Young winger Ethan McIlroy celebrates after touching down against Northampton Saints ©INPHO/Morgan Treacy
Ulster made it two wins from two in the Heineken Champions Cup after claiming a 27-22 bonus point triumph over Northampton Saints at Kingspan Stadium.
Considering they led for 78 minutes on the back of Rob Herring’s early try, Ulster should have had a more comfortable night in front of their home fans.
However, Northampton fought back for a losing bonus point in the end, with tries from Alex Mitchell and Courtnell Skosan supplementing four penalties from the impressive George Furbank.
A superb Ethan McIlroy score, allied to a penalty try, had Ulster leading 19-12 at half-time, and a John Cooney penalty and Craig Gilroy’s 68th try for the province made up their second half haul.
While the result keeps Ulster on course in Europe, they did lose two key men to injury as returning captain Iain Henderson damaged his ankle and centre Stuart McCloskey appeared to pull his hamstring.
Head coach Dan McFarland commented: “We’re pretty grateful we managed to play two games and get nine points. A bonus point win is good at any time but we made it difficult for ourselves.
“When we scored we struggled to get out of our own half. Northampton made it difficult for us in the second quarter and our first try shocked them into slowing down our ball and they did that.
“We had control of the game but we weren’t able to exit properly. It was a definite yellow card and a penalty try, the ball would have gone to our man and he would have scored in the corner.”
He added: “We’ll have to have a look at the injuries later. Stu has a hamstring (injury) and Iain has an ankle injury.”
The Ulstermen made an immediate impression, with 21-year-old winger McIlroy and his back-three colleague, Michael Lowry, probing the Northampton defences.
The clock had not hit two minutes before a series of deft Ulster offloads sent hooker Herring charging in under the posts to get on the scoresheet. Cooney added the conversion to put the hosts seven points up.
The Gallagher Premiership club were quick to respond however, when Ulster were penalised for not rolling away in the tackle. Out-half Furbank slotted the penalty to reduce the gap.
Ulster were looking good for another try when Northampton were penalised for collapsing the maul. Scrum half Cooney looked to get the pass out to Gilroy but Alex Mitchell put a hand in to knock the ball on.
Italian referee Andrea Piardi awarded a penalty try to Ulster and Mitchell dispatched to the sin bin, in a double blow for Chris Boyd’s men.
Furbank had another penalty opportunity when Ulster were pinged for not releasing in the tackle, and made no mistake with the kick. Unfortunately for the hosts, McCloskey pulled up and had to make an early exit for Stewart Moore.
The men in red roared back when the excellent James Hume chipped past halfway, setting the onrushing McIlroy off on a scorching run. He used a brilliant sidestep and change of pace to secure the third try with 20 minutes gone.
In response, Furbank notched up another three points just two minutes later, keeping the battling Saints within touching distance.
A few minutes later again, Ulster were caught off their feet and Furbank reduced the arrears to 19-12 before the break.
McFarland’s charges were first to register points early in the second half, when Fraser Dingwall was penalised for not releasing the ball. Cooney fired over the three points to bring their lead back up to ten.
On 57 minutes, Ulster bagged their bonus point when Billy Burns’ well-judged cross-field kick sought out Gilroy. Ahsee Tuala was unable to catch it and Gilroy pounced to score in the right corner.
Saints continued to chip away at the scoreboard, though. Scrum half Mitchell was able to jink his way through to score their first try on the hour mark. Furbank was unable to convert at 27-17.
Ulster tried to test the much-improved Northampton defence but struggled to get any change out wide or in the tighter exchanges.
The visitors snatched a 78th-minute try through South African Skosan in the corner, but Ulster stood firm to claim the full five points, giving themselves an early Christmas present.
Ever-industrious flanker Nick Timoney was picked out as the Heineken star-of-the-match, while the the elusive Hume, Lowry and rock-solid prop Martin Moore, who impressed in the scrum and the loose, also delivered plenty of impact.
On his home debut, Springbok star Duane Vermeulen got through the full 80 minutes and had some important moments, including a couple of crucial turnovers late in the second half.
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