Ulster were denied a famous victory in Cape Town as the Stormers came from behind to win 13-7 in the United Rugby Championship at DHL Stadium on Saturday.
Nick Timane's try gave the visitors a lead from seven minutes to the 74th minute, at which point No. 8 Evan Roos curled a maul to reward their complete second-half dominance.
The score lacked artistry, as the 2022 champions were in command after the interval but squandered chance after chance due to their own mistakes. Its importance was reinforced.
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The Stormers' defense looked heavy-legged in the seventh minute when Nathan Doak was exposed with a simple attack that allowed Timoney to slip in between two tacklers and drive in with ease.
Manny Livbok missed consecutive penalties and, mirroring his predicament, scrum-half John Cooney followed suit for Ulster, despite both attempts being in very easy-to-kick positions. .
Despite dominating every aspect of the first half, the visitors went into the interval with just a 7-0 lead and were under heavy pressure when play resumed, with their work at the breakdown keeping the Stormers at bay.
Number 8 Roos almost completed a sweep move but was inches short due to the attention of Ulster's effective scrambling defence.
The Stormers won a scrum penalty and Livbok eventually got off his mark, but then a creeping maul over the whitewash ended with a knock-on in dewy conditions.
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As the game entered the final quarter, Ulster were still in the lead, but were creaking under relentless pressure, with David McCann's departure to the sin bin adding to their problems.
The Stormers attacked the backline with speed, but further handling errors intervened and they were unable to score as McCann was off the pitch.
But the decisive goal finally came in the 75th minute, when Roos crossed the line from a lineout maul and Livbok added a tricky conversion to add an extra-time penalty.
Ospreys defeat Lions to put playoff berth on track
Elsewhere, the Ospreys kept their hopes of qualifying for the URC play-offs at the end of the season alive with an impressive 36-21 bonus point win over the Lions at Swansea.
The hard-fought victory moves them into seventh place and firmly back in the play-off places, but they have the difficult task of a trip to Leinster and a back-to-back match in South Africa.
Tom Botha, Sam Parry, Morgan Morris, Lewis Lloyd and Kieran Williams scored tries, while Owen Williams kicked three conversions and a penalty. Jack Walsh added the conversion.
The Lions were unable to repeat last week's impressive 38-14 success at Connacht, but PJ Botha, Quan Horn and Richard Kriel scored three tries, all of which were scored by Jordan Hendrickse. decided.
The Ospreys got off to a quick start with sustained pressure and were rewarded when Botha forced his way through from close range.
Williams failed to convert, but the hosts soon extended their advantage with a brilliant second try.
Reuben Morgan-Williams celebrated his 150th appearance for the region by bursting through a big gap in the visitors' defense from a ruck 30 meters out and sending Parry out to hooker.
Williams converted and the Ospreys held a 12-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Lions then showed real attacking intent for the first time, but a resilient defense led by home skipper Justin Tipuric kept the try line intact.
Still, the South African team had a considerable advantage in the second quarter, with Parry receiving a yellow card for repeated team violations, but Hendrickse missed the penalty.
your BKT @URCofficial Morgan Morris was the match's best player and scored his 1000th try for the Ospreys.
how. good. With # | #backinblack | #BKTURC | #OSPvLIO pic.twitter.com/rB57KmfgW1
— Ospreys (@ospreys) March 30, 2024
However, the relentless pressure had to be taken into account and that happened when Botha scored a driving line out, but the Ospreys quickly hit back with a Williams penalty, giving them a 15-7 lead at half-time. I did.
Seven minutes after the restart, the Lions suffered a blow when substitute prop Morgan Naude was sin-binned for a chip tackle on Tipuric, but the home side quickly took advantage of the chance as Morris fell.
Naude came back from the sin bin to score a bonus point try with a driving lineout from Lloyd.
The Lions mounted a determined rally and were rewarded with tries from Horne and Kriel, but the game remained meaningless as Williams sealed the win with a late try.
read more: Ireland's stars show their class as Leinster cruise to victory over the Bulls as the Dragons climb out of the bottom of the table
