Ulster see off Ospreys to claim third win of the season
Ospreys scored a first-half try from Jac Morgan in addition to a conversion and penalty from Jack Walsh and ended the contest with a touchdown from Morgan Morris which Walsh converted.
Ulster claimed their first try shortly after kick-off when Marshall barrelled over after the visitors had made a hash of clearing and Cooney converted.
Six minutes later and a penalty was put to the corner, prompting the Ulster maul to rumble over the line to allow Andrew to touch down for try number two which Cooney again converted.
The Ospreys then struck back when Morgan got on the end of a lineout maul with Walsh converting.
Just before the end of the first quarter, an Ulster counterattack saw Duane Vermeulen and Craig Gilroy link before Nick Timoney surged over though the score was scrubbed out as Walsh and Morgan prevented the touchdown.
The home side recorded their third after 22 minutes when Carter burrowed over from close range after the Irish province had attacked off a lineout, while Cooney converted once more.
Five minutes later, Walsh kicked a vital long-range penalty after Ulster were penalised at a scrum.
Bonus point
Then, after 33 minutes, Ulster secured their bonus point through Marshall’s second, with the centre again running a good line and lining up a mismatch.
Cooney’s conversion took the home side’s lead to 28-10, which is how the first half ended.
One minute after the restart, McCloskey was put clear by Michael Lowry, though Cooney was wide with the extras.
The next score came after 64 minutes when Carter drove over from close range for his second and Ulster’s sixth which Cooney converted.
It was not over yet and – with six minutes remaining – replacement Rea dotted down, with Cooney again converting.
The game ended with Morris crashing over and Walsh converting but it was too late for Ospreys to mount a fightback.
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Poor performance from the Ospreys all-around. Mistakes galore from the start. I’m not tribal when it comes to football or rugby. I want all our football teams & rugby regions to do well which then reflects good on our national side. But with our regional form Wales will do well to finish second in the Autumn internationals against NZ, Australia & Argentina. And we’ll be lucky to come fifth in next year’s Six Nations. 😐