Blues Upset High-Flying Ulster

A game that had implications on both ends of the table took place at the Cardiff Arms Park. With Ulster vying for a play-off place, at the other end of the table the Blues were looking to finish the season on a high in their last game at the Arms Park.

As the game kicked off not even the most optimistic of Blues fans could have predicted the half that would follow. The try by Darren Cave after only three minutes looked worryingly like the Blues that capitulated against the Ospreys last week. Dan Fish let the Ulster player slip past him to open the scoring.

From that moment on however, the Blues were allowed back into the game. As Ulster gave away penalty after penalty, Gareth Davies continued to slot the points over. After the early five nil lead Ulster had, they found themselves 12-3 down after 33 minutes.

When Dan Tuohy was sin binned on the half hour mark for an accumulation of offences gaps began to appear for the Welsh region. On 36 minutes the breakthrough came, Cuthbert received a pass on the left wing and beat his man on the outside. He then had the awareness to come inside and deliver a superb pass out of the back of the hand to Robin Copeland who was ready for the switch and finished.

Gareth Davies continued his excellent kicking with the conversion and one more penalty to make it 22-5 at half time.

The halftime break seemed to come at the wrong time for the Blues as they lacked the momentum in the second half that they had built up in the first. Paddy Jackson began to chip back into the Cardiff lead from 43 minutes and kept the scoreboard moving the right way for the rest of the half.

Ulster’s momentum grew as the half went on but the try they deserved never came. They missed several opportunities to cross the whitewash and were their own worst enemies at times. On 52 minutes Trimble chipped on and gathered it, if his pass inside to Jared Payne had gone to hand it was a definite try for Ulster. As it was the pass went behind the fullback and the chance was wasted.

Only four minutes later Luke Marshall spotted a gap and crashed over after being tackled but the try was ruled out by the TMO. Ulster did have a penalty advantage from the disallowed try and Paddy Jackson furthered his personal tally to make it 22-14.

The biggest cheer of the night came on 58 minutes and it was not for a rugby reason, it was something far more important. Matthew Rees came on and was given a standing ovation by the entire crowd, including the Ulster coaching staff near the press box. His recovery from testicular cancer is a great story and everyone is glad to see him back on the pitch.

The Blues did not get an opportunity to put points on the board until 64 minutes in. A great run by man of the match Josh Navidi led to another penalty 30 metres out in front of the posts. The metronomic Gareth Davies slotted the points to make it 25-14. Paddy Jackson struck back with two penalties in quick succession to make in 25-20 with nine minutes left on the clock.

The 7,084 that turned out at the Arms Park were treated to a tense finish as another penalty made it a two point game with only five minutes left. All the momentum was with Ulster and it looked as if they would break the Blues hearts as they continued to come forwards.

Cory Allen’s tackle in the 77^th minute to dislodge the ball and create a turnover for the Blues gave the crown renewed faith. The faith was repaid as the turnover led to a penalty for Gareth Davies only three minutes from the end. Davies took the full minute over his kick before slotting it to give him and impressive eight from eight for the night.

At 28-23 Ulster needed a converted try and found themselves in the Blues 22 when the clock went red. They continued to launch barrage after barrage of attack for three minutes after the allotted 80. However, they could not keep their discipline and a penalty to the Blues was awarded to rapturous cheers as the game was ended.

A great win for Blues as they look to gain something from a poor season. They looked a different team to the one that slumped to defeat against the Ospreys last week and both players and coaches deserve a lot of credit. On the other side this loss is a blow for Ulster as it makes finishing at the top of the Pro12 very unlikely, but they are still in a driving seat for the playoffs.