Ulster welcomed back Irish internationals, Nick Timoney and Stuart McCloskey into the starting XV, while fly-half, James Humphreys, made his first senior start.
Tom McAllister, Rob Herring, Zac Ward and Werner Kok were all on the scoresheet, with James Humphreys and Nathan Doak converting two each. The contest took a dramatic swing when Zebre's Simone Gesi was given a straight red for foul play on Stuart McCloskey in the first half, however the Italians fought throughout and made Ulster battle for the five points.
Richie Murphy's side were put under heavy pressure from the kick off, with Ulster conceding penalties giving the Italians good field position. Ulster did show strong goal line defence in the opening ten minutes, however Zebre made the breakthrough after 11 minutes when Matteo Canali broke off from a driving maul and powered over. Fly-half Martin Roger Farias added the conversion.
Ulster would start to play their expansive brand of rugby and started to create opportunities in the Zebre half.
A scrum penalty won by Academy tighthead, Tom McAllister, would lead to the perfect attacking platform and phases later in the 20th minute, the young prop would power over the Zebre tryline for his first Ulster senior try in only his second match. James Humphreys slotted the conversion.
In the 29th minute came a game changing moment, when in a physical scrap for the ball, Simone Gesi put his hand to Stuart McCloskey face and dangerously put his fingers towards the centre's eyes. The TMO review confirmed the foul play and referee, Craig Evans, sent the Italian international for an early dismissal.
Going down to fourteen galvanised the Italians, who kept up their fighting spirit against Ulster for the rest of the half. At the HT whistle both sides went in level.
Zebre Parma 7-7 Ulster Rugby
After regrouping at half time, Ulster went on the offensive and notched their second try on the 44th minute, through the experienced hooker, Rob Herring, who produced a super finish in the corner after peeling off from a maul. Humphreys added the conversion.
In the 53rd minute, Zac Ward would add Ulster's third score, following a brilliant bit of play from replacement forward, Juarno Augustus, who broke the Zebre line and beat a defender to feed Ward for the try. Replacement fly-half, Nathan Doak, added the conversion.
Ulster would have to wait until the 68th minute for their bonus-point try, which came from the Player of the Match, Werner Kok, who was found on the left wing and produced a brilliant finish in the corner for the all important fourth. With Doak's conversion, Ulster had secured what they came for.
The Italians kept plugging away, in a hotly contested match with tempers flaring at times.
A superb individual try from Jacopo Trulla in the 75th minute gave the Italians something to cheer about, but Ulster through strong defensive efforts were able to see the match out and send the loud Ulster support home happy.
The bonus-point victory sends the province into third spot in the URC table, with a massive EPCR Challenge Cup Round of 16 knockout match against Ospreys to come next Saturday at Affidea Stadium.
FT: Zebre Parma 12-28 Ulster Rugby
BKT United Rugby Championship Player of the Match - Werner Kok
The South African winger was constantly involved in the physical battle, getting stuck into the breakdown and contesting well in the air throughout. A brilliant try in the corner for the bonus-point score.
Scorers:
Zebre Parma:
TRY: Canali, Trulla
CON: Farias
Ulster:
TRY: McAllister, Herring, Ward, Kok
CON: Humphreys (2), Doak (2)
Teams
Ulster Rugby:
1. Eric O’Sullivan, 2. Rob Herring, 3. Tom McAllister, 4. Iain Henderson (Capt), 5. Joe Hopes, 6. David McCann,
2. Nick Timoney, 8. Bryn Ward, 9. Conor McKee, 10. James Humphreys, 11. Zac Ward, 12. Stuart McCloskey, 13. James Hume, 14. Werner Kok, 15. Ethan McIlroy
Replacements:
16. James McCormick, 17. Angus Bell, 18. Scott Wilson, 19. Matthew Dalton, 20. Juarno Augustus, 21. Nathan Doak, 22. Ben Carson 23. Ben Moxham
Zebre Parma:
15 Da Re, 14 Mirko Belloni, 13 Giulio Bertaccini, 12 Marco Zanon, 11 Simone Gesi, 10 Roger Farias, 9 Alessandro Fusco, 8 David Odiase, 7 Bautista Stavile, 6 Alessandro Ortombina, 5 Leonard Krumov (C), 4 Matteo Canali, 3 Enrique Pieretto, 2 Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, 1 Muhamed Hasa
Replacments:
16 Giovanni Quattrini, 17 Juan Pitinari, 18 Ion Neculai, 19 Giacomo Ferrari, 20 Giovanni Licata, 21 Thomas Dominguez, 22 Martin Roger Farias, 23 Luca Morisi