. Peter Nelson is on for Jared Payne. Luke Marshall gave

that a bit of an old belt. Joshua Furno pits and a little bit of

support. That is a loose head prop. Postiglioni played last week.

Referee has got his hand out. Nudged forward by Zebre and Ulster will get

the scrum. Zebre have just throwing the towel in yet. Ulster's defence

has been well organised, you can hear the chat am talking with each

other. There is nobody shooting out of line, trying to go off on their

own accord, the eye very comfortable and their tries have come from

turnovers. It is good to see Jared Payne managed to get more game time

under his belt, positive for Ulster that he has returned tonight. Still

in the third quarter of this game. We have got 25 minutes to go. Ulster

scrum, solid scrum it is. Marshall in the wrapped round. What a great

strength, Stockdale. Great support play from Clive Ross. Alan O'Connor,

he has been rumbling around the park, he's enjoying himself. What a

clever kick from Piutau. Stuart Olding wasn't too far away and that

is going to be a 22 dropout. You can see Jacob Stockdale and Charles

Piutau all swept down the blindside and it was communication coming from

the outside. Good cover by the Zebre offence. Ulster are trying to do a

few different things and not just going through the motions. It is one

of the tricks Jacob Stockdale's has under his sleeve. The way he hits

it, it just seems to bounce up, didn't work at that time. Here comes

Zebre again, ever willing. Stockdale very nearly pinched that one.

Zebre about to make two more replacements. That is good hard work

by Mattia Bellini. Serafin Bordoli takes it up for Zebre. A little bit

of an overlap. That is not a great pass and that is going to give

Ulster a very decent attacking line-out. Zebre have been throwing

the ball around with a bit of invention but not causing Ulster too

many problems. It is a good work-out for Ulster. They can't switch off.

We have given plenty of opportunities for attack and

hopefully we will try a few different combinations. Ulster with

eight tries in a 54 points, the highest score of the season, if I am

not mistaken, to date. Not so good by Ulster. Picked up well by Zebre.

Another Zebre player down injured, it looks like the hooker, Fabiani.

He was limping here at the near side a few minutes ago, so others

something is happening here, I've couple of guys landed on him. The

referee must have heard or seen something. His left ankle twisted

underneath him as Clive Ross tackled him. He looks in an awful lot of

pain. That is really quite sad for the 26-year-old. It is the game

tonight that the coaches you don't want any more injuries. There are

number one priorities is to achieve the five points. Without anything

serious happening. He is, as we see in your part of the world, he is

limping a little bit there. Ulster's litres try scorer. -- latest. Maybe

the pace will pick up a wee bit. Good squeeze by Ulster in the scrum,

what a show that was. Here goes Marshall. He has got to get himself

in, Marshall. Typically Paul Marshall, opportunistic try.

Marshall was alert as a little accordion. That was great by Ulster,

put them under a lot of pressure. Paul Marshall found that an easy

finish. That is a pretty easy tackle. Two more replacements for

Zebre, numbers 16 and 20 are coming on. The former French under 20

international second row forward is a bit of the big unit. He is having

a Joel Conlan club with his fellow Welshman to see if there's any

reason why that try should been given. Clive Ross collided, I don't

think he made the tackle illegally. Did Clive Ross deliberately tackle a

man? You fell into him. He thought he had the ball. He was trying to

get past. I don't think you can do is allow that, but I'm not the

referee. It seems OK from here. Whether the check-in breaking of the

scrum early. They have gone up steers to the TMO. We will have to

wait and see. They have found the angle and are

looking for a way not to allow their stride. That was the great scrum, he

was onside, no question about it. You can see he's detached and the

player picks the ball up. He is going to be judged as having come of

the scrum early. That is very harsh. It seemed that Ulster were going for

it so quickly it was hard for Clive to stay engaged. A pretty harsh

player. -- penalty. Paul Marshall thought he was in for yet another

league try. His 18th in the league, it wasn't to be. Tough call, that

one. Of the outside of the boot by Serafin Bordoli. Argentinian born

and his first season playing professional rugby in Italy.

