Ulster 16-8 Connacht: Wonder-try pushes Ulster to victory

Jacob Stockdale finished the try of the game in style

Jacob Stockdale and Charles Piutau made the difference as Ulster won a closely-fought derby with Connacht 16-8 on Friday.

The win took Les Kiss' side back to the top of Conference B with former Connacht player, John Cooney, kicking three penalties and the conversion of Stockdale's 56th-minute try, which denied the visitors a losing bonus point.

Ulster - who had fallen to a shock defeat the week before at Zebre - spurned some early chances through handling errors from Piutau and Cooney.

On the 15-minute mark, Stockdale again made ground near Connacht's posts but his pass to Christian Lealiifano was also put down.

John Cooney contributed 11 points on the night

Ulster again fumbled in a promising position after a Cooney half-break, before the home side finally got some points on the board with a long-range penalty from the scrum-half in the 28th minute.

But Connacht came back to snatch the lead with five minutes of the first half remaining when hooker Tom McCartney drove over from close range after Jarrad Butler had come close. Jack Carty missed the conversion, however, the visitors led 5-3 at the break.

Another Cooney penalty put Ulster back into the lead before Carty re-established the visitors' position in the driving seat just before the 50-minute mark.

Connacht sit sixth in Conference A after the first six games

Cooney's third penalty caused another change of leaders before the game burst into life in the 56th minute.

The instigator was full-back Piutau who launched a counter-attack from deep. The 25-year-old linked twice with Stockdale as they went from 22 to 22 leaving defenders in their slipstream. Stockdale was give the honours of finishing the electric end-to-end try and Cooney's conversion took Ulster 16-8 clear.

Charles Piutau on the way to setting up the try of the game

The hosts ended the game with 14 men after Jean Deysel was shown a yellow card for killing the ball, but the home side held on for the full four points.

Kiss' team will now turn their attentions to Champions Cup rugby as they welcome Wasps to the Kingspan Stadium next Friday night, while Connacht head on the road to meet Oyonnax in the Challenge Cup.