Celtic League / Scarlets 12 Ulster 12: The Gareth Jenkins factor was always going to work against Ulster. Llanelli have already qualified for next season's Heineken European Cup, and were down several frontliners, but 37 years' service was always going to be repaid in Jenkins' final home game as director of rugby before becoming Welsh national coach.
At least, the Celtic League is still Ulster's to lose as they face the Ospreys next Friday in Swansea two points clear of Leinster, who travel to Edinburgh.
They had a dream start when Isaac Boss sliced through a gap. With the cover closing in the naturalised Kiwi kicked to the corner. The lineout came to nothing but Ulster set up camp in the 22. After 10 minutes of sustained pressure and three attacking lineouts, winger Andrew Maxwell was isolated and turned over. The breakthrough came when a crossfield kick by David Humphreys was controlled by Tommy Bowe before the winger gathered to dive over out wide.
The bonus point had become a possibility midway through the first half when Maxwell crossed for a second try after some genius from Andrew Trimble. When the ball skidded out the back of a Llanelli ruck, Trimble scooped it up at full pace, skipped out of a couple of tackles before offloading blind. Humphreys converted and Ulster were flying.
They even fended off a riposte when Mat McCullough made a textbook steal off the top off a lineout on the Ulster line. Then it all went wrong. Ulster captain Simon Best was stretchered off with a suspected fractured ankle that looks set to rule him out of the summer tour to the Southern Hemisphere. With no tighthead on the bench Justin Fitzpatrick was called into unfamiliar action.
It got worse when Humphreys was caught on the wrong side of a ruck, receiving a belt in the eye that required treatment but he returned for the second half.
Llanelli upped the tempo with a try before the interval. Maxwell was ushered into touch near his own line, outhalf Craig Evans took a quick throw and after Inoke Afeaki was held short, Phil John powered over.
In Humphreys' absence, Wallace missed a penalty before the Scarlets went in for Jenkins' last half-time words. In typical Jenkins style the maul began to rumble. John rose from a pile of bodies for his second try after the Scarlets eight had walked Ulster from the half-way line. Craig Evans converted to level matters.
Moments beforehand, influential Ulster forward Stephen Ferris departed injured. The tension boiled over when Trimble was targeted on the deck by Matthew Watkins after cutting a hole in the Llanelli midfield. Stand in captain Harrison waded in and the opposing pack followed. The home team were always going to get the penalty. Still, the mini Ulster revival was enough to silence the crowd. Humphreys missed a difficult penalty and knocked on the restart to give them back their voice. Achieving a bonus point was a distant memory but a pulsating endgame followed.
Llanelli were denied a third close-in try by the Ulster defence and a bit of creativity from Wallace. The Scarlets looked to have got over the line but referee Graeme Hannah was unsighted after Wallace collided with him.
Evans then missed a penalty under the posts. Ulster lifted the siege but failed to grab victory with Humphreys off target from two drop goal attempts. The rejuvenated Wallace threatened to deliver a killer offload in the closing seconds.
Scoring sequence: 18 mins: T Bowe try, 0-5; 23: A Maxwell try, 0-10; D Humphreys conv, 0-12; 39: P John try, 5-12. Half-time. 47: P John try, 10-12; C Evans conv, 12-12.
LLANELLI SCARLETS: L Byrne; M Jones, M Watkins, R King, G Evans; C Evans, D Peel; P John, A Gravelle, C Dunlea; V Cooper (capt), I Afeaki; H Louw, D Jones, J Mills. Replacements: C Wyatt for H Louw (half-time), M Rees for A Gravelle (51 mins), G Evans for L Byrne (59 mins).
ULSTER: B Cunningham; T Bowe, A Trimble, P Wallace, A Maxwell; D Humphreys, I Boss; B Young, R Best, S Best (capt); J Harrison, M McCullough; N Best, S Ferris, R Wilson. Replacements: J Fitzpatrick for S Best (29 mins), J Bell for D Humphreys (temp, 36-40 mins), N McMillen for S Ferris (44 mins)
Referee: G Hannah (SRFU).
