Having the final say at the Dexcom Stadium seemed appropriate after such an impactful game, Nathan Doak hoofing the ball out just as the clock turned to red.
This had been an eventful 80 minutes for the recently turned 23-year-old, his input providing a significant contribution to Ulster ending their horrible run of defeats and, interestingly, keeping John Cooney firmly planted on the bench for this inter-provincial.
Doak was on it from the very start in Galway, stepping out and up defensively from lineouts to nail Connacht runners early but then also producing any number of excellent kicks for Ulster’s chasers to hunt down.
The scrum-half was also forging a new half-back connection with Jack Murphy, the 20-year-old son of head coach Richie, who was handed his first start after a bench cameo the previous week in the loss to Munster.
And though this was a potentially risky venture, the pair gelled and both went the distance to bring Ulster some important continuity and sound game management.
A vignette of how well Doak went on Saturday evening was visible in the 52nd minute when another high kick looked on the money only for Connacht to succumb to blocking chasers.
So, penalty to Ulster and, with three on offer, they went for the corner – a call which paid off as Nick Timoney got on the scoresheet from a driving maul.
Doak converted, too, to bring Ulster another 10-point cushion – he had earlier added to Eric O’Sullivan’s first-half touchdown and then slotted a penalty – which they kept intact until the finish.
Afterwards, Doak was understandably rather pleased with what had been achieved by an Ulster side somewhat short of full strength and shorn of both Alan O’Connor and Rob Herring before kick-off.
As Doak said: “Unreal, wasn’t it? We needed a win, and we came up with one.
“It was brilliant to be a part of, it was a special night with lads making their first starts (Academy players Murphy and Rory Telfer in that bracket) and a debut for Wilhelm (de Klerk, also in the Academy) as well, so I’m sure they will remember that one.”
His partnership with Murphy also cropped up and, even though they are both reasonably close in age, Doak has massive experience at this level while his 10 on Saturday evening was only in his second game involvement.
“It was my first time playing with Jack,” he admitted. “It was great, he is young, that was only his second game but there is a really calm head to him.
“It is great playing with him, he gives me a lot of direction and it was very enjoyable.”
Indeed, the visitors fully embraced their deserved victory – Ulster’s first since beating the Ospreys in October’s Round Five of the URC – ensuring Connacht rarely played with any great rhythm and producing a defensive effort to match.
“It is a tough place to come,” stated Doak of playing in Galway.
“There is no better feeling than winning down here, especially after Christmas.
“We’ve had a long bus journey, and we have a young team and all that, but we got the job done and we couldn’t be happier.”
All entirely understandable, of course, after having experienced so many consecutive losses, but what made this victory all the sweeter was that it came very much against the odds, Connacht being almost fully armed with Bundee Aki, Mack Hansen and Finlay Bealham all in their starting team, while Ulster were anything but.
“They were at full strength and you can say we weren’t,” Doak pointed out.
“But it’s 15 against 15, so we went out there with full belief in ourselves and we put in a performance that was desperately needed from us.”
The four points managed to haul Ulster back into eighth in the table – they had started the game down in 13th following other results – which in itself was an outcome they badly needed, though the effort expended to get there was forged on the foundations of their aggressive defence which has been such an Achilles heel in recent outings.
The Ulster No.9 concurred with the emphasis put on stifling Connacht when they had the ball.
“I think it was our defence,” Doak said of what made the difference.
“At the break, we needed more from the defence, we needed to get off the line, we needed to be more physical.
“Hopefully, you saw that, that’s how it felt when I was out there.
“That’s what was asked of us and, hopefully, we delivered.”