Five things we learned as Ulster's late try condemns Glasgow to defeat

It came at the end of a rollercoaster finale in which both sides thought they had snatched victory.  

David McCann’s try with eight minutes left, the first points of the second half, appeared to have won the game for the home side before Glasgow captain Kyle Steyn finished off a terrific team move to put the Warriors – who had Tom Jordan and Richie Gray sent to the sin-bin insdie the final quarter - back in front.  

But the drama was not over there, with replacement Dave Shanahan scoring deep into injury time to win the game for the hosts.  

It was a bitterly disappointing end for the Warriors, who hit the ground running with an early try from Johnny Matthews putting them in front inside five minutes.  

That score appeared to awaken the hosts, whose cause was aided by a couple of soft penalties from the Warriors, but there followed an outstanding defensive effort from Franco Smith’s side to keep Ulster out, with Matt Fagerson and Tom Jordan to the fore.  

The home side opened their account with a Nathan Doak penalty, and against the run of play were ahead two minutes later after fly-half Aidan Morgan charged down Tom Jordan’s kick before recycling himself to score a couple of phases later. Doak’s conversion meant Ulster took a 10-5 lead at the end of the opening quarter. 

But the champions hit back when Henco Venter powered over to level the scores, with Jordan’s conversion putting Glasgow back ahead.  

The Warriors turned down three points in favour of chasing a third try just before the break, but the attack came to nothing and they held just a two-point advantage at half-time.  

Rory Darge had a try chalked off early in the second half, the Scotland flanker’s effort ruled out for a forward pass in the build-up. 

Ulster took advantage of their numerical superiority to take the lead, McCann driving over after the home pack hammered the Glasgow line, but Steyn’s score appeared to have won the game until Shananan's late, late show.

Here are five things we learned  

Making life difficult 

Glasgow were the dominant force in the match for the opening 40 minutes and could have been further ahead at the interval. A forward pass early in the second half saw Rory Darge’s try chalked off, and from then on the home side began to take control, aided by yellow cards for Tom Jordan and Richie Gray.  

David McCann’s late try appeared to have snatched victory for the home side before Steyn’s heroics, only for them to be outdone by Player of the Match Shanahan.

Heroic defensive effort in vain 

When Glasgow went down to 13 men, Ulster continued to pulverise the visitors’ try-line, only for the Warriors to hold out. Sione Tuipulotu celebrated with the same gusto he had acclaimed the URC title win in Pretoria.  

It was the high point of a terrific defensive effort from the Warriors, with both Fagerson brothers and Henco Venter putting in some shuddering tackles.  

Outstanding individuals  

A There were some outstanding individual displays in Belfast, with Matt Fagerson and Henco Venter at the heart of most things the Warriors did well.  

Scotland international Fagerson was a nuisance at the breakdown and made some huge defensive interventions, while Venter was Glasgow’s outstanding ball carrier, picking up the mantle from the injured Jack Dempsey 

Jamie Bhatti made a couple of telling dents into the Ulster defence, while he put home debutant Corrie Barrett under pressure at the scrum.  

Glasgow’s lineout can be a real weapon again 

The Warriors’ maul was a potent weapon last season, with Johnny Matthews finishing the campaign as top try scorer with 14 scores.  

It took him just five minutes to cross in Belfast, but even by then the Warriors had shown great variation from their lineout – a straightforward maul drove into the heart of the hosts, Sione Tuipulotu barrelled into midfield off another starter play before Matthews got on the end of a well-worked shift drive.  

Impact from the bench telling 

Ulster’s replacements made a huge difference, particularly match-winner Shanahan and the experience of Ireland prop Tom O’Toole, who helped shore up a scrum that had creaked early on.  

The visitors were dominant until Darge’s disallowed try but wilted thereafter and their replacements were not able to offer the same impact to turn the momentum of the match around.  

Ulster: Ethan McIlroy, Mike Lowry, Stewart Moore (Kok 58), Jude Postlethwaite, Jacob Stockdale, Aidan Morgan, Nathan Doak (Shanahan 54); Eric O’Sullivan (Warwick 45), John Andrew (McCormick 67), Corrie Barrett (O’Toole 45), Iain Henderson [captain] (Sheridan 57), Kieran Treadwell (Izuchukwu 53), James McNabney, David McCann, Nick Timoney. 

Tries: Morgan (18), McCann (73), Shanahan (80) 

Conversion: Doak (19) 

Penalty: Doak (17) 

Glasgow Warriors: Josh McKay, Sebastian Cancelliere, Stafford McDowall (Hastings 57), Sione Tuipulotu, Kyle Steyn (captain), Tom Jordan, Jamie Dobie; Jamie Bhatti (McBeth 46), Johnny Matthews (Hiddleston 57), Sam Talakai (Fagerson 46), Max Williamson (Brown 46), Richie Gray, Matt Fagerson (Samuel 71), Rory Darge, Henco Venter (Ferrie 57) 

Tries: Matthews (5), Venter (25), Steyn (74) 

Conversions: Jordan (26), Hastings (76) 

Yellow cards: Jordan (58), Gray (65) 

Referee: Adam Jones (WRU) 

Player of the Match: Dave Shanahan