Ulster 49
Dragons 26
IN THEIR FIRST game since the sacking of Dan McFarland, Ulster ran in seven scores against the Dragons in a game that saw the beaten Welsh region secure a try-bonus of their own late on.
With their longest-serving coach of the pro era having been relieved of his duties at Kingspan Stadium in the middle of last week, this was the first we have seen of the northern province since and they responded with a big win in front of their home crowd.
Indeed, it was their first five-pointer in the league at Ravenhill this season, their only previous full haul in domestic action coming away to Zebre in the season’s opening game.
They’d have that four-try bonus secured as early as the 33rd minute but there will surely be some degree of annoyance over how they allowed their depleted opposition to match the three tries they managed after the turn.
Still, without a win of any kind since New Year’s Day, perhaps the side were merely happy to have ended their three-game skid in all competitions and get back into the URC play-off spots having fallen as low as tenth prior to kick-off.
This win lifts them all the way up to fifth and, after Dan Soper captained the ship in this one, they now await the arrival of Irish under-20s head coach Richie Murphy who will start in BT6 just in time to lead the two-week trip to South Africa that immediately follows the Six Nations.
Ulster had spoken about taking more risks in the game and it was one such instance that brought the opening try with five minutes on the clock.
Having had plenty of ball but made little headway in the opening exchanges, it was a delicate poke through with the boot from the restored Billy Burns that allowed Will Addison to break the deadlock.
The Dragons, however, would hit back. When Ulster were pinged for going off their feet, Will Reed kicked his side down into the corner.
After an impressive driving maul, James Benjamin was the man dotting down.
Before a quarter of the game was up, the hosts would retake the lead.
Marcus Rea forced the turnover with a big hit in midfield and the impressive Addison quickly got the ball wide with an offload to McCann. The big flanker had John Cooney inside him but dummied the pass before sending Mike Lowry clear off his outside shoulder.
Having retaken the lead, Ulster would seize control of the game before half-time securing their try-bonus by the 33rd minute.
With the Dragons getting on the wrong side of referee Ian Kenny, Ulster were getting all too easy access into opposition territory, coming away with tries on consecutive visits.
First, lock Harry Sheridan barged over from close range before Lowry was again the beneficiary of some sharp offloading.
This time Billy Burns’ pass afforded Jude Postlethwaite a half-break and the inside centre popped the ball off to create the second-half of Lowry’s brace.
After Will Addison slipped to end one promising break for Ulster, Dragons would bag the first score of the second-half, again utilising their maul to make the ground prior to lock Matthew Screech going over the whitewash.
Ulster responded through McCann but their first-half dominance wasn’t to be replicated in the second 40.
The usual procession of replacements and one-sided scoreboard hardly helped the game develop any flow after the turn but Dragons were spending plenty of time in the Ulster ’22′.
When, with 14 minutes remaining, replacement hooker Brodie Coghlan was the latest to score from a matter of inches rather than metres, the Welsh region were on the hunt for an unlikely try bonus.
While they would ultimately secure that consolation with a 79th minute penalty try, Ulster at least had stretched their advantage considerably before then.
Both tries would be created by replacements and finished by back-rowers. First Jacob Stockdale took the ball at pace before finding another released member of Andy Farrell’s Six Nations panel in Nick Timoney for the number eight to score.
Moments later, it was Luke Marshall running into the open space with his inside pass finding Dave McCann and the former Irish under-20s skipper scoring his second of the night.
The first game of a new era for Ulster wasn’t a game to live long in the memory beyond that change in the coaching box.
After so long without a win, the side will no doubt still appreciate the feeling of some forward momentum once again.
Scorers for Ulster:
Tries: Will Addison, Mike Lowry (2), Harry Sheridan, David McCann (2), N Timoney
Conversions: John Cooney 7/7
Scorers for Dragons:
Tries: James Benjamin, Matthew Screech, Brodie Coghlan, Penalty try.
Conversions: Will Reed 2/3
ULSTER: Will Addison (Jacob Stockdale, 52); Ethan McIlroy, James Hume, Jude Postlethwaite (Luke Marshall, 67), Mike Lowry; Billy Burns, John Cooney; Steven Kitshoff (Andy Warwick, 52), Tom Stewart (John Andrew, 67), Tom O’Toole (Scott Wilson, 67); Cormac Izuchukwu (Kieran Treadwell, 52), Harry Sheridan; Dave McCann, Marcus Rea (Sean Reffell, 52), Nick Timoney.
DRAGONS: Ewan Rosser; Joe Westwood, Steff Hughes, Aneurin Owen (Harri Ackerman, 47), Corey Baldwin; Will Reed, Dane Blacker (Gonzalo Bertranou, 52); Rodrigo Martinez (Aki Seiuli, 52), James Benjamin (BrodieCoghlan, 58), Chris Coleman (Luke Yendle, 52); Sean Lonsdale, Matthew Screech; Dan Lydiate, Harry Taylor (Barny Langton, 19), Taine Basham.
Referee: I Kenny
Player of the Match: Jude Postlethwaite.
