Racing too good for Ulster
CHAMPIONS CUP REPORT: The 2017/18 Champions Cup finalists Racing 92 put on an attacking masterclass to defeat Ulster 44-12 in a Pool Four clash at the Paris La Defense Arena.
Racing 92 dominated the early stages but fell behind when Michael Lowry broke away and found Will Addison who handed off to David Shanahan and he sprinted clear for the opening try.
Finn Russell cut the gap with a penalty kick and despite Ulster going down to 14 men with Nick Timoney being shown a yellow card, Jacob Stockdale ran in a second Ulster try after a superb breakaway from the Irish province.
That was as good as it got for Ulster as Racing scored two tries before half-time thanks to Teddy Iribaren and Wenceslas Lauret, with Finn Russell adding the extras.
Russell extended the Racing lead with a penalty goal at the end of the first half, and they continued to dominate after the interval with Juan Imhoff dotting down a third try at the posts.
That try opened the floodgates for the French side who scored two further tries, with Teddy Thomas and Simon Zebo getting in on the act in the latter stages.
Racing 92 – who picked up five points in the victory – will host Leicester Tigers in Round Three, while Ulster will take on Scarlets in Llanelli.
The scorers:
For Racing 92:
Tries: Iribaren, Lauret, Imhoff, Thomas, Zebo
Cons: Russell 4, Iribaren
Pens: Russell 3
For Ulster:
Tries: Shanahan, Stockdale
Con: Burns
Yellow card: Nick Timoney (Ulster, 15)
Racing 92: 15 Simon Zebo, 14 Teddy Thomas, 13 Olivier Klemenczak, 12 Henry Chavancy (captain), 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Xavier Chauveau, 8 Antonie Claassen, 7 Bernard Le Roux, 6 Wenceslas Lauret, 5 Leone Nakarawa, 4 Dominic Bird, 3 Cedate Gomes Sa, 2 Camille Chat, 1 Guram Gogichashvili.
Replacements: 16 Teddy Baubigny, 17 Vasil Kakovin, 18 Census Johnston, 19 Fabien Sanconnie, 20 Jordan Joseph, 21 Teddy Iribaren, 22 Ben Volavola, 23 Léonard Paris.
Ulster: 15 Michael Lowry, 14 Craig Gilroy, 13 Will Addison, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Billy Burns, 9 David Shanahan 8 Nick Timoney, 7 Jordi Murphy, 6 Marcell Coetzee, 5 Kieran Treadwell, 4 Iain Henderson, 3 Marty Moore, 2 Rory Best (captain), 1 Andrew Warwick.
Replacements: 16 Adam McBurney, 17 Eric O’Sullivan, 18 Ross Kane, 19 Adam O’Connor, 20 Sean Reidy, 21 James Stewart, 22 Johhny McPhillips, 23 Angus Kernohan.
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees: Dan Jones (Wales), Wayne Davies (Wales)
TMO: Ian Davies (Wales)