With Ulster’s fortunes at the scrum not improving in the early moments of the second half, Murphy replaced both his starting props, bringing on Tom O’Toole and Andy Warwick to try and steady the ship.

Glasgow would see a Rory Darge score ruled out for a forward pass in the build-up and, despite being the better side, as the game neared the final quarter, still only led by two.

Tom Jordan’s yellow card for a dangerous ruck entry gave Ulster a way back into the game with the numerical advantage sparking their best passage of the game.

But while they forced Glasgow into yet more penalty concessions, eventually drawing a yellow for Richie Gray, they were held up over the line when attacking against 13.

Jordan returned but, after a full 15 minutes of pounding the Glasgow line, Ulster eventually found a way over with Dave McCann crashing over a mass of bodies to ground the ball.

But Glasgow struck back almost immediately, with Kyle Steyn finishing off a move in which Franco Smith’s side made light of their numerical disadvantage.

With Gray returning to the field just as replacement Adam Hastings added the extras, Ulster were left needing a try in the final moments.

After four full minutes of added time, they thought they had it when Shanahan found the whitewash but the drama was not yet finished.

A lengthy discussion between the officials to ascertain whether Shanahan had knocked on before grounding followed with the decision to award the score sparking huge celebration in the stands.

Ulster: McIlroy; Lowry, Moore, Postlethwaite, Stockdale; Morgan, Doak; O’Sullivan, Andrew, Barrett; Henderson (capt), Treadwell; McNabney, McCann, Timoney

Replacements: McCormick, Warwick, O’Toole, Sheridan, Izuchukwu, Shanahan, Humphreys, Kok

Glasgow: McKay; Cancelliere, McDowall, Tuipulotu, Steyn (capt); Jordan, Dobie; Bhatti, Matthews, Talakai; Williamson, Gray; M Fagerson, Darge, Venter.

Replacements: Hiddleston, McBeth, Z Fagerson, Samuel, Brown, Ferrie, Afshar, Hastings.

Yellow cards: Jordan, Gray

Referee: Adam Jones

Benetton: Rhyno Smith; Louis Lynagh, Malakai Fekitoa, Marco Zanon, Onisi Ratave; Jacob Umaga, Andy Uren; Mirco Spagnolo, Siua Maile, Nahuel Tetaz, Scott Scrafton, Eli Snyman (capt), Alessandro Izekor, Manuel Zuliani, Toa Halafihi.

Replacements: Marco Manfredi, Destiny Aminu, Riccardo Genovese, Riccardo Favretto, Sebastian Negri, Alessandro Garbisi, Leonardo Marin, Paolo Odogwu.

Scarlets: Tom Rogers; Ellis Mee, Macs Page, Johnny Williams, Blair Murray; Ioan Lloyd, Gareth Davies (capt); Kemsley Mathias, Marnus van der Merwe, Sam Wainwright, Alex Craig, Max Douglas, Taine Plumtree, Jarrod Taylor, Vaea Fifita.

Replacements: Ryan Elias. Sam O’Connor, Gabe Hawley, Jac Price, Carwyn Tuipulotu, Efan Jones, Charlie Titcombe, Jac Davies.

Referee: Ian Kenny (SRU)

Assistant referees: Fillipo Russo (FIR), Franco Rosella (FIR)

TMO: Dave Sutherland (SRU).

Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler might not be dead just yet.

The road to that matchup has seen numerous bumps over the course of the past two years, with the rivals serving as opposing coaches on The Ultimate Fighter 32 and then being scheduled for UFC 303 this past June, only to see their fight fall through when McGregor withdrew due to injury.

Chandler has since been booked for a rematch with Charles Oliveira, which takes place at UFC 309 on Nov. 16. As for McGregor, he and UFC CEO Dana White finally seem to be in agreement that “The Notorious” won’t be seen in the octagon again until next year.

“It will be 2025,” McGregor said in an interview with DAZN during the Joshua vs. Dubois broadcast. “We’ll see. My opponent that I had scheduled, Chandler, has gotten matched. It is what it is. I just take it on board and just rock on. My job is just to go to the gym, be in the gym, be in shape, and one thing is for sure, whenever it is and wherever it is, I’ll be 100 percent ready. That’s all I can focus on right now.”

