NG Dragons 12 Ulster 19
A stuttering Ulster clicked into gear when it mattered most to earn a battling 19-12 Guinness Pro12 triumph over the Newport Gwent Dragons.
Les Kiss’s side survived an almighty scare in the final seconds as home captain Rynard Landman crashed over the line, but was deemed to have been held-up.
A piece of quick thinking from Ulster scrum-half Paul Marshall saw him cross for the game’s only try as the Ulstermen fought back from nine-points down.
Taulupe Faletau looked to be unaffected by his collapsed move across the Severn Bridge to Bath as he led the charge in the early minutes.
A scrum infringement allowed the Dragons to build pressure and launch an assault on the Ulster line.
Faletau and Elliot Dee were stopped just short before the Ulster defence finally cracked and gave away a penalty at a ruck.
Dorian Jones was on-hand to convert the simple three-pointer and put his side into the ascendancy.
The early scare failed to spark Kiss’s men into life and they soon found themselves tasked with rearguard action once more.
Not only did they concede another three points from the boot of Jones, but they lost Stuart McCloskey to the sin-bin for 10 minutes after the centre stuck out a leg and tripped an attacker.
With six points already on the board and with a man advantage after 16 minutes, the hosts could sense an upset and went back on the offensive.
Some slick handling moved the defensive line around the pitch and forced Ulster into another offence, this time hands in the ruck, and Jones converted from long-range for a 9-0 lead.
The visitors finally woke up after the 20 minute mark and made inroads into Dragons’ territory for the first time.
A penalty followed when the home side were caught slowing the ball at a ruck, and Jackson hit his first penalty to claw Ulster back into the game.
The Belfast side had finally got a handle on their indiscipline and they were back down the attacking end of the pitch just after half-an hour, with the same result.
Another ruck infringement allowed Jackson to kick a second penalty to cut the gap to 9-6 at half-time.
Ulster began the second-half as the Dragons started the first and almost snuck into the lead three minutes after the restart, but when Darren Cave dived for the line, he lost control the ball.
But referee Dudley Phillips had spotted home captain Landman failing to roll away in the build up and showed him a yellow card. And Ulster made their man advantage count.
Marshall sent Dan Tuohy crashing into the depleted defensive line deep into the Dragons' half, and when a gap opened up, the slight scrum-half was alert enough to dart through for a simple score at the posts.
Jackson landed the conversion, but they were immediately back on defensive duty.
Rory Best replaced Rob Herring after 54 minutes, but only lasted 10 minutes before being sin-binned, giving Jason Tovey the chance to put his side back within a point.
Just when it looked like the comeback was on, Ulster showed their resilience to fight their way back down-field.
They managed Best’s absence comfortably and earned a penalty themselves with ten minutes remaining, which Jackson converted.
Jackson made sure the Dragons had to score a try when he knocked another over from long-range to extend their lead to 19-12.
This win did not come easily as Ulster put up a six-minute defensive stand with the Dragons knocking at the door in the dying moments.
Scoring sequence - 11 mins D Jones penalty 3-0; 16 mins D Jones penalty 6-0; 16 mins D Jones penalty 9-0; 26 mins P Jackson penalty 9-3; 35 mins P Jackson penalty 9-6; 51 mins P Marshall try, P Jackson conversion 9-13; 63 mins J Tovey penalty 12-13; 69 mins P Jackson penalty 12-16; 71 mins P Jackson penalty 12-19.
Newport Gwent Dragons: C Meyer, A Hewitt, A Hughes, A Warren, N Scott; D Jones, S Pretorius; B Stankovich, E Dee, S Knight; C Hill, R Landman (capt); E Jackson, O Griffiths, T Faletau.
Replacements: J Tovey for C Meyer (28 mins); B Harris for S Knight (51 mins); Lewis Evans for Ed Jackson (63 mins); C Davies for S Pretorious (63 mins); M Screech for C Hill (68 mins); P Price for B Stankovich (68 mins); R Buckley for E Dee (68 mins); R Wardle for D Jones (78 mins).
Ulster: P Nelson; R Scholes, D Cave, S McCloskey, S Arnold; P Jackson, P Marshall; K McCall, R Herring (capt), W Herbst; D Tuohy, F van der Merwe; Diack, C Henry, S Mulholland.
Replacements: R Best for R Herring (54 mins); R Pienaar for P Marshall (57 mins); C Gilroy for S Arnold (60 mins); R Lutton for W Herbst (66 mins); S Reidy for S Mullholland (68 mins); L Stevenson for F van de Merwe (74 mins).
Referee: Dudley Phillips (IRFU)
Attendance: 4,483
