BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | Celtic | Honours even at Ravenhill

Ulster 19-19 Glasgow

A try either side of the interval by replacement wing Scott Young looked to have secured Ulster victory over Glasgow at Ravenhill on Friday evening.

But with the game meandering well into injury time, the massive boot of Tommy Hayes gave the Scottish visitors a draw when he rifled over a penalty from the half-way line.

Hayes, who has been the scourge of Ulster over a number of seasons, had been a constant menace to the home side.

He always kept his side in touch with three previous penalties and ended up scoring all his side's points.

Neither team will be too impressed with the end result, and both will have a lot to do before the Celtic League begins next week.

It was Hayes who opened the scoring for Glasgow in the third minute.

Hayes, Glasgow's top scorer last season, looped around Alan Bulloch outside the Ulster "22" to slide in at the corner.

For good measure he rifled over the touchline conversion.

Ulster's replacement wing Scott Young
Scott Young scored two tries for Ulster

Glasgow had Ulster on the run in the early stages, but it all turned in the 12th minute with a stinging break by Ryan Constable.

The Wallaby burst through a hole to take the play deep inside the Glasgow half before feeding inside to Kiwi hooker Matt Sexton to crash over.

Larkin converted to level the game up.

A skiff of rain just before kick-off made life difficult for enterprising rugby, but both sides attempted to keep their three-quarters interested.

But it was the boot of Hayes that provided the next score when he popped over a simple penalty in the 17th minute.

Glasgow were having a tough time in the scrums, but a change from the replacements bench seemed to put everything in order and immediately Hayes knocked over the second penalty in the 31st minute.

Ulster were being put on the rack by the Glasgow pack who were rucking with some venom and enjoying success out of touch.

But a dropped pass while they were enjoying a period of domination proved their undoing two minutes from the break.

Young, who had come on as a replacement for the injured Shane Stewart, steamed onto the loose ball, and the youngster won the race for the touchdown near the Glasgow posts.

Deserved share

Larkin converted as Ulster managed somehow to go in at half-time with a 14-13 advantage.

Both sides ran their bench at the start of the second half, but it was Ulster who immediately found a rhythm.

They soon stretched their lead when Larkin, who again was impressing at fly-half, tossed a long pass out to Young who sprinted in for his second try.

Hayes, though, kept Glasgow in touch with his third penalty in the 50th minute, and only Ulster's solid defence kept them from re-taking the lead.

Good handling was often at a premium following regular showers, with scoring opportunities few and far between.

Hayes missed one opportunity to level the scores in the 70th minute, but he managed to blast the ball between the sticks in injury time to give Glasgow a deserved share of the spoils.

Ulster: B Cunningham; S Stewart; R Constable, J Bell; S Coulter; A Larkin, N Doak; J Fitzpatrick, M Sexton, C Boyd, T McWhirter, J Davidson, A Ward, capt, W Brosnihan, R Nelson.
Replacements: R Kempson for Boyd (48), P Shields for Sexton (40), M Blair for McWhirter (40), R Brink for Brosnihan (40), S Mallon for Coulter (72), S Young for Stewart (25), Brosnihan for Nelson (61), K Campbell for Bell (79).

Scorers: T Sexton, Young (2); C: Larkin (2).

Glasgow: S Moffat; J Steel; A Bulloch, A Henderson, R Kerr; T Hayes, G Beveridge; C Blades, G Bulloch, L Harrison, A Hall, J White, capt, A Wilson, D Macfadyen, J Petrie. Replacements: D Hilton for Harrison (30), B Daley for Bulloch (70), C Howarth for Moffat (62), A Nicol for Beveridge (40), M Barlett for Kerr (40), G Simpson for Wilson (40), N Ross for Hall (30).

Scorers: T Hayes; P: Hayes (4); C: Hayes.

Referee: A Rolland (Leinster).


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