Ulster came out on top in a free-scoring extravaganza this afternoon at the Isaac Wolfson Stadium, putting seven tries past a spirited Southern Kings side as the returning Craig Gilroy celebrated his 150th cap with a much-needed win.
Les Kiss’s side trailed for 70 minutes as the Kings came exhilaratingly close to their first Guinness Pro12 victory, but first half tries from Sean Reidy and John Andrew, and second-half scores from Andrew again, John Cooney, Andrew Trimble and Clive Ross kept Ulster in touch throughout before Robbie Diack secured the points in the dying minutes.
Ulster go into the three-week international break in second place in conference B on 28 points, six behind leaders the Scarlets, while the Kings pick up their first two points of the campaign thanks to their five-try tally and the seven-point loss margin.
Gilroy’s inclusion was one of 10 changes from the starting XV who lost to Leinster Saturday last, with full-back Charles Piutau and out-half Christian Lealiifano the only backs to retain their places. Outright record cap holder Trimble returned to the left wing, with Louis Ludik and Darren Cave teaming up in midfield, and Cooney back at scrum-half after injury.
An all new-front row of Andrew Warwick, Andrew and Wiehahn Herbst lined up ahead of the returning Kieran Treadwell and Alan O’Connor, retained at lock from the Leinster game. Flanker Matthew Rea was the sole new addition to the back row, where he partnered captain Chris Henry and Number Eight Reidy.
Kings, winless from seven games since joining the Guinness Pro14 and without a single losing bonus point to their name, enjoyed early ball and belied their low standing with a try from centre Berton Klaasen within four minutes.
Better still from the hosts came three minutes later, out-half Oliver Zono grubbing through for full-back Yaw Penxe to pick up and dive over in the corner. A third should have followed on 12 minutes, wing Michