Treviso 15 Ulster 16:Ulster stretched their unbeaten league run to nine games last night as they claimed yet another away victory but Mark Anscombe's men were forced to work hard against the Italians.
Young fullback Peter Nelson scored their only try whilst Niall O’Connor chipped in with 11 points Treviso scored a couple of tries and would have sealed a win had they not missed a late penalty. Of the Ulster players with a point to prove, Tom Court, Andrew Trimble and Paul Marshal all had reasonable outings. Court gave Treviso’s South African tighthead Jacobus Roux a good grilling in the scrum, a timely reminder that he still has something to offer Declan Kidney. Behind him, Marshall was his usual livewire self.
Ulster started poorly. They lost two of their first four lineouts, coughed up a plethora of turnovers, and trailed 7-0 after just eight minutes. Veteran fullback Brendan Williams was creator and finisher for the opening try, starting a counter-attack deep inside his own half and finishing superbly after interlinking with Christian Loamanu and Ludovico Nitoglia.
Ulster eased into the match with a penalty by O’Connor and got a try, a first for 20-year old fullback Nelson. It was a direct result of a trademark tap penalty from Marshal, superb support play from Court, and a spectacular dive from Nelson.
O’Connor followed up with an equally impressive conversion but Ulster gifted a soft try just before half-time, Nitoglia crossing for a 15-10 interval lead.
Ulster were sharp out of the blocks for the second half, and O’Connor reduced the deficit with another penalty and became more and more dominant. Simply by holding onto the ball and going through the phases they began to strangle the hosts, forcing a steady trickle of penalties in the process. O’Connor missed one kickable effort but then cracked over a superb long-range strike to nudge his side ahead, 16-15.
Di Bernardo was short with a long-range penalty before he missedfrom just beside the posts in the dying embers of the half. Ulster, for the second time in a week, had gotten out of jail.