With Chandler occupied for the moment, it appears that McGregor has to set his sights on a new opponent. While he’s keeping his options open, he wants it to be known that Chandler is not out of the picture.

“Who knows nowadays?” McGregor said. “It doesn’t matter, it does not matter. Just as long as I can get back, whoever. I’d like it to be Chandler. I’d like to get that squared away, so I wish him well against Oliveira, but let’s see how it goes.”

McGregor, 36, has spoken openly about having only two fights left on his UFC contract, and once those bouts are completed he’ll be free to pursue any other combat sports interests that he wants. In addition to being a member of the UFC roster, McGregor also currently serves as a part owner of BKFC, a bare-knuckle boxing promotion he has expressed interest in competing for as well.

All he can say for sure is that he would like to conclude his time with the UFC in 2025. After that, it’s anybody’s guess as to what MMA’s biggest draw will do next.

“I must,” McGregor said. “It’s the promised land, so we’ll see. I don’t even know. No one in the space knows. I’m the highest-generating fighter on planet Earth right now in today’s space and what happens afterwards, as I’m a free agent, I’m not so sure.”

The UFC is closing the year strong with its numbered events, and currently no lineup appears deeper than UFC 308.

With five current or former champions set to compete, the Oct. 26 card, which takes place at Etihad Arena on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN+), is one that seemingly cannot be missed, and now the promotion has dropped the official poster.

UFC 308 is headlined by a featherweight title showdown between Ilia Topuria (15-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) and Max Holloway (26-7 MMA, 22-7 UFC), and in the five-round co-main event, former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker (26-7 MMA, 17-5 UFC) takes on the undefeated Khamzat Chimaev (13-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC).

Both matchups made their way to the poster, which can be seen in full below (via X):

Abu Dhabi, we are SO back 😤#UFC308 is a little over a month away! #InAbuDhabi | @VisitAbuDhabi | @InAbuDhabi pic.twitter.com/gPEggK7CGZ

— UFC (@ufc) September 20, 2024

The complete latest UFC 308 lineup includes:

• Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway – for featherweight title
• Khamzat Chimaev vs. Robert Whittaker – for middleweight title
• Ciryl Gane vs. Alexander Volkov
• Magomed Ankalaev vs. Aleksandar Rakic
• Shara Magomedov vs. Armen Petrosyan
• Dan Ige vs. Lerone Murphy
• Rafael dos Anjos vs. Geoff Neal
• Myktybek Orolbai vs. Mateusz Rebecki
• Said Nurmagomedov vs. Daniel Santos
• Brunno Ferreira vs. Abus Magomedov
• Kennedy Nzechukwu vs. Justin Tafa
• Rinat Fakhretdinov vs. Nursulton Ruziboev
• Farid Basharat vs. Victor Hugo
• Ismail Naurdiev vs. Bruno Silva
• Ibo Aslan vs. Raffael Cerqueira

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 308.

Villa were having an off-day, 1-0 down to rivals Wolves on Saturday when Duran replaced Jacob Ramsey in the 62nd minute.

The home fans greeted his arrival with a wall of noise.

Just 11 minutes later he won a loose ball on the edge of the box and fed Morgan Rogers who in turn set up Watkins for Villa’s equaliser.

After Ezri Konsa put the hosts ahead in the 88th minute, Duran struck in the fourth minute of added time following a well-timed run and calm finish after Morgan’s pass across goal.

“He’s a big talent,” team-mate Konsa told BBC Match of the Day. “We see it every day in training. It’s important for him to stay humble and we’ll help him do that. He’s still young.”

The stats make impressive reading.

Six of Villa’s past 12 Premier League goals have been scored by Duran after he came off the bench.

The 20-year-old has scored a goal every 80 minutes across his league career. Only Manchester City’s Erling Haaland has a better ratio with a strike every 79 minutes (minimum two goals scored).

Duran’s three winning goals as a substitute – which equate to one every 33 minutes – are the joint-most for winners in a single Premier League season.

But he still has some way to go to match Adam le Fondre’s record of eight as a sub, winners or not, in a single campaign.

While Jermain Defoe (24) has the most all-time Premier League goals as a substitute. Duran, who has eight, is not even in the top 40.