Connacht v Ulster: Five takeaways as Nathan Doak produces a ...

Following Ulster’s 17-7 victory over Connacht in the United Rugby Championship, here are our five takeaways.

It was yet another arm-wrestle and nitty-gritty Irish derby which is usually the case when Connacht and Ulster collide.

Ultimately, it was the visitors who came to Galway and claimed a much-needed victory thanks to tries from Eric O’Sullivan and Man of the Match Nick Timoney with Nathan Doak adding seven points from the tee.

Meanwhile, Connacht struggled to fire a shot with their only try coming a fortuitous bounce of the ball that Mack Hansen pounced on to score.

The ugly backdrop of the renovations taking place at the Sportsground did not help with the overall spectacle of the URC clash neither did the stop-start nature of the match as the action moved from set-piece to set-piece with both sides error-ridden and wildly average.

Both sides headed into the match desperate for a win and this often results in performances where the two teams look terrified of losing rather than driven to win which was very much the case in the Galway.

There was certainly shoots of quality in between the averageness but they were few and far between to truly get those in attendance or watching from off their seats.

While the quality of the rugby on show will not dominate the YouTube compilations, Ulster were fully deserving of their victory as they suffocated and stressed Connacht to no end.

They regularly won the gain-line battle with number eights James McNabney and David McCann impressing off the back of the scrum with Timoney and Cormac Iszuchukwu doing the same. Centres Jude Postelwaite and Ben Carson also doing well with ball in hand.

Their defensive effort was also worth huge praise as it bent without breaking even in the face of Bundee Aki and Hansen who tried their utmost to tear through the white defensive wall. Aki beat a mammoth 11 defenders but crucially never broke through the defence while the only try came off a deft kick from Jack Carty to find space but the bounce is what really made the difference.

Even with their backs against their wall, the Ulster scrum stood up brilliantly to win a late penalty in the scrums to deny Connacht a second score.

Stormers v Sharks: Five takeaways as Manie Libbok’s brilliance ‘papers over’ shortcomings while Springboks’ injuries rack up

While Leo Cullen and Leinster will kick the new year gleamingly, there is a growing concern about the gap between the top Irish side in the United Rugby Championship and the rest. In fact, there is now an 11-point gap between Cullen’s men and Ulster, 12 to Munster and 15 to Connacht.

Leinster have dominated the opening nine rounds of the URC and while it has been far more competitive in the rest of the league, the Irish sides have not been convincing. The overall quality of today’s game is a stark indication of just that. Cullen was even able to rest some key players this weekend and do some experiments while the other three provinces were all desperate.

Leinster boss reveals Springboks-inspired tactic in emphatic Munster victory

There is a rather unique opportunity for Ireland hopefuls in 2025 with Andy Farrell missing the Six Nations to shift his focus to the British and Irish Lions with Simon Easterby taking over. Farrell will surely still have some say, officially or unofficially, on selection for the Six Nations but there is a massive chance that so many players could force their way into the Test set-up through their performances for their province.

This is without forgetting that while the Lions head Down Under midway through next year, Ireland will have Test matches of their against Georgia and Romania opening the door for fresh faces to make their mark with so many stars expected to be involved with Farrell in Australia.

Today, Nick Timoney lay down another marker. He is continually selected in Ireland squads but never really gets an opportunity in the matchday squads and against Connacht, he stuck his hand up high once again. In the same pack, Cormac Izuchukwu impressed as he closed 2024 off on a personal high after making his Test debut.

Jamison Gibson-Park is surely going to be in the mix with Lions in July but more immediately, he is bound to be the starting nine for the Six Nations. However, his back-up Craig Casey is set to miss the tournament through injury with today’s starting nines Caolin Blade and Nathan Doak among the candidates to fill his void. On the performances in Galway, the latter is the front-runner as he continues to build on his already glowing reputation. The 23-year-old has excellent control over his game, kicks really well out of hand and off the tee too in a statement performance. If given the chance, the Ulster nine is bound to rise to the challenge.

Barnstorming number eight James McNabney is not going to displace Caelan Doris in green for the Six Nations but the athletic 21-year-old is certainly a start to keep an eye on and who knows, six months is a very long time in rugby and Easterby could be calling out his name later on in the year.

READ MORE: Stormers star’s ‘disgusting challenge’ injures Springbok before he scores match-winner against Sharks