Ulster all but ended the Scarlets' chances of making the Magners League play offs with a clinical performance at Ravenhill, however, Llanelli will be bitterly disappointed with the performance of Scottish referee Graham Knox after his controversial decision not to allow Morgan Stoddart's try in the second half ensured that the Welsh side would remain behind in the match.
First Half
The Scarlets started the game brightly and they took the lead after 7 minutes when Stephen Jones converted a penalty in very windy conditions at Ravenhill. (Ulster 0-3 Scarlets) Llanelli's good early play came without any rewards after Morgan Stoddart twice found holes in Ulster's defensive line to gain good yards, but on both occasions he was unable to make it to the try line. The blustering conditions made kicking difficult and this was highlighted as Ruan Pienaar failed with 2 penalty kicks inside the opening 25 minutes of the game. The first try of the game came after 26 minutes when Ulster's number 10 Ian Humphreys expertly threw a dummy pass to give himself space to break through the Scarlets' defensive line and he showed a great burst of pace to give Rhys Priestland no chance of preventing the try. (Ulster 5-3 Scarlets) Ruan Pienaar converted the try with his third kick of the night. (Ulster 7-3 Scarlets) The Scarlets had the chance to reduce the deficit shortly after the half hour mark when Simon Danielli conceded a penalty after he made no attempt to roll away from a tackle. Stephen Jones judged the wind direction to perfection to bring the Scarlets back to within a point of the Irish side. (Ulster 7-6 Scarlets) Ruan Pienaar's 36th minute penalty restored Ulster's 4 point lead (Ulster 10-6 Scarlets) and only 2 minutes later the Irish side found themselves 7 points ahead of the Scarlets when Pienaar scored his second penalty in as many minutes after Johnathan Edwards was penalised for illegally infringing a tackle. (Ulster 13-6 Scarlets)
Half Time- Ulster 13-6 Scarlets
Second Half
Llanelli couldn't have made a better start to the second half as they scored their first try of the game inside the first minute through Jonathan Davies after he found space himself in space to sprint past Ian Humphreys and touchdown in the corner. (Ulster 13-11 Scarlets) Rhys Priestland missed the conversion attempt. The Scarlets were rampant in the opening minutes of the second half and they should have taken the lead when Morgan Stoddart touched down after a strong spell of pressure from the Welsh side. Referee Graham Knox went to the video referee to clarify the situation and Ulster were awarded a 5 metre scrum after Stoddart was adjudged to have knocked the ball on. This decision was correct, however, the rulebook says that the video referee can only make a decision on events that take place inside the try zone and Stoddart's knock on occurred outside of the try area. The Scarlets' luck turned from bad to worse when Josh Turnbull was harshly sin binned after 50 minutes of play. Ulster put a great deal of pressure on their opponents in an attempt to make the most of their extra man advantage, but the Scarlets' defence held firm. Ulster finally had the breathing space they needed in the 64th minute when Simon Danielli broke through the Llanelli defence, only to be tackled by Jonathan Davies, but the Scarlets had no time to reassemble their defensive line and Ruan Pienaar passed the ball to Ian Humphreys who had the easy task of running over the try line to score his second try of the match. (Ulster 18-11 Scarlets) Ruan Pienaar added the extra 2 points. (Ulster 20-11 Scarlets) Ravenhill was rocking and with the home fans roaring their team on, Ulster looked like they were able to run the clock down and secure the win but Scarlets' substitute Aaron Shingler gave the away side a lifeline after 77 minutes when he intercepted Pienaar's sloppy pass to score the try. (Ulster 20-16 Scarlets) Rhys Priestland held his nerve to convert the try, putting the Scarlets to within 2 points of Ulster. (Ulster 20-18 Scarlets) Ulster gave the Scarlets no opportunities after that and they saw out the final few minutes of the game.
Full Time- Ulster 20-18 Scarlets
A win for Ulster saw them climb to second place in the Magners League table but the defeat for the Scarlets all but ended their hopes of securing a play off place.
Man of the Match- Ian Humphreys (Ulster)
Ulster:
Tries: Ian Humphreys (2)
Conversions: Ruan Pienaar (2)
Penalties: Ruan Pienaar (2)
Scarlets:
Tries: Jonathan Davies (1), Aaron Shingler (1)
Conversions: Rhys Priestland (1)
Penalties: Stephen Jones (2)
