RABO DIRECT PRO 12: Scarlets 24 Ulster17:ANDREW TRIMBLE pounced for an opportunist try as Ulster threatened to steal another narrow victory at Parc y Scarlets on Saturday but it was not enough as Brian McLaughlin's men fell to their fourth consecutive defeat.
Last season Ruan Pienaar’s last-minute kick clinched a narrow victory at the home of the Scarlets but they could not repeat the feat as the Welsh region secured a first win over Irish opposition in 11 attempts.
The boot of Aled Thomas and a touchdown from Liam Williams saw the Scarlets go into the interval boasting a 13-3 lead. Ulster fought back and Trimble snatched a crucial try to give his side a sniff of victory but the hosts responded with an Adam Warren try to secure the win.
The defeat sees the Ulstermen crash to ninth in the Pro12 table – the lowest of the Irish provinces. And while McLaughlin admits his side’s results have not been up to scratch he insists it is not time to hit the panic button.
McLaughlin said: “We’re not where we want to be and our results haven’t been the best. We have a tough program coming up and it’s important that we get back to the level we’re capable of playing.
“We know we are good enough, we just have to make sure our preparation and organisation is spot on. The positive outcome from the Scarlets match is we got the bonus-point and it was important that we came back with something. But I’m disappointed that we didn’t come back with more.
“Their try before half-time was a real turning point and maybe we were unfortunate not to get a few more points on the board.
“They started the second half well but credit to my side they fought back.
“ Last year we were able to nick a narrow win here and it’s by the small margins that you win or lose a game.
“It’s a tight league and there are no easy victories. You have to earn the right to win but we were a little bit off the money.”
Ulster were boosted by the return of six of their World Cup stars with Johann Muller, Ruan Pienaar, Andrew Trimble, Tom Court, Paddy Wallace and Simon Danielli all starting in the scrappy encounter. The Scarlets welcomed back Ken Owens, Tavis Knoyle, Scott Williams and injury-victim Matthew Rees to their match-day 23.
Ulster made a bright start to the encounter and edged into a 3-0 lead thanks to an Ian Humphreys penalty after the hosts’ backline was caught offside.
The Welsh region had the chance to level the scores after 16 minutes but Thomas skewed his long-range effort wide. But he made amends and slotted two penalties to hand his side a 6-3 lead after 35 minutes.
The Scarlets landed a decisive blow with the last move of the half when Williams spotted a gap in the Ulster defence and raced clear to score beneath the posts. Thomas converted to hand the hosts a 13-3 half-time lead.
Humphreys chipped away at the Scarlets lead with a pair of penalties either side of a successful Thomas shot at goal and on 64 minutes Trimble went over to give Ulster a chance of victory.
Ruan Pienaar threaded a kick into the right-hand corner and the returning Ireland wing pounced after Jonathan Edwards hesitated. Humphreys could have levelled the scores but his conversion bounced back off the uprights as the scores remained 16-14.
But the Scarlets instantly struck-back when Warren went around Nevin Spence to restore the hosts’ seven-point advantage.
Scarlets replacement outhalf Dan Newton added a penalty to open up a 10-point advantage with just minutes to spare but Humphreys salvaged the losing bonus-point after slotting his fourth penalty on 79 minutes.
SCARLETS:D Evans; L Williams, S Lamont, A Warren, A Fenby; A Thomas, R Williams; R Jones, K Owens, R Thomas; D Day, D Welch, R McCusker (capt), J Edwards, B Morgan. Replacements: M Rees for Owens, T Noyle for R Williams (both 45 mins), S Williams for L Williams (59 mins), P John for Jones (61 mins), R Pugh for Edwards (66 mins), A Shingler for Day (75 mins), D Newton for Thomas (76 mins), S Gardiner for Thomas (78 mins).
ULSTER: S Danielli; A Trimble, N Spence, P Wallace, C Gilroy; I Humphreys, R Pienaar; P McAllister, A Kyriacou), T Court; J Muller (capt), D Tuohy; P Wanneburg, M McComish, C Henry. Replacements: A D'Arcy for Danielli (56 mins), D Cave for Wallace, L Stevenson for Tuohy, R Diack for McComish (all 66 mins), N Brady for Kyriacou (71 mins), A Macklin for McAllister (75 mins), P Marshall for Pienaar (79 mins).
Referee: A Falzone (WRU).
