Dominant Connacht end dismal run

Connacht have not managed to beat Ulster since 1983 but they put much of that dismal past behind them at the Sportsground in Galway on Saturday when a 10point margin did not by any means give a true picture of their dominance. Even Ireland's coach, Brian Ashton, reckoned that they were worth another three or four tries.

While Connacht supporters will surely feel that they have a lot to be happy about, it comes as no good news to Irish rugby that Ulster could not manage a more spirited or inspired performance.

They were, to quote Ashton "mechanical" in their approach around the fringes of the ruck and mauls and although both teams lost possession in these phases of the match it was Connacht who were always more enterprising and inventive.

Connacht went adrift by seven points in the ninth minute when Stanley McDowell made the most of the spadework done by Stuart Laing and Stephen Bell to go over for a try which Laing converted without much difficulty.

Six minutes later Elwood, who had missed two earlier penalties, finally found the range to reduce the deficit. Connacht were doing surprisingly well in the line-out where Mark McConnell, Graham Heaslip and Junior Charlie, Connacht's New Zealand flanker, were dominating Ulster and possession gained in such a set-piece was put to good use as Shane McEntee went over and Elwood converted.

Elwood hit the target again in the 36th minute after Ulster, once again, offended in a ruck but a Laing penalty reduced the arrears as the referee Leo Mayne of Munster allowed at least four minutes injury time.

Connacht's three-point lead at the break was not a true reflection of their dominance. The appearance of Mervyn Murphy as a replacement for Simon Alnutt after nine minutes of the second half seemed to mesmerise Ulster. With no obvious danger around they stood transfixed as he sold an outrageous dummy and cantered over beside the posts. Elwood does not miss these kind of kicks and Connacht were leading 20-10 and seemed home and dry.

Some concern was being expressed in the Connacht camp at this stage as the team seemed to be tiring and this concern was underlined when McDowell stole over for his second try and Laing converted from a difficult angle.

The fat was now in the fire and Connacht seemed to be about to lose their lead when Ulster were awarded a penalty about 35 yards out and within Laing's range but they went for the short one, lost the ball and Nicky Barry scampered down the field to relieve the pressure.

Then Junior Charlie struck to clinch the match when, after some loose mauling, he was right in position to grab the ball and dive over by the posts for Elwood to put the seal on an historic Connacht win.

Brian Ashton did not seem as surprised as most other people in the ground. "Connacht were the better team. I believe this is a bit of an upset but they were much sharper. It was a good collective performance. Their line-out was very good, they were far more enterprising and dynamic and if they had a little more of a cutting edge in attack they could have had three or four more tries," he said.

Looking at the match as a guide to international form, he said that the pace of play would have to be greatly increased by both sides. Ulster were bereft of ideas and mechanical at times. Both teams have a lot more to offer," he said.

"There is a massive gap between football at this level and international level but that is also true of club football in England," he added.

Scoring Sequence: 9 mins: S McDowell try, S Laing con - 7-0. 17: E Elwood pen - 7-3; 32: S McEntee try, Elwood con - 7-10; 37: Elwood pen - 7-13; 40: Laing pen - 10-13. 56: M Murphy try, Elwood con - 10-20; 70: McDowell try, Laing con - 17-20; 78: J Charlie try, Elwood con - 17-27.

Connacht: W Ruane (Ballina); N Barry (Clontarf), S Alnutt (Corinthians), P Duggan (Galwegians), N Carolan (Galwegians); E Elwood (Galwegians), C McGuinness (St Mary's); J Maher (Bective), B Mulcay (Skerries), M Finlay (Galwegians), M McConnell (Buccaneers), G Heaslip (Cork Con, capt); J Charlie (Galwegians), S McEntee (Wanderers), B Gavin (Galwegians). Replacement: M Murphy (Galwegians) for Alnutt (49 mins).

Ulster: R Morrow (Dungannon); A Park Ballymena), S McDowell (Ballymena), S Coulter (Ballymena), J Cunningham (Ballymena); S Laing (Portadown), S Bell (Dungannon); R Mackey (Malone), S Ritchie (Ballymena), G Leslie (Dungannon); T McWhirter (Ballymena), G Longwell (Ballymena); S McKinty (Ballymena, capt), A Ward (Ballinahinch); R Wilson (Instonians).

Referee: L Mayne (Munster).