Celtic League/ Ulster 31 Llanelli Scarlets 16: IF Ulster had any doubts about how difficult it will be to defend their crown, they were dispelled at Ravenhill on Saturday night.
Mark McCall's side did ultimately emerge from an action-packed game with the four points despite having their six internationals unavailable and captain Simon Best still recovering from a broken ankle.
But such was the disdain that Llanelli showed to the champions by carving them open time and again during the first half in front of a healthy crowd of 8,265 at Ravenhill that Phil Davies' similarly under-strength side look well-equipped to be serious title challengers this season.
Ulster now face four trips from their next five assignments, which made Saturday's victory all the more important in terms of generating early momentum for what will be a tricky September.
And the positive that coach McCall will take from the game that extended Ulster's unbeaten league run in 2006 to 11 games for Saturday's trip to Newport Gwent Dragons is that they still possess the know-how to close the deal in the final quarter.
"The win was absolutely everything for us," said McCall. "We have four of our next five games away from home hence the importance of getting off to a winning start against a good Scarlets team.
"We were disappointed with our first-half performance. It was a sign of their rustiness and a sign that they had had a more demanding pre-season than us in terms of demanding fixtures.
"But the turn-around was great in terms of the effort the players put in during the second half. I think tactically we got it right too by controlling field position, making good decisions and putting them under pressure."
Ulster had found themselves in dire straits going into half-time as they trailed 16-8 and could easily have conceded more points as the visitors bossed the breakdown and offloaded at will in the midfield.
The home side's bright start, which yielded a penalty and try by David Humphreys, had quickly turned sour as Stephen Jones, on his competitive debut since his return to Stradey Park from France, slotted three penalties and Darren Daniel had scorched in for a try.
In truth, but for some resolute defending Ulster's position could have been much worse and they were more than thankful to limp into the interval after Humphreys had cut the deficit to five points with his second penalty.
But some harsh words by the coach at the break reinvigorated the home side's efforts, with a big step up by the pack in contesting the breakdown yielding major rewards. As Llanelli's supply of quick ball drained away, so Humphreys, much more assertive after the break, and Paul Steinmetz were able to pin the visitors back with their right and left foot kicking combination.
Two more Humphreys' penalties restored Ulster's lead before the veteran outhalf showed his old magic is still on tap with a superlative grubber for Steinmetz to touch down in the 67th minute. With Humphreys' conversion came an eight-point lead and at last breathing space.
There was no way back for Llanelli and even a bonus point was denied to them when Jones missed what for him was a routine penalty before Ulster debutant Mark Bartholomeusz raced 70 metres for a dazzling intercept try two minutes from the end as the visitors forced the play.
Humphreys' conversion brought his match total to 21 points, proving that even in the twilight of his career, he remains crucial to Ulster's cause. "In the first half, when we did have the ball, we couldn't keep it for more than one phase and couldn't generate any momentum or fast ball," added McCall. "But in the second half we brought our first-target targets a little bit closer and all of a sudden we were able to keep ball for longer periods of time and put them under some pressure.
"We said at the interval that we are a good second-half team, we are a good last-quarter team and we make good decisions when the going gets tough.
"Everyone felt at half-time we were second best but there was still only five points in it and for us to win the second half 20 points to nil against a very good Scarlets team was great."
SCORING SEQUENCE: 8 mins: D Humphreys pen, 3-0; 10 mins: Humphreys try, 8-0; 12 mins: S Jones pen, 8-3; 17 mins: Jones pen, 8-6: 20 mins: D Daniel try, Jones con, 8-13; 33 mins: Jones pen, 8-16; 37 mins: Humphreys pen, 11-16; 43 mins: Humphreys pen, 14-16; 57 mins: Humphreys pen, 17-16; 65 mins: P Steinmetz try, Humphreys con, 24-16; 78 mins: M Bartholomeusz try, Humphreys con, 31-16;
ULSTER: B Cunningham; M Bartholomeusz, P Wallace, P Steinmetz, A Maxwell; D Humphreys, K Campbell; J Fitzpatrick, P Shields, T Court, J Harrison, T Barker, S Ferris, N McMillan, R Wilson. Replacements: M McCullough for Barker (48), K Dawson for McMillan (48), D Fitzpatrick for Court (53), K Maggs for Wallace (59), N Brady for Shields (77) S Young for Cunningham (79).
LLANELLI SCARLETS: M Thomas; D James, R King, G Evans, D Daniel; S Jones, D Peel; P John, M Rees, J Davies, L Reed, S Macleod, I Afeaki, G Thomas, N Thomas. Replacements: C Dunlea for P John (65), A Popham for N Thomas (65), M Watkins for G Evans (65), A Jones for S MacLeod (69).
Referee: A Ireland (Scotland)
Attendance: 8,265
