URC: Ulster hit Dragons for six to start the season with a win

Ulster began their URC campaign with a win at home to Dragons that definitely had the feel of a season opener about it.

Plenty of exciting rugby, plenty of mistakes, flashes of brilliance and a load of rustiness.

But Richie Murphy will be happy that his side began their season with victory - and six tries - given the disappointment time he and his side endured last campaign.

The tie got off to the worst possible start from an Ulster perspective as they conceded just 12 seconds in.

From the Dragons kick-off, David McCann appeared to misjudged the high ball and that allowed Aaron Wainwright to get his boot on it. He moved it forward to streak through the middle and convert just left of the post, which Tinus De Beer converted.

Despite that awful opening for the hosts, they hit back in the 12th minutes as Cormac Izuchukwu forced his way over in the left corner. Nathan Doak converted to level the tie.

However, it took just four more minutes for the visitors to edge back into the lead.

A clever grubber kick from Angus O'Brien set Jared Rosser scampering clear to get over and De Beer did the rest with the conversion to make it 14-7 to the Welsh side.

From that point on though, it was the home side who took control, with the powerful running of their back causing the most damage and creating openings leading to tries.

Their second arrived just before the half hour mark and had its origins in a super break by Stuart McCloskey, Zac Ward and Jacob Stockdale. Despite losing possession, the ball was regained in close proximity to the line and Nick Timoney used his power to barrel over, before Doak converted.

With that try coming three minutes before the half hour, the third arrived three minutes after it as Michael Lowry’s twinkling toes came to the fore.

He produced a clever sidestep to surge forward and offload to McCann who touched down in the corner, with Doak converting again from the right touchline.

Four minutes more elapsed before Ulster grabbed their fourth and final try of the half after more superb work from Lowry.

A jink, a sidestep and a clever offload allowed Zac Ward to get over in the same corner as McCann’s previous effort and again Doak converted from the tightest of angles to put Ulster 28-14 in front at the interval.

It then took just 46 seconds of the second period for the fifth to come.

Ward broke clear down the left and casually waited for Doak to arrive on his inside to tee him up for the easiest of finishes.

Doak knocked over the conversion and, at that stage, it should have been a case of how many points the home side could put on the board.

But, after a spell of pressure, Dragons pulled one back on 48 minutes as Shane Lewis-Hughes forced his way over before De Beer was accurate with his third conversion of the night to make it 35-21.

Ulster made a raft of changes with the 25 minutes to go, one of them being a debut for new signing from Northampton Juarno Augustus.

Just prior to that, Stockdale’s pass wide to James Hume was just out of reach of the player making his 100th appearance.

With both sides using all available replacements, the game petered out somewhat after that.

But there was still time for another Ulster try with the last play of the game as replacement Tom Stewart grabs the ball off his own line-out to race over, before fellow sub Jake Flannery converts.

MATCH STATS

Ulster: Reid, Herring, O’Toole, Henderson (C), Sheridan, Izuchukwu, Timoney, McCann, Doak, Murphy, Stockdale, McCloskey, Hume, Ward, Lowry

Tries: Izuchukwu, Timoney, McCann, Ward, Doak, Stewart

Conversions: Doak (5), Flannery

Dragons: Jones, Dee Hunt, Screech, Carter (C), Lewis-Hughes, Keddie, Wainwright, Williams, De Beer, Rosser, Owen, Westwood, Dyer, O’Brien

Tries: Wainwright, Rosser, Lewis-Hughes

Conversions: De Beer (3)

Referee: Griffin Colby (South Africa)