Craig Gilroy steals the show for Ulster against Cardiff. Picture by rugbypicture.co.uk
Jared Payne had an impressive début for Ulster in this match against Cardiff but it was local lads Darren Cave and Craig Gilroy that stole the show. Cave looked back to his formidable best with two well taken tries and young Gilroy ran some exciting lines bringing a touch of class to a dour game at a damp Ravenhill.
We had predicted a Payne inspired bonus win for Ulster and it looked as though it may be on the cards with an impressive first half from Ulster. Payne introduced himself to his adoring fans with a superb take in traffic with his first touch of the ball and overall he had a composed game with a glimse of the class to come once he becomes more familiar with his teammates.
The forwards looked up for the challenge with Andi the Greek continuing with his impressive start to the season after finally getting a run of games. Lineouts were slick, how often have you heard that about Ulster, and he marshalled an inexperienced front row very well, frankly embarrassing a useful Cardiff pack. His work round the pitch was of the usual high standard and it’s going to be an interesting tussle when Rory returns.
Big Dan had a, now trademark, rampaging performance in the second row and Stevenson put in a good shift but the plaudits up front go to the backrow of Pedrie, Chris and Robbie who dominated their opponents for large periods of the game, interchanging their roles at times, and looking a nicely balanced combination, though they did slow down a bit in the second half.
It was the backs whoever that caught the eye with some slick moves. Gilroy’s shimmy and burst for the line was so reminiscent of Campese, that I compared him to a few years ago, that I gasped at the change of direction and pace and Cave controlled the midfield like a general organising his troops. It was fitting that Darren was on hand to finish off Campese’s Gilroy’s burst towards the end of the first half and shortly after the classy centre was on hand to slide over for his second after a nice interchange between Spence and Whitten. Great play indeed.
Two tries up, and well in control, it was all set for Ulster to kick on and get the bonus but they failed to maintain the tempo in the second half. However Cave’s withdrawl was a big loss with little attacking threat coming from either side for the bulk of he second period. It’s a pity that Luke Marshall wasn’t on the bench to add a touch of unpredictability.
Unfortunately, after so much promise, the game meandered to a comfortable win for Ulster.
All in all a good team performance with plenty of evidence of more to come.
Perhaps the most disappointing aspect was the poor crowd of 6,500. A worrying downward trend for a team sitting top of the league.
Ulster (15-9): Jared Payne; Craig Gilroy, Darren Cave, Nevin Spence, Ian Whitten; Ian Humphreys, Paul Marshall; (1-8): Declan Fitzpatrick, Andi Kyriacou, Jerry Cronin, Lewis Stevenson, Dan Tuohy, Pedrie Wannenburg, Chris Henry, Robbie Diack; Replacements (16-23): Nigel Brady, Paddy McAllister, Adam Macklin, Neil McComb, Mike McComish, Ian Porter, Paddy Jackson, Adam D’Arcy.
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One Response to “PRO12: Ulster 20 Cardiff 3. Now with video.”
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John Ulster were never going to kick on ,in fact but for the late first half trys Cardiff might have come out rampant in the second half . A 17-0 lead was just what Ulster needed to tame them because the wind towards the memorial end had a larger influence on the game than many might think and thankfully the rain stopped in the second half.
Similiarly the Whitten/Spence combination mid field was less potent than the Spence Cave
Cardiff are a side who had two bonus try points in their two previous games and for Ulster to have limited them to 3 penalty points indicates a well organised defence and a fine performance by the back row.
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