Tommy Bowe double seals Ulster derby win over Connacht
Last Updated: 11/04/15 6:02pm
Tommy Bowe bagged a brace as Ulster led from start to finish in a 27-20 bonus-point win over Connacht at the Sportsground.
Bowe touched down in both halves for his 60th and 61st Guinness PRO12 tries to claim the interprovincial derby spoils and ensure Ulster keep pace with their play-off rivals.
Aided by a strong first-half wind, the visitors led 17-0 at the interval with Louis Ludik's fifth-minute try followed by touchdowns from his back-three colleagues Bowe and Craig Gilroy.
Connacht responded with a classy converted try from Matt Healy and a Miah Nikora penalty. However, they leaked further scores to Bowe and Ulster captain Rory Best before earning a losing bonus point thanks to Jack Carty's conversion of Tiernan O'Halloran's 70th-minute effort.
After both sides argued the outcome of the pre-match coin toss with referee Nigel Owens, it was decided that Ulster would play with the wind in the opening half and they quickly took advantage.
Jared Payne sliced open the Connacht midfield with an incisive run and after Iain Henderson was hauled down near the posts, the ball was shifted right by Paddy Jackson for full-back Ludik to get over.
The conversion was missed by Ruan Pienaar, who also missed a long-range penalty as Connacht responded in positive fashion.
The returning Bundee Aki went close to scoring an opportunist try, diving on a ball near the Ulster line that Pienaar just had enough control of. Neil Doak's men had to absorb further pressure, with Rory Best having a key presence at the breakdown.
Warning
Ulster gave a warning of their attacking prowess before the interval with a slashing break by Darren Cave. Aly Muldowney won a relieving penalty for the hosts, but a quick turnover conceded saw Jackson release Bowe for a mismatch with Quinn Roux and the Ireland wing finished well in the right corner.
It got worse for Connacht just three minutes later when Ulster again utilised the space out wide, and Gilroy cut past both Roux and Poolman to run in his 10th try of the league campaign.
However, Pat Lam's side burst out of the blocks on the resumption with winger Healy central to their revival. He fended off Henry and showed brilliant acceleration to part the Ulster defence and dive over to the left of the posts.
Nikora converted and also pinged over a penalty to cut the gap to 10 points with just under half an hour remaining.
Tellingly, Connacht's momentum was broken up by Bowe's second score as he was put over near the right corner flag by a couple of crisp passes from Jackson and Cave.
Pienaar's missed conversion was followed by a penalty from Connacht replacement Carty, making it 22-13, before Ulster tightened their grip on the game with Best's try from a lineout maul.
Connacht were far from finished and their bench had the desired impact with John Cooney making a snappy break. After taking Ulster through a few phases, Finlay Bealham and Carty combined to send full-back O'Halloran over in the left corner.
Carty swung over a superb conversion to reduce the arrears to seven points, which sparked a frantic finish with Robbie Henshaw leading the charge. His deft offload almost put Poolman in on the right wing but Ulster scrambled well and saw out the result amid a heavy rain shower.