A couple of replacements Zebre have made.

That is a good drive by the men in the blue and gold. That is a bit

sloppy. Ulster holding up very quickly. Well retrieved by Zebre.

Nice handling. Good tackle their by Paul Marshall.

Surely, that was forward! Away goes number 14, Mattia Bellini. Nudged

forward by Zebre and Ulster will get the scrum. I thought the first pass

was forward. It looked like it, this is the replay, it was forward. Nice

break but Ulster are relieved they managed to knock it on. At the risk

of sounding at like a broken record, I'd like Charles Piutau off now, to

make sure he's OK. It would be nice to see David Busby get another run.

He scored a couple of weeks ago, when they won. There is David Busby,

who I think will come on. He is due to be involved with the Ulster

A-side, down in Limerick tomorrow or Court, against Munster in the

British and Irish cup, so he's heading straight down for that game

straight after this one. Yes, I think the two of them are heading

down so hopefully a good game from Ulster Wiehahn -- Ulster A. Good to

see Rodney Ah You back, over 100 appearances for Connacht. And three

caps for Ireland. There is Clive Ross, who helped Paul Marshall score

another try. Olding is a way! He needs some help.

He's got Marshall one side, moving it wide. Nelson Castello if he'd

have looked to his right, he'd have seen Marshall steaming up beside

him, and nobody would have stopped him. That would have been trying

number nine. That was lovely, the ball in hand, he's snapped back down

the blindside. Nelson had gone so far to catch up but Paul Marshall

had tracked nicely up inside himself and Pienaar, the best support

runners. They travel to where they think the ball will be rather than

travelling behind the other attackers. They will be disappointed

because come the end of the season these tries could matter. Well,

Rebecca-Anne Withey did the hard work. -- Olding did the hard work.

I think throughout the whole team tonight, it's easy for the backline

to get all the plaudits but it has been set off by the four, when you

play these Italian teams, it can be quite scrappy but I think the likes

of Alan O'Connor have played very well. There's a man we haven't seen

much of because we were too busy on the field of play but he must be

very happy with their performance. Matteo Pratichetti has come on,

wearing the but 22. Franco van der Merwe is the only Ulster player not

to have come on. First time this evening the crowd

getting into a decent voice! Ulster put the Zebre scrum under

pressure at the last time they were in this situation. Clive Ross jumped

the gun a little bit. TMO seems to be brought in every

time there's a try. The referee is reluctant to give it, it strikes the

game on but I suppose with what is at stake, the referee cannot afford

to get one wrong, otherwise he will be grilled and in trouble. He's the

same as the player, he gets reviewed as much as players do. Marshall,

capped three times for Ireland. Fast approaching 200 for his

beloveds Ulster, Paul Marshall. Enterprising staff! Berryman gets it

away to Bellini, who has moved around to the left wing. Bordoli.

This will be an Ulster line-out with 17 minutes to go. 54-7, eight tries,

I think we've got that right. It has gone a little bit quiet.

Credit to Zebre they've kept on playing. Nice start of play and

field position. They haven't given up tonight. And I don't think the

scoreline is a fair reflection of how they've played but it shows how

clinical Ulster have been with the few chances they've had. Just had a

look at one of those magic at things on your magic phone, 61 points

against Scotland. It was a drubbing for our Celtic cousins.

He just about judge the first one and misjudged the second one. You

can see what he was trying to do. The first kick was perfect. Paul

Marshall will know that the winner is out of possession, said there

should be space. There was some inaccuracy. What they did with

Pienaar, the kicks was so competitive, Zebre are giving easy

ball and Ulster retaining possession more frequently. Guillermo Roan, the

replacement prop. Good defending in the middle of the pitch by Ulster.

The Zebre skipper, 35 years of age, takes it on.

