Ulster returned to winning ways in some style at Kingspan Stadium tonight as some of the newer additions to the back-line made their mark in a 36-18 bonus point win over the Dragons.
First half tries from man-of-the-match Henry Speight, David Shanahan and Michael Lowry, whose solo effort was the pick of the bunch, were followed by two second half scores from Stuart McCloskey who is part of the Ireland squad for the November internationals.
The bonus point victory has moved Dan McFarland’s men up two places to third in Conference B of the GUINNESS PRO14, lying three points behind the Scarlets and a further five behind leaders and defending champions Leinster. Fourth-placed Edinburgh trail Ulster by five points.
Academy prospect and Ireland Sevens international Robert Baloucoune made his senior debut on the right wing as one of five changes to the Ulster side that went down 44-12 to Racing 92, with Speight making a welcome return from injury on the opposite flank.
With the exception of one defensive lapse which allowed the visitors a try against the run of play, Ulster’s first half performance was exceptional in its fluency and brought three tries. After a close call in the corner for Speight within the first five minutes, with the winger just beaten to an aerial ball, out-half Johnny McPhillips slotted over the first points of the evening with a central penalty.
The two players were soon combining for the game’s first try, the former Ireland Under-20 international picking out the Australian flyer at just the right moment to craft him a clear run to the line. McPhillips also added the extras for a 10-0 lead.
After a Jason Tovey penalty, Ulster continued to impress with quick ball movement, Lowry only just denied a clean break by an immaculately-timed tap tackle from number 10 Tovey, before a move started and finished by Shanahan brought try number two on 22 minutes.
The Dublin-born scrum half latched onto turnover ball on his own 10-metre line, with fantastic footwork from Ireland call-up Will Addison then carving a hole in the heart of the Dragons defence for Shanahan to pick up and finish off.
The Dragons pulled one back on the half hour through a close range Huw Taylor effort, swiftly followed by a conversion and penalty from Tovey to reduce the Ulster lead to a mere four points, when moments before they had appeared to be cruising to the most comfortable of wins.
The Ulster response was as brilliant as it was immediate, with Lowry picking up from McPhillips, following superb legwork from Iain Henderson, and darting his way past five would-be tacklers for his first senior try to make it 24-13 for half-time. It was another entry on the 20-year-old’s nascent but already impressive highlights reel.
The bonus point was secured within 10 minutes of the restart, Speight coming close in the left corner before some textbook recycling from Ulster got big centre McCloskey over on the opposite flank, McPhillips again supplying the final pass.
Crunching tackles from both Jordi Murphy and Baloucoune soon put paid to any Dragons hope of a quick riposte. The unfortunate Lowry hobbled off with a knock just before the hour, and Ulster had to withstand a period of concerted Dragons pressure, culminating in a 67th minute try for centre Jarryd Sage.
The Dragons sensed a losing bonus point as the game ticked into its final five minutes, but aggressive tackling from the province’s forwards and backs alike kept their raids at bay. When the turnover came, Kieran Treadwell showed both strength and an admirable turn of pace to elude four defenders and set up McCloskey for his second of the night.
There was even time for a final breakaway attempt from Ulster, replacements Greg Jones and Andrew Warwick combining before McPhillips touched down, only for the try to be ruled out on the TMO review for a clear knock-on from the prop.
Giving his reaction after the match, Ulster head coach McFarland said: “I’m certainly happy with the five tries and the bonus point. There were sticky moments, especially in the second half where I thought we could have built on what we put down in the first half. It became a bit sticky, slow, lots of injuries and we didn’t get our momentum going.
“I think Jared (Payne) has done a really good job with our defence but it is a work in progress. It’s a new system for the lads and we’ve made a few steps forward but it’s by no means a finished product. When you’re a coach putting in a new system that’s taken steps forward and at certain points, it drops back you’ll be disappointed.
“He’ll go away and review the game and find stuff that was really good and there’ll be stuff that he’s looking to work on. Jared is doing a really good job but it’s new and that takes time.”
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