Ulster Rugby vs Bath

HEINEKENCHAMPIONSCUP SEASONSOFAR

and John Cooney's nerves of steel were once again called upon in the dying minutes to seal the win courtesy of a high-pressure penalty. Ulster returned to the top of the Pool 3 table on 12 points, one ahead of Clermont Auvergne at the half-way stage, with the losing bonus point taking Quins up to five, and Bath bringing up the rear on two points. In the Round 4 return fixture, John Cooney extended his remarkable European scoring record as Ulster marched on to their fourth consecutive Heineken Champions Cup victory – and picked up what could prove to be a crucial bonus point – the final score 10-34. Two tries and nine points from the boot for the Man of the Match brought his try tally after four rounds to four – joint-top in the tournament with Racing 92’s Teddy Thomas – and his total points haul to 54 – streets ahead of the chasing pack. More importantly still, additional tries from Luke Marshall, Matt Faddes and Tom O’Toole eased Ulster past the bonus-point threshold, strengthening their lead in Pool 3 after the fourth round. Following a busy Inter-provincial festive schedule, Ulster returned to Heineken Champions Cup rugby in the form of the very difficult task of ASM Clermont Auvergne at the cauldron that is the Stade Marcel- Michelin on Saturday 11th January. One point ahead at the interval, and a fine first-half performance thanks to a try, conversion and penalty from John Cooney, Dan McFarland’s side could not contain a much-improved Clermont in the second half, with tries from Alivereti Raka and George Moala giving the French giants a 29-13 win. Clermont now top the group on 20 points with Ulster on 17, but there is still everything to play for in the final round of the Heineken Champions Cup group stage, as a win against Bath in Belfast could still see the Ulstermen finish at the summit of Pool 3, should Clermont slip up against Harlequins at the Twickenham Stoop.

As Ulster go into their final Pool 3 Game of the Heineken Champions Cup against Bath on Saturday, we’ve taken a look back through their previous five games of the European competition. In the opening round of the Heineken Champions Cup on 16th November, a John Cooney masterclass – and a match-saving interception from Jacob Stockdale right at the death – saw Ulster make a sensational start to their 2019/20 Heineken Champions Cup campaign, edging out Bath in a veritable tug-of-war at the Recreation Ground, winning 16-17. An opportunistic try first-half try and seven points from the boot by Cooney, coupled with a Robert Lyttle score in the second period, saw Dan McFarland’s men over the line, but with a single point separating the sides in overtime, Stockdale’s superb tracking steal from Semesa Rokoduguni metres from home proved just as crucial. In the second round the following week at a rain-sodden Kingspan Stadium, a pumped- up Ulster put themselves in the Pool 3 driving seat, as tries from Jordi Murphy and John Cooney sent French heavyweights ASM Clermont Auvergne back home with just a losing bonus point, with Ulster emerging 18-13 winners In the first of the December back-to-back Champions Cup fixtures, Ulster maintained their 100% Heineken Champions Cup win record at the expense of Harlequins in a hard-fought Round 3 clash that was just as tight as the 25-24 scoreline suggested. With the lead changing hands four times during the encounter, tries from Sean Reidy, Stuart McCloskey and replacement Adam McBurney were not quite enough to put Ulster out of sight of a dogged Quins side,

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