One more Zebre replacement to come on, who should be Malou Mornas. Nice

dummy by Berryman! Ulster have kept him shackled all evening. That is

the put-in, well inside their 22. On comes a man who is destined for

Cardiff next year. That was taken very quickly, as we were talking

about Franco van der Merwe. The referee said no. They will have to

come back and take the line-up. Ulster are very fortunate because

I'm not sure what happened. Again, lovely play by Zebre, putting Ulster

under pressure, not giving up. Ulster are struggling with the

changes to get their defence going. Credit to Zebre. I think Bordoli

pulls the strings nicely and I've Zebre continue to develop, they have

the potential to become a decent side. They are struggling at the

moment. Well, Malou Mornas has come on for Zebre. And Franco van der

Merwe is off to Cardiff at the end of the season, he comes on for his

72nd Ulster appearance. He has been pretty useful. Big shoes to fill,

but he came into the side, and he's been very good.

The Ulster forward still going. Herring has found the energy for

another charge. Could be interesting! Well gathered in.

Ulster could be conceding a try. Bit of a sloppy as. The try has been

given! It is that replacement, tight-head prop Guillermo Roan who

gets over Ford Zebre's second try, no more than they deserve because

they haven't stopped working. They are still battling away. As you

said, they haven't given up. It is a tired looking pass by Olding.

Playing tennis different to 12. He was trying to guide the past to Luke

Marshall, and he just died on him, just before it reached him. Credit

to Zebre for putting Ulster under pressure. They fully deserved that

second try. It has been a high paced game, and

Ulster have capitalised but they will be disappointed with the

concession of two tries, both the front row forwards.

Palazzani adds the conversion. Only 40 points between them so five quick

tries and Zebre are backing this! Perhaps. It is disappointing for

Ulster, honestly, but the key is to forget about things and concentrate

on the positives and build on this for Les Kiss. Was that an accidental

offside? Play on says the referee. How can you have a man run into his

own man, gain an advantage in not have an accidental offside?

Diack was positioned perfectly for a number eight forward.

Great stuff from the All Black, Piutau. Luke Marshall.

Magnificent by Olding! What a wonderful piece of footwork by

Ulster! All of a sudden, we have a man who can step into Paddy

Jackson's shoes. That was a beautiful try by Olding. He uses

Gilroy as a decoy. He's showing the ball to the defenders, creating

doubt in their minds and he's so strong and so quick that one-on-one

he will beat anybody and it is a brilliant try. He has done it with a

smile on his face, too. Well, two serious, major knee operations for

Stuart Olding, and left footed, he adds the points. Ulster are past the

60 point mark. 61 points, exactly the same as England versus Scotland

today. Great performance by Ulster today. Not many chances tonight, so

how it will be pleasing about how clinical they've been, and the

performance of Stuart Olding is very pleasing. Nice to see smiles on the

faces of Pienaar and Payne. The little fellow with the Centre

has been busy, Castello. Second try scorer for Zebre and very nearly

lost that one. Luke Marshall has defended

wonderfully well, having missed some tackles a few weeks ago. This could

be interesting if this bouncers! Play on, says the referee. Nelson

needs help, he has it from Gilroy. He delayed the past too much. It was

knocked backwards, the crowd disagree. A little bit more patients

needed. As it is, Zebre possession again.

Lloyd Greef, he got a bit of grief from somebody, and it was Andrew

Warwick! What a tackle! Deary me. Franco van der Merwe helped to knock

the ball back, great work by look Marshall. Here's another chance!

Paul Marshall is a way! He would get a second try, right underneath the

posts. He has been a crowd favourite for the best part of a decade, and

he allows him the luxury of wheat grain. Splendid individual try yet

again by Paul Marshall. Look at the tactic by Andrew Warwick. Causes the

turnover, and brilliant. 61 points, they've still got the hunger to get

off the line and make the tackles. You can hear the calls from Marshall

and Franco van der Merwe. Lovely finish by Paul Marshall. Great

technique. Ulster from another turnover, the majority of their

eight or nine tries have been from turnovers. It's great to see the

clinical nature of that. That is try Number Ten and Olding adds the

conversion. Ulster are up to 68 points, romping away with it. The

most they've ever scored was against Caerphilly in a game. Look at that,

left the front row for dead, and the chaser was never going to get him.

