Saracens through to Champions Cup quarters following Ulster win
Last Updated: 17/01/16 11:43pm
Saracens are through to the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup following a 33-17 win over Ulster at Allianz Park.
Billy Vunipola scored Saracens' lone try in the first half to give the home side a 13-7 lead at the break, before Duncan Taylor, Maro Itoje and Schalk Brits added second-half efforts to hand Saracens a bonus-point win and a place in the knock-out stages of the Champions Cup.
Man-of-the-match Owen Farrell scored 13 points with the boot, while Ulster's tries were added by Luke Marshall and Ian Humphreys.
The Premiership side remain unbeaten in Europe this season, with the trip to Toulouse in Round 6 now a dead rubber.
Saracens started the game with a threatening attack in the opening two minutes, and were rewarded with three points from Farrell when Ulster strayed in defence.
Ulster hit back immediately with the opening try of the game. Stuart McCloskey exploited a gap to start the move, before full-back Jared Payne sent a grubber ahead and Marshall gathered to touch down.
Farrell added a second penalty at the end of the third quarter as Saracens struggled to wrestle the game away from Ulster.
The home side took the lead for the second time when Itoje secured the ball at the line-out and the driving maul proved impossible to stop as backs joined the surge that resulted in a try for Vunipola. The score meant Saracens went into the break with a 13-7 lead.
Paddy Jackson got the scoring underway in the second half with three points from the kicking tee before Farrell matched his effort in the 49th minute.
Farrell then went one better by cutting through the Ulster defence before providing Taylor with the try that put daylight between the two sides as Saracens stretched to a 21-13 lead.
The Premiership side then turned to their set piece for their third and fourth tries, with the lineout providing the platform for Itoje to drive over from close range and Brits to burst clear and touch down for the bonus point.
The scores came either side of a yellow card to Craig Gilroy who was punished after failing to roll away at the ruck after repeated team infringements.
The extra man coupled with the momentum Saracens had created meant there was a threat that the home side would race away with an easy win, but it was Ulster who had the final say in the game.
Humphreys picked off a loose pass by Neil de Kock to claim the late try, but the score did nothing to stop Mark McCall's men from marching into the next phase of European competition.
