McConnell missed as Connacht steamrolled

The seven-week suspension handed out to the Connacht captain Mark McConnell may well be a greater blow to his side's interprovincial prospects than anyone would have expected. As Ulster steamrolled the home team at the Sportsground last night for their first win of the series, it was the lack of the New Zealander's presence in the lineouts which was the most glaring weakness in a Connacht side that had many.

The contest was complete after just over half an hour when Simon Bell caught a deft kick from Ulster captain David Humphreys over the advancing defence and touched down under the posts for 25-0.

It was then simply a question of whether the visitors would have the match and their four-try bonus points sewn up before halftime. At that stage, the game was dangerously looking like having the complexion of a 50-point rout.

Connacht as usual distinguished themselves with a selfless and brave mix of hard tackling and gutsy effort but it barely diluted the Ulster broth of strong running and quick recycles peppered with some well angled kicking from Humphreys.

Playing again without injured tighthead Clem Boyd with Simon Best coming in, Ulster dominated the game except for a phase in the second half when Connacht salvaged some pride as Robert Lee and Eric Elwood ran in a try each.

From that period Connacht will mine some positive thoughts. But Ulster's six tries are what described the match more than anything with Tony McWhirter at number eight and Jonathan Bell at inside centre the two players who may very well have caught the eye of Irish coach Warren Gatland. Ryan Constable, at outside centre for Ulster, showed that he could cause the odd frisson of terror in a defence while Tyrone Howe on the wing rarely failed to find yardage with a little space.

Two penalties from Humphreys gave Ulster a poor return from some early dominance before South African Russell Nelson, who also played impressively at blind side, was put over by his captain after 13 minutes.

Ulster continued to squeeze hard with Connacht's lineouts becoming absurdly unreliable. Former Irish captain Paddy Johns added another try from a lineout rumble following a kick and 40-metre sprint from Howe before Bell's cheeky catch from Humphreys' chip left Ulster poised at 25-0 on 33 minutes.

James Topping, working from some good work from Bell and Constable in the centre, began the second half as the first had ended striding over between the posts, only the fabric of his shirt felt by the Connacht defence. Humphreys' conversion then put the match well beyond reach before Eric Elwood drew the first home cheer of the evening as Connacht finally got on the scoreboard.

It took a fleet of substitutions before the home side began to ripple and it fortunately coincided with Ulster looking a little sloppy as concentration wavered. Lee, who replaced Denver Rumney on the left wing, pinched a score on 62 minutes and the last try came from Elwood, in between which Ulster distainfully struck again through replacement Shane Stewart.

It was that sort of night. When Ulster really needed something, it happened for them while Connacht perished on their inability to hit the same tempo as the opposition. In the end it was with some relief that they departed the Sportsground pitch to let the greyhounds do their stuff.

Scoring sequence: 3 mins: D Humphreys pen, 0-3; 13 mins: Humphreys pen, 0-6; 16 mins: R Nelson try, Humphreys con, 0-13; 29 mins: P Johns try, 0-18; 33 mins: J Bell try, Humphreys con, 0-25;. 45 mins: J Topping try, Humphreys con, 0-32; 48 mins: E Elwood pen, 3-32; 62 mins: R Lee try, 8-32; 73 mins: S Stewart try, Humphreys con, 8-39; 79 mins: Elwood try and con, 15-39.

CONNACHT: W Ruane; P Duignan, M Smyth, M Murphy (capt), D Rumney; E Elwood, S McIvor; J Screene, M Uijs, M Cahill, C Rigney, D Browne, I Dillon, J Charlie, J O'Connor. Replacements: D McFarland for Screene (43 mins), R Lee for Rumney, B Shelbourne for McIvor (both 49 mins), T Allnutt for Murphy (55 mins), M Swift for Dillon, J McVeight for Uijs (both 56 mins).

ULSTER: G Henderson; J Topping, R Constable, J Bell, T Howe; D Humphreys (capt), B Free; J Fitzpatrick, R Weir, S Best, P Johns, G Longwell, R Nelson, T McWhirter, A Ward. Replacements: M Blair for Longwell (60 mins), S Stewart for Henderson (63 mins), S Bell for Free (71 mins), D Topping for Ward (74 mins).

Referee: D Courtney (ARLB).