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5th September 2020
09:52pm BST

John Cooney pictured during the Guinness PRO14 Semi-Final match between Edinburgh and Ulster at Murrayfield Stadium. (Photo by Bill Murray/Sportsfile)[/caption]
Replacing Cooney with Alby Mathewson was a bold call, but the Kiwi scrumhalf was the perfect friend of the Ulster pack. He stayed close to the ruck and pinged short, sharp passes to willing runners. This were his forwards and he was whipping and urging them on.
Before the comeback came the deepest recess of the hole. Darcy Graham waltzed over for Edinburgh's second after Stockdale - feeling sub Michael Lowry could not cover his man - shot up and lost his footing. 12-0 and up against it.
Then came Rob Lyttle. The Ulster winger showed amazing foot-work, and awareness, to sell two Scottish defenders up the river. He got the glory, but the score would not have happened were it not for Marcell Coetzee and Stuart McCloskey:
https://twitter.com/patmccarry/status/1302344429039214593
Edinburgh answered back with a Chris Dean try but Ulster uncorked a haymaker response of their own through Rob Herring. Still, Madigan was left with a watching, supporting role on the Ulster bench. He returned to Ireland after stints with Bordeaux and Bristol. He backs himself to get back into the mix with Ireland and believes he can get there by stepping up for Ulster.
He got his first chance to back up his recent, bold words when forward John Andrew crashed over in the corner. 17-19 was the scoreline but Madigan levelled it up with a touchline conversion.
And, just as it looked as if we were heading for extra time, Stockdale claimed a great aerial take from a Mathewson box-kick. Ulster went to spread the ball left to right and there was a knock-on that referee Frank Murphy deemed deliberate.
With the potential last action of the game, Madigan stepped up:
https://twitter.com/SportsJOEdotie/status/1302343018440261640
Never in doubt.
Ulster were down and just about out, but they filled their lungs then emptied their tanks. Hard-fought and hard-earned, their final awaits.
OUR MAN OF THE MATCH: Marcell Coetzee (Ulster)
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