Ulster won their third PRO12 match in a row with a 13 – 10 win against Glasgow Warriors, but they had enough possession and territory to win by a lot more.

Callum Black, making his 100th appearance for Ulster, scored his first try for the club on the 53rd minute. Paddy Jackson converted and he and Ruan Pienaar added a penalty apiece in each half.

The first half was a dire affair with mistakes aplenty. Both teams struggled in difficult conditions, though it did get off to a bang when Glasgow ran in a wonderful try, from Lee Jones, on the 9th minute.

However, Glasgow only made fleeting appearances in the opposition half for the remainder of the match and with Ulster dominating territory and possession it looked as though it was only a matter of time before they would rack up a series of scores.  Unfortunately, for the home side, Pienaar looked out of sorts and they struggled to turn the possession into points.

Pienaar shanked a penalty before hitting the target with his second attempt, on the 22nd minute, but his miserable night ended early when he departed five minutes later, having taken a knock. I’m sure I saw a flicker of a smile as he headed for the warmth of the changing room!

Replacement Paul Marshall had his own “moments of madness” when he came on, though credit should be given to the ferocious Glasgow defence who’s endeavour limited Ulster to that single penalty in the first forty. In fact the Belfast boys were so much on top that I had to do a double take when I realised that they were still trailing 3 – 5 at the break.

Craig Gilroy had been the shining star it the first half, which had been played at a fair pace but with little composure, and it was the talented winger who sparked the move that eventually led to Black barging over. Gilroy collected a pass out wide before cutting in through heavy traffic to end up in the Warriors 22. The ball was taken on by Alan O’Connor, Jackson and Stuart McCloskey before Black got his hands on it to crash over from a meter out. A classic front row “forty yarder” and one celebrated with some enthusiasm by the team. Jackson, on at half time for Sam Windsor, added the extras and Ulster led 10 – 5 after 53 minutes.

The introduction of Jackson brought a deal of composure to the Ulster game and their play was less frenetic and a touch more composed but, despite Gilroy and Stuart Olding continuing to threaten the Glasgow line, Ulster could only add a 63rd minute penalty to their total.

It looked as though the visitors resolute defence had finally cracked when Glasgow’s impressive back rower Ryan Wilson was sent to the bin on the 70th minute but rather than push on Ulster relaxed and the visitors got some reward for their valiant efforts when Taqele Naiyaravoro gathered a cross-field kick to score in the corner, securing a losing bonus.

Final score: Ulster 13 Glasgow Warriors 10.

Ulster: Stuart Olding, Craig Gilroy, Darren Cave, Stuart McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale, Sam Windsor, Ruan Pienaar, Callum Black, Rob Herring, Ricky Lutton, Alan O’Connor, Franco vd Merwe, Robbie Diack, Sean Reidy, Nick Williams. Replacements: John Andrew, Kyle McCall, Bronson Ross, Chris Henry, Roger Wilson, Paul Marshall, Paddy Jackson, Sam Arnold.

I’d predicted a comfortable win for Ulster and really they had more than enough territory and possession to win this one at a canter. I can’t put my finger on anything specific for their poor conversion rate other than they maybe forced things a bit to much in the white heat of a strong Glasgow defence.

As It Stands.

It’s tight all the way down to to Munster in 6th place but another three wins should see Ulster still top of the pile as they go into their two week break in March.

Match Gallery

Images courtesy of Ian Humes Photography