Very nice. Two tries for Paul Marshall. Good pressure again at the

breakdown, from Luke Marshall. He is very dangerous in and around the

breakdown. 67 was the previous highest score in

this competition so it is a record points hold for the men in white.

And maybe there is more to come, who knows.

And the ten tries has also beaten the previous record of nine. A

record-breaking night here at the Kingspan Stadium and the crowd are

looking for more, I suspect. Zebre still battling away.

Palazzani has to dig it out of himself. Nice little flat ball but

Ulster are good in defence. Ulster are determined not to have

the line crossed for the third time if they can manage it. Nibert, he is

a big unit. As a great chance if they can shift this, they have men

over. It is one-on-one now, now one onto. Nelson could not make the

tackle, and that's the third strive for the visitors. Lloyd Greef has

got over in the corner. The crowd give him a decent round of applause

and no more than they deserve. They've been outworked, outplayed

and outmanoeuvred all the way through but in terms of sheer heart,

they've kept going. Ulster's defence just a little bit lax. They will be

disappointed to concede the try but tonight both Lloyd Greef and Mattia

Bellini have worked well, looking for the ball, and both big athletes,

and they've caused some trouble, as we keep going back to the same

point, credit to Zebre for not picking up -- giving up. He has got

a bit more animated, the man in the middle, Gianluca Guidi.

So, it is the replacement scrum-half, Palazzani, who takes

Zebre beyond the 20 points mark. 19 points, not a bad night's

entertainment, if you've come along to the Kingspan Stadium. Palazzani,

is it in? That is a stonking really good kick by Guglielmo Palazzani,

who was limping a little bit. 21 points to see Brad -- Zebre. Not

bad. It has been a good and entertaining evening. We said before

the game the conditions were nice and credit to the ground staff after

last week getting the pitch and in a playable condition.

Ulster have a record number of tries for any league fixture. Where is the

ball? It is in there! It is a Zebre ball.

Nice gather... Almost. The referee has to wait-and-see there is any

advantage. So, Ulster get a scrummage. Maybe one of the last

said pieces of the game. Great attempt by Lloyd Greef, spotting the

space, the bounce is unfortunate. 11, you never know key might have

fancied his chances. Ulster's defence might come up with some

fancy play, and finished the night off nicely for the crowd who have

come out tonight. One slight shadow is the in during the first half to

Marcell Coetzee, and we are hoping it isn't going to be too serious.

Certainly, he has had major surgery, it's

delayed his start for the club Ulster last summer.

Which Marshall will get the hat-trick tonight?

Treadwell, turning into a fairly balls for runner in Ulster colours.

Ulster give away the penalty. You can hear the referee is saying the

counter ruck was fine. They are working hard at the breakdowns, you

have to say. Think this will go into touch. Good defence by Zebre and

nice counter ruck, spotted a few backs and went hard to force a

turnover, and now they will fancy their chances. They hope to get the

bonus point try. Malou Mornas taking over kicking duties. He had a little

spell with the pro-Russian club -- with the Parisian club, Paris Metro.

They are looking for a fourth try which would give them a much bonus

point. They are always in the dogfight with their fellow Italians,

Treviso, whom Ulster defeated last week in dreadful conditions. Good

defence by Ulster. We've now played 80 minutes, Ulster will have to

settle for ten tries, probably. You have to settle for ten tries! Ulster

might have turned it over! And the penalty has been given away. 18

minutes are up so the penalty will be taken and has been taken.

