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Ulster were rewarded for their early tenacity with a punt at goal from about 30 metres out when Gloucester’s Nick Wood was penalised for collapsing the maul but Paddy Wallace was well off-target.
Thankfully for Ulster this return fixture seemed to be a very different game to the one at Ravenhill in the first round of matches, it took 18 minutes for the first score to come, though it was from Gloucester - clever use of decoy runners off the back of the line-out set Mike Tindall free and he found openside Akapusi Quera in support for the score, converted by Patterson. Gloucester 7 – 0 Ulster.
However, Ulster responded immediately and again, off the back of the line-out scrum-half Isaac Boss spotted half a gap, his beautiful off-load floated into Tommy Bowe’s hands and the winger scorched over the line with Wallace adding the conversion to bring the visitors level on the 20 minute mark.
Gloucester 7 – 7 Ulster.
Gloucester scored their second try thanks to some aggressive forward play – captain Bortolami sensing Ulster were under pressure up front and opting three times to take the scrum deep in the Ulster 22, rewarded when blindside Alasdair Strokosch touched down under the posts on 34 minutes.
Gloucester 14 - 7 Ulster
In the space of just a couple of minutes the game appeared to have very definitely turned to Gloucester’s favour, and the situation was compounded for Ulster when winger Mark McCrea found himself on the end of a marginal call by the referee who sent the 20 year old to the sin bin after he adjudged him to have tackled their catcher in the air after the re-start.
Credit to Ulster who didn’t appear to let it rattle them and they enjoyed a relatively sustained period of pressure in and around the Gloucester 22, recycling a slow ball through some twenty phases and reaping the reward for their discipline when the Gloucester No.8 was penalised for coming into the ruck from the side. The three points from the penalty would have been a good boost for Rory Best and his men going into the half-time break but having nailed the earlier conversion from the touch-line, Paddy Wallace missed the sitter in front of the goals.
Half-time Score: Gloucester 14 – 7 Ulster
Paddy Wallace missed another opportunity for three points at the start of the second half when thanks to some great pressure from Andrew Trimble and Neil Best, the Gloucester winger James Simpson-Daniel was penalised for failing to release the ball.
However, if Gloucester thought they were going to have this game all their own way, they were very much mistaken when centre Andrew Trimble powered over the line for Ulster’s second try, made by Tommy Bowe’s clever chip ahead from deep. Wallace slotted over the conversion from right in front of the goals to bring things level at 14 points a-piece. Gloucester 14 – 14 Ulster
Against the run of play in a second half which had so far seen Gloucester look edgy and make a number of unforced errors, flanker Quera touched down unopposed in the corner of the pitch for his second score after the Ulster defence found itself stretched following a couple of assaults from close-quarters on their line. However with Ryan Lamb, a 50 minute substitution for Chris Patterson, unable to add the conversion to give the English side as much breathing room as possible, Ulster were looking as though they would push the Premiership giants all the way. Gloucester 19 – 14 Ulster.
The Kingsholm crowd had been unusually subdued until Ian Balshaw, on the end of a pass from Lesley “the Volcano” Vainokolo touched down after some good back-play, booking Gloucester's place in the Heineken Cup quarter-final and giving the crowd something to cheer about. However, the West Country men still had a job to do, the win required to secure a home tie in the knockout stages.
This cracking game had plenty of life left in it. Some late substitutions seems to unsettle the Gloucester backs and Ulster’s Mark McCrea was on the end of a long pass out wide and racing up the pitch he passed inside to Tommy Bowe who went over the line for his second try of the day. Niall O’Connor, with Paddy Wallace moving to the centre, added the conversion to put Ulster right back in touch.
Gloucester 24 - 21 Ulster
Luke Narraway then scored on 79 minutes for Gloucester which looked to have secured their home quarter-final spot but the drama continued. Openside Quera turned from hero to villain when he was sent to the bin with an injury time yellow card after a late thumping challenge on Tommy Bowe and Ulster, having played some really positive and enjoyable rugby throughout, stayed strong to the end. They played to the very last minute of the game with a late assault in the Gloucester 22 and the video referee was required to determine that Ryan Caldwell’s last minute touch down was not going to increase the visitor’s tally.
With Ospreys defeating Bourgoin in France, 21 – 28, both Gloucester and Ospreys progress to the quarter-finals from Pool 2.
Final Score: Gloucester 29 – 21 Ulster
