Ulster 40 Dragons 19
The result was no surprise as this six-try win shunted Ulster up to second place in the table though this will only be temporary unless Munster do a job on the Stormers in Cape Town on Saturday.
Having said that it wasn’t anything like as smooth a victory as Ulster would have anticipated, the Welsh region finding a way back into the game not long after the hosts were admiring the fact that Tom Stewart had managed a hat-trick of tries to take his URC total to 16 for the season.
Still, all Dan McFarland’s squad can do is keep racking up the results and ironing out the creases, a case of seeing what then happens with just one more round to go after this weekend is out of the way and, of course, a home quarter-final already secured.
There were just eight minutes on the clock when Ulster, who were showing early enterprise with the ball, moved it left and a lovely offload from Stuart McCloskey found Jacob Stockdale on an angle.
The Ulster winger drew the tackle and put a rampaging David McCann clear to the line. John Cooney slotted a great conversion.
However, the Dragons stunned their hosts by scoring next when, four minutes later, Taine Basham brushed past Eric O’Sullivan and though nailed by Michael Lowry short of the line, the flanker passed off the deck to the supporting Angus O’Brien who crossed near the sticks.
O’Brien’s conversion tied the scores and put pressure on the hosts just when they least expected it.
On 20 minutes Ulster thought they had the lead again when Stockdale put Craig Gilroy away for his first try in over a year on a rare appearance for the province only for it to be ruled out for what looked to be a harsh obstruction by Duane Vermeulen on O’Brien.
Just as the game reached the half-hour mark, Ulster got a chance to get their maul working via a couple of penalties and the inevitable happened with Tom Stewart getting over. Cooney, though, was wide from the tee.
There was no let-up in the pressure as Stewart was over again from another maul in the closing minutes after Elliot Dee was yellow carded for pulling down an earlier drive. Cooney added the two points this time to put the hosts 19-7 in front which is how the opening 40 minutes ended.
Still a man down, the Dragons made the brighter start to the new half though Ashton Hewitt was unable to hold a long pass with the winger in space. Ulster, though, regathered themselves and on 49 minutes Stewart claimed his hat-trick.
A lovely combination by Cooney and Ethan McIlroy allowed the latter make a line break, link with McCann who, in turn supplied, Stockdale.
The Ulster winger drew the cover to Stewart who was steaming up on the left for the hooker’s hat-trick and Ulster’s bonus point. Cooney’s conversion brought the maximum return.
But the visitors came right back into the game when Dee crashed through from a lineout, Will Reed converting and then two minutes later skipper Rhodri Williams sprinted clear though the conversion was wide.
Even so, Ulster’s lead had been cut to seven points and no longer did this resemble a jaunt for the northern province.
Once more, they rolled up their sleeves with just over 10 minutes to go, and from a lineout move, John Andrew rumbled and Nick Timoney hit a strong line which propelled him over the line for try number five for Ulster.
Cooney added his fourth conversion and it now stood at 33-19 to the northern province and in the 79th minute it became 40-19 after a penalty try was awarded in the wake of Ashton Hewitt’s slap down and yellow card.
ULSTER: M Lowry; C Gilroy, J Hume, S McCloskey, J Stockdale; B Burns, J Cooney; E O’Sullivan, T Stewart, T O’Toole; A O’Connor (capt), S Carter; D McCann, Marcus Rea, D Vermeulen.
Replacements: J Toomaga-Allen for O’Toole (5 mins), A Warwick for O’Sullivan (22), E McIlroy for Lowry (44-53 HIA, for Gilroy 76), N Timoney for Vermeulen (53), K Treadwell for Carter (58), S Moore for McCloskey (65), J Andrew for Stewart (66), N Doak for Burns (76).
DRAGONS: J Williams; R Dyer, J Rosser, M Clark, A Hewitt; A O’Brien, R Williams (capt); R Jones, E Dee, L Brown; B Carter, M Screech; G Nott, T Basham, A Wainwright.
Replacements: L Fairbrother for Brown (27 mins), W Reed for O’Brien (53) A Owen for M Clark (53), S Lonsdale for Nott (57), B Coghlan for Dee (62), L Jones for Dyer (64), J Reynolds for R Jones (66), G Young for Wainwright (75).
Yellow cards: Dee 37 mins, Hewitt 79 mins
Referee: B Blain (SRU)
