Tom Stewart scored twice in a tense first half in Belfast which ended with only a point to separate the two sides. The Scots pulled away after the hour mark before Rob Baloucoune scored late on, and a last-second effort from James Hume secured the 2 points for Ulster.
Two-time Rugby World Cup winner Steven Kitshoff made his first appearance at home and wasted no time in making an instant impact. The loosehead won an early scrum penalty which launched Ulster into the Edinburgh half, and a strong carry resulted in another penalty for his new side on the 5 metre line.
Billy Burns stepped up and knocked it into touch to set the stage for the opening try by Stewart, which came in the 6th minute. In trademark fashion, the hooker found Alan O’Connor with his throw before gathering the ball at the back of the rolling maul and darting for the line to score his 5th of the season, with John Cooney converting.
Ulster looked certain to score another when Rob Baloucoune gathered Burns’ up-and-under and raced into the 22 before releasing the supporting Nick Timoney, but the openside was hauled down just 5 metres short of the line, and it was Edinburgh who struck next.
The visitors’ fly-half Ben Healy kicked a 17th minute penalty to get the Scots on the board before captain Ben Vellacot scored a try from close range to edge them ahead, with Healy converting.
Jacob Stockdale then turned an innocuous gather into the second Ulster try when he spotted a gap in behind the Edinburgh defence and nailed a neat 50:22. The subsequent lineout maul was monstrous and quickly powered the Ulster pack to the line, which inevitably ended with another Stewart try to give them a 2-point lead on the half hour mark.
Healy kicked his second penalty on the stroke of half-time to give his side a narrow advantage.
HT: Ulster 12-13 Edinburgh
Early in the 2nd half, Healy got back to the in-goal area to touch down Stockdale’s chip kick, but his goalline drop-out went for height rather than distance which allowed Ulster to win a penalty after putting huge pressure on the Edinburgh forwards. The lineout maul couldn’t get set on this occasion, but they were afforded another chance 2 minutes later only for Stewart to be held up over the line.
The Ulster pressure continued when Will Addison zipped a quick pass to Stockdale lurking in space down the left, but the winger needed two attempts to get it under control which allowed the defence to get across and force the knock-on close to the line.
This pressure looked to have been rewarded when James Hume danced his way through a gap in the defence to touch down in the 53rd minute, but Baloucoune was judged to have knocked the ball on as he flicked it to the outside centre.
Edinburgh scored a 60th minute try through Schoeman which Healy converted for an 8 point lead. Robin Hislop then scored Edinburgh’s 3rd try which Healy converted to make it 27-12 with 10 minutes to play.
Ulster quickly hit back with a try from a lineout maul as Stewart broke down the short side before releasing Baloucoune to finish in the corner with 73 minutes played as they chased the comeback.
However, Ulster had to play the final portion of the game down to 14 as both Will Addison and Ben Moxham went off injured.
This was soon levelled when Harry Patterson saw yellow as Edinburgh scrambled in tired defence. At the death they were powerless to stop Hume surging through for a vital try for Ulster, with Nathan Doak converting.
FT: Ulster 24-27 Edinburgh
Scorers
Ulster
TRY: Stewart (2), Baloucoune, Hume
CON: Cooney, Doak
Edinburgh
TRY: Vellacot, Schoeman, Hislop
CON: Healy (3)
PEN: Healy (2)
Line-ups
Ulster
(15-9): Will Addison, Rob Baloucoune, James Hume, Stuart McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale, Billy Burns, John Cooney;
(1-8): Steven Kitshoff, Tom Stewart, Tom O’Toole, Alan O’Connor (C), Kieran Treadwell, Matty Rea, Nick Timoney, James McNabney.
Replacements: John Andrew, Andy Warwick, Marty Moore, Cormac Izuchukwu, Dave Ewers, Nathan Doak, Stewart Moore, Ben Moxham.
Edinburgh
(15-9): Tim Swiel, Paterson, Matt Currie, James Lang, Wes Goosen, Ben Healy, Ben Vellacott (C)
(1-8): Pierre Schoeman, Ewan Ashman, WP Nel, Marshall Sykes, Jamie Hodgson, Luke Crosbie, Jamie Ritchie, Viliame Mata
Replacements: Adam McBurney, Robin Hislop, Javan Sebastian, Glen Young, Hamish Watson, Ali Price, Cammy Scott, Mark Bennett.