Ulster 27-22 Northampton Saints: Hosts battle to the end to claim second European win

Ulster were made to sweat by a dogged Northampton Saints but claimed a deserved Champions Cup win in Belfast.

George Furbank’s kicking kept Saints in the game before Alex Mitchell and Craig Gilroy traded second-half scores.

A 78th-minute Courtnell Skosan try threatened an unlikely Saints smash-and-grab, but Ulster held on to win.

It was not all good news for Ulster who lost captain Iain Henderson, in just his second club appearance of the season, to a second-half ankle injury while in-form centre Stuart McCloskey was forced off in the first half after appearing to pull his hamstring.

The province have nine points from their opening two European fixtures while Saints take a losing bonus-point home.

Ulster dominance not reflected on scoreboard

Having scored three first-half tries to Northampton’s none, Ulster would have been mightily disappointed to have taken only a seven-point lead into the break.

The hosts were in control of the contest but were made to pay for their ill-discipline as Furbank’s four penalties kept Saints in the game.

Northampton offered next to nothing by way of tryline pressure in the opening half while Ulster were in a menacing mood from the start with Herring crashing over for the game’s first try in just the second minute.

The dangerous backline that swung last week’s game at Clermont in Ulster’s favour picked up where they left off and stretched out the lead on 16 minutes when Mitchell was judged to have deliberately knocked-on with Gilroy poised to collect John Cooney’s pass just a few metres short of the line, prompting the referee to award the penalty try.

The centre combination of McCloskey and James Hume were again at the heart of the hosts’ play until the former was forced from the field midway through the opening half.

Despite the injury blow Ulster continued to impress with McIlroy scoring a brilliant third try, collecting Hume’s chip before a left-foot step saw the wing round Skosan and race to the line.

For all their attacking potency in the opening 20 minutes the province could not blow Northampton away with Furbank kicking two penalties, the only scores of the game’s second quarter, to bring his side right back into the contest by the break.

Gritty Saints take hosts right to the wire

With three inter-provincial derbies to come over the festive period before two more European games, Ulster face an anxious wait before finding out the severity of Henderson’s injury.

The captain was unable to continue after falling backwards with his ankle planted in an awkward position as he made a turnover at the ruck.

Still Ulster appeared well in control and pushed their lead out to 15 points when Ahsee Tuala misjudged Billy Burn’s cross-field kick, allowing Gilroy to gather for the bonus-point try on 58 minutes.

But Saints did not lie down and found their first try of the contest when the lively Mitchell wriggled out of two attempted tackles to give his side a glimmer of hope.

Northampton arrived in Belfast off the back of a harrowing defeat by Racing 92 that was not in keeping with their bright start in the Premiership.

Despite finding themselves of the back foot from early in the game they remained stubborn and turned Ulster away from their line with several impressive second-half defensive efforts.

When Skosan crashed over following a midfield turnover the confident mood within the Kingspan Stadium momentarily vanished as the home fans saw their lead placed in jeopardy with just seconds to go, but Saints did not have time to craft a final drive forward as the province held on for a second consecutive European win.

Ulster: Lowry; Gilroy, Hume, McCloskey, McIlroy; Burns, Cooney; Warwick, Herring, M Moore, O’Connor, Henderson (capt), Marcus Rea, Timoney, Vermeulen.

Replacements: Andrew, McGrath, O’Toole, Treadwell, Carter, Jones, Doak, S Moore.

Northampton Saints: Tuala; Sleightholme, Proctor, Dingwall, Skosan; Furbank, Mitchell; Waller, Haywood, Painter, Ribbans, Ratuniyawara, Lawes, Ludlam (capt), Wood.

Replacements: Fish, Iyogun, Carey, Coles, Augustus, James, J Grayson, Hutchinson.