That is the end of the game. And Ulster, they came here knowing that

a bonus point win would be what they really needed and they got the bonus

point twice over, five tries in the first, five tries in the second, and

a terrific performance all the way through, just about everything that

man dead, Stuart Olding, we appreciate 's performance. He

stepped up tonight. Finished it off with an eye strivers own. Lots of

positives for them, ten tries and some good performances. They need to

recharge their batteries and get ready for a couple of bigwigs coming

up. Newport away from home, never a good place to go. Then it is Cardiff

back here at the Kingspan Stadium, and the last three, they are very

mouthwatering but difficult for Ulster, awake at the Ospreys. Not a

bad night here. Record points for Ulster here, record number of tries,

ten in total, 68 points, and they've defeated Zebre 68-21.

Thank you. Ulster made it look very, very straightforward tonight. Very

straightforward indeed and very professional. Everybody that pitched

up here at the Kingspan Stadium expected 40-50 points and they put

on a very good show for the 16,000 that turned out here. They could

have had a few more tries, to be honest, but a few changes in

personnel, I thought Paul Marshall did well, raised the tempo of the

match, but all in all, I think Les Kiss, his attack was fantastic, Neil

Doak, and all in all it very good performance. It was comfortable,

Andy, clinical, but overall what will Ulster learn from that

performance tonight, because it was so simple. Rugby is a simple game,

we can overcomplicated but we showed that we do the easy things well. We

hardly had a scrum tonight. Very few scrums, which allows the tight

forwards, it takes a lot of energy for them to do that. I think they

did exceptionally well in everything they did. They got turnovers,

counter ruck King, just the simple things done very well and the

execution was where we wanted it to be and expected to be. And as we

take a look at the league table, Ulster move above Scarlets into the

top four. Now it is very much in their own hands. They know what they

have to do to get into the play-offs. It is and we know going

to Newport is a tough game. For the coaching staff and the players, they

know it is difficult to go there is a they need to be switched on. They

need to recharge their batteries over the next couple of weeks and

make sure they go over to Wales with them right mindset and they know

when they get ahead, they can close the game out because they need to

keep this momentum going. We asked a question about what it does for

Ulster, it keeps their confidence going. Two or three tries apiece, it

enhances their confidence and keeps the momentum and ball rolling. They

now have a viable option of Stuart Olding, man of the match tonight.

Very much so. It will suit him. What it allowed him to do tonight, we saw

what sort of a classy player he is, he is talented and he can go and

play in any position. He looks so comfortable, he is such a fantastic

footballer in general. He slotted into the Number Ten tonight. He

directed the traffic exceptionally well, he passed the ball well. One

other thing, look at the Zebre game away, I was commenting on it on the

radio, we kicked a lot of the possession away from home, and

Rebecca-Anne Withey kept feeding the Passos, and when you have Pienaar

and Piutau, it makes your job easier. Stockdale did very well

tonight. And this man, Luke Marshall, who scored early on. They

are a joy to watch. Stuart Olding, man of the match and we can hear

from him now. Getting high praise from the studio.

Dream night for you tonight. Yes, I scored some nice tries. But we also

let them in for some soft tries, I missed tackle and through a bad

pass. So, all in all, delighted to scored ten tries on any night,

tonight was a good night for rugby. We will rue the mistakes we made and

to let them back into the game. Against other sides, you can't let

them in like that so we need to fix this. What was the key tonight?

We got through our plays and held on the balls. The guys held their feet.

