Dan Tuohy’s double secured Ulster a confident 39-21 win over Cardiff Blues to continue their recent impressive form on return to RaboDirect PRO12 action. Ulster had won the last two matches between these sides and came into the match on the back of consecutive Heineken Cup wins over Leicester Tigers and Montpellier. And no-one would argue they weren’t value for a bonus point victory with a scoreline that should have been even more convincing were it not for a disappointing night with the boot for fly-half Paddy Jackson. Jackson and Cardiff’s Leigh Halfpenny exchanged early penalties before some impressive build-up play allowed Tuohy to cross the line for the hosts in the 15th minute. Jackson missed the conversion but Ulster started to dominate, especially in the scrum, where they continued to impose their authority throughout the match. And forward pressure soon paid dividends and after a quick-thinking tap penalty by Ruan Pienaar, centre Jared Payne was alert to crash over in the corner. Once again Jackson missed the extras before adding his second penalty of the half. But Ulster will be disappointed to have conceded – after their forwards were seemingly building a solid platform for a confident home win – shortly before half-time. Against the run of play, Cardiff manufactured a scoring chance, Robin Copeland darting off the base of a ruck to score in the 34th minute, with Halfpenny missing the conversion before threading his second penalty two minutes later. Ulster were clearly smarting from having their lead trimmed to just five points as they started the second half strongly, the influential Stuart Olding’s powerful break and well-timed off load seized by Luke Marshall, who drove across the line in the 42nd minute. But Jackson again missed the simplest of his conversion chances although as Cardiff lost their discipline, Copeland sent to the sin bin, he stroked home another penalty to edge Ulster closer to their bonus point target. But despite their numerical disadvantage, Cardiff again seized their chance when Ulster relaxed, winger Richard Smith springing an opening in the corner and shrugging off Olding’s last-ditch tackle for a try converted by Halfpenny. Pienaar’s thumping long-range penalty helped settle nerves for the hosts but within seconds Halfpenny had reduced Ulster’s lead to less than a converted score. Cardiff now appeared the more composed side – and were certainly edging the error count – as the Ravenhill faithful started to feel edgy, a feeling not helped as an out of sorts Jackson missed another kick. But Ulster secured their bonus point with a well-worked try that stretched Blues’ defences to the limit. Olding’s inch-perfect lay off was gathered by Andrew Trimble, who squeezed over in the corner for his 35th try for the club, though yet again the score went unconverted. With victory now secure, Ulster turned on the style in pursuit of their fifth try and Cardiff paid the price for failing to clear their lines as first try scorer Tuohy added a neat symmetry to the scoresheet by crossing the line in the 80th minute. And Pienaar threaded perhaps the toughest conversion the night from the touchline with the final kick of the game. Follow us on Facebook, join the conversation on Twitter, sign up to ourYouTube channel for extensive match highlights and sign up for our newsletter for regular updates on the RaboDirect PRO12
