3 takeaways from Ulster’s win over the Ospreys

When a team has been built over 3+ years as Dan McFarland’s Ulster side have, certain games will stick out as milestones that have either been markers of success, or weights a team has had to carry on with them.

At this time in their URC journey last season, Ulster were in a similar position results-wise having started strongly and then experienced the disappointment of an interpro loss before facing the Ospreys. Ulster then lost to the Ospreys; so this game was never going to be just a normal Saturday night. In this article, we’ll take a look at three aspects of the Ulster-Ospreys game and what stood out in Ulster’s performance.

Preparation meeting opportunity

While there was no questioning Ulster’s motivation last Saturday, the Ospreys’ exits from their own 22 certainly left a lot to be desired early on. Indeed, the first four tries that Ulster scored in this game all originated from the Ospreys issues dealing with the ball deep in their own half.

Although some of those chances were lucky occurrences - i.e. things outside Ulster’s direct control - all four tries were taken advantage of due to the good preparation meeting opportunity.

If we look at Ulster’s first try for example, it originates from a sliced clearance kick after 30 seconds but, as we see in the GIF below, Ulster are in full control from there on in.

Ulster’s attack starts from a maul with the option of a backline move, it turns into a ‘same way’ attack left with the option to switch the attack back right. Cooney and Madigan are never rushed; Ulster always have pre-planned complimentary options.

 The same applies for Ulster’s 2nd try. In the example below, Ulster can maul through the forwards alone, attack wider through the dummy maul peel or have Stuart McCloskey add his size to the drive.

All three options are distinct, but complimentary by design. Three slightly different types of opportunity that the defence may present, all prepared for.

Predictable Unpredictability

Along with the way they ruthlessly punished Ospreys errors in the first half, another aspect that would have pleased Ulster was the variety of their attack.

Don’t get me wrong, every team knows that Ulster are a mauling team. Teams will prepare to defend Ulster’s maul before every game. What was pleasing however from an Ulster perspective was how the coaches have taken this strength at the maul and enhanced it by adding other options around it.

For example, take the maul peel for Ulster’s 3rd try.

The Ospreys having to respect the drive off this throw gives every Ulster attacker a little head start on their opposite number. McCloskey then does what he does best, Ulster’s attack is rolling and Sam Carter eventually drives over.

Ulster run the same dummy maul play some 20 minutes later. However, having now created the expectation that Ulster will look to hurt them in the maul or with a McCloskey carry, the Northern province switch it up.

 As we can see above, the Ospreys are already chasing out to tackle McCloskey once Andrew peels off the maul. This then widens the gap for Lyttle who dances through to find Timoney on the charge.

What’s pleasing about this try especially is that it’s clear the Ulster players know what is happening, they’ve created an expectation for the Ospreys and still manage to be unpredictable in attack.

Getting set for South Africa

We’ve talked about Ulster’s motivation ahead of this game, their ability to take opportunities and the variety their attack offers. What lessons will Ulster take however from the Ospreys game ahead of the South Africa tour?

If we think about the strengths of South African URC packs in general; they scrummage and maul well and they are a big carry threat tight to the ruck. The Ospreys don’t share all of those strengths, but they did expose Ulster at the fringes of the ruck for their two tries.

Here’s the first Ospreys score.

From a maul defence perspective, Ulster actually do quite well here. Rea possibly makes a bad read to fold around but his head’s just came out of a maul so sometimes it just happens. Madigan loses his hit, but again he’s got to be upright to defend the wide pass. What Ulster need to improve however is how they tackle in pairs close to the tryline.

Where teams are 1 metre out from the line, they can’t be allowed forward and the legs have to be tackled. As we can see above, three Ulster players tackle high, the Ospreys attackers can keep pumping their legs and burrow over for the try.

In the lead-up to the Ospreys 2nd try, we actually get a great example of the high-low combo tackle with Jordi Murphy chopping Harri Deaves’ legs and Declan Moore plus Aaron Sexton driving him back.

2 phases later however, Murphy is isolated, goes a little higher on Morris and - whether it’s a forward folding around or Sexton stepping in - Murphy doesn’t have someone pairing up with him as he needs. There was lots to like about Ulster’s performance last Saturday, but defence around the fringes needs to be better in South Africa.

A 47-17 win, the ruthlessness in attack that comes with that and lots of variety shown; there was plenty for the Ulstermen to be happy with following last Saturday’s performance. The likes of James Hume and the Emerging Ireland players returning will be a great boost also.

Having thrown off the weight off the Ospreys loss last season, Ulster now face another URC milestone - winning away in South Africa. With a little to work on, and plenty of motivation left to feed off, they promise to be a great series of games.