Other times we looked sluggish. There are mistakes to be made and we

will look at them after the break. Don't go away. Happy man, good

experiment? He is a talented man and did very well tonight. Something

seemed to work out, didn't it? We made away for rotation. I thought

Stewart led well tonight. How does that set you up for what is a pretty

special end to the season? To get 24 out of 25 points is a pretty good

effort. We challenged ourselves at the beginning of this phase and the

boys have worked hard, worked hard on the basics and also worked hard

to make sure we can open up the game and play this type of rugby. Really

happy. A lot of big positives tonight. Marcel Coetzee is still in

the medical room. What's his state? He had a dig in the knee. We don't

know for sure yet. We will have a scan and Sever we go from there but

hopefully he will be all right. We will fever we are on Monday. Thanks

your time. How positive are you feeling about the tail end of the

season and be run and after what happened tonight? Delighted. 24

points possible 25 in the last few games. It's an achievement and we

are targeting 25 but one point off isn't too bad. Hopefully it won't

come back to haunt us in the season. We will ask Colin Bell to present

the man of the rat award on behalf of of Dennis. Congratulations,

Stewart. To hear Olding take the brave but also be critical of the

things Ulster didn't do right. He wants to make sure everything is

done 100% to perfection. He did miss a tackle. But at the end of the day

you are playing against Zebre, you're going to get more

opportunities, maybe you are not 100% when it comes to defence and I

don't think evilness that tackle. Lets get more reaction and tear from

Rob Herring. As one of the forwards, you say you gave the back the right

to go on and score those tries. The backs just finished easy. We've been

working and building and building and we've come under pressure. We

should tonight what we can do when everything clicks. A lot of decent

result in a row, is their momentum coming into this running? We always

get momentum into the run-in, it's going to be a tough run-in. The top

format, we've achieved our goal is, almost maximum points. It was a good

enough block for us. Marcel Coetzee has been one of your... That's

lovely. Marcel Coetzee has been a big influence. He went off injured.

How much of the concern is that? He has been massive since he arrived.

Is top for going to happen? Bye we know the challenge ahead of us. We

believe in ourselves and we are going to keep getting better and

better. Put in performances like this. 16,000 people, a big crowd,

pretty special. We haven't delivered in some games this year at home and

for the guys to come out in such big numbers, it is a massive show of

confidence. We really do appreciate it. Well played. Ruan Pienaar with

his young son there, he qualified for Ireland heap in the future. Ten

tries tonight. Lots to look back on. In the second half, Craig Gilroy, it

was happy birthday to him, 26 years old today. He is pushing on a bit,

isn't he? They come out in the second half and the more or less

picked up whether laughed off on the first and it was all about

continuing with the pressure, the keep the ball very well. When

somebody shoot out there alone, Craig Gilroy picks him up on the

outside. It is an easy score for Craig. And Pee-wee Pienaar moved the

ball tonight, controlled the game, absolutely top-class. We have said

this very year is now watching him play. He is a bit of the Rose Royce

sitting in a number nine jersey and we're very fortunate to have him

here. The way he says the whole running. His pass is always out in

front, always inviting and a thrill to watch. Charles Piutau tonight,

two tries, every time he gets the ball, the Kingspan Stadium lights

up. The old big are do or don't argue friends but he used it a few

times a night, stepping on the Bulls to get a bit closer. He is just

exceptional and everything that he does. It doesn't matter, attack or

defence, he puts his body on the line and is a joy to watch.

Everybody here at Kingspan Stadium loves it when he gets his hand on

the ball. He is so enthusiastic. Straight on his feet, gets up. So

enthusiastic when he plays rugby. He is awesome. He is so enthusiastic,

he probably couldn't believe it, didn't believe that ball bounced up.

He is in the mix. He is a joy to watch. You don't know what he's

going to come with, so much magic, he can just pull out so many toys

from his locker. Of the foreign players that come to play here, he

is certainly enjoying his time in Northern Ireland. Then came more

tries in the second half. They made it ten tonight with a couple more

excellent prize. I remember one of those tries in 2006, I think it was.

Everybody played really well. Clive Ross did exceptional when he came on

in the back row. He is really athletic and fast off the mark. Paul

good media have got the lion himself. -- may be. Everybody should

be proud of the performance, the way the Duggan. Paul Marshall with the

record-breaking score. He has got more true than a Roman sandal here.

Absolutely flying. -- toe. It is good to see him and he had a smile

there. He is happy as well. All-star in the position they want to be,

possibly higher, but in the top format play-off positions at the

moment with five games remaining. Let's have a look at how all the

teams shape up, it will be between them and discarded, let's be honest,

for that fourth place. Ulster have a very tough run-in, playing three of

the top for Mac side. It is very doable. As Gavin said, it's in their

own hands. We have got an opportunity to get themselves into

the top format. It would be a home semifinal but they've got an

opportunity to do it. Let's call it the way it is, the last four or five

weeks, they have been playing against opposition. I am not sure

how much they can take out of the games, probably just the momentum we

can forward. Could the afford to lose one of those games? The will be

looking at those games and trying to win every single one of them, that

is the kind of attitude and mental fog as they will need to have. The

other going to have to go and win all of them. Can they do it? Of

course they can. I just hope the odd point or two that slept during the

year doesn't come back to bite them that it has an previous year. The

Scarlet looked at the ospreys in their final game and the ospreys

hoping for a home semifinal. It is all to play for. We would have to

sue much relied on it, it would be nice if some of the other teams

knocked each other over and made even more interesting, a little bit

more of a buffer. The ball is in their own court, turn up and go for

it. The thing they can take from the last couple of weeks is confidence

and wake up tomorrow morning, job done, and then back to the office

again on Monday. A lot of positives. It looks like Ulster will be in that

run in without Marcel Coetzee, the one downside of tonight, he hobbled

off injured, not a site that Ulster fans wanted to see. Deadly not. He

is the kind of character that if it was Justin Nichol, he would walk

off. Those videos would be carrying him the pitch. He is not putting too

much weight on that leg. It is very disappointing to see him go off,

especially returning from injury only a couple of months ago. I

thought he was excellent in the first 15 or 20 minutes on the pitch,

it is a real negative tonight and with the loss of Tommy Bowe

yesterday, with Ireland and the captain out with a hand injury, you

hope there is not too many more injuries that stack up towards the

end of the season. Tommy Bowe will go for a scan on his injured ankle

on Monday, it may be broken, sustained during that Ireland Wales

game. Andrew Trimble is out as well. If Ulster are going to make the top

four, people have to do it without three key players. Very much so.

Stevie has Reddy said, we need everybody. We need the big on the

big days. With those guys out, someone else can jump in and go for

it. I think we can hear from Ruan Pienaar very shortly, we are hoping

we can. We will reflect on some of the first-half scores, lots to enjoy

there as well, five tries in that first half. Everybody was just

lining out waiting for the ball to come to them, the run over the

chart, it is the ball was passed, pressure, Zebre kept the ball in

play. If I was coaching the Zebre team, I would get it off the pitch

as quickly as possible but when you've got this man on the ball,

Pienaar knows Luke Marshall is on his outside and that is a lovely

score. Cue have got to get the ball the pitch. The top players like

Pina, in any given contact situation, they know what is

happening before it happening. Zebre were just left unaware. It is just

world-class. He has got a tonne of gas, a tonne of strength. That was

all a job done. A try for Ruan Pienaar and we can hear from him

now. Would you like to introduce this man to the Ulster public? This

is my little boy, John. It's good the family, and supporters. It is

good to have the family supporting me. He is running around in the

background, we will keep a close eye on him. Another special ablation for

you and a pretty special night. We did some really good stuff that we

can be happy with. A lot of those things we've done, still stuff to

work on. We can take things from this when. We scored a lot of nice

tries. All in all, happy. Does it feel like there is a bit of momentum

know that something special is happening? Last week was a

disappointing not yet in the bonus point but a good when tonight,

looking forward to getting Iain Henderson back and those guys next

week. A lot of things are looking good for the next couple of months.

Still a lot of things to work on. I am sure we will improve and work

harder. Thank you. Some big name players coming back for Ulster over

the coming weeks, all to look forward to. It is going to be an

exciting run in, there is one young man who enjoyed tonight anyway. Lots

more live rugby for you coming up this week. A St Patrick's Day

special. Live at the Kingspan Stadium, kicks off at three o'clock.

Bruce games also on Facebook live for the very first time. Tonight,

Ulster have scored the most tries ever, recorded the highest points

total ever, it was a very record-breaking night. From ask, buy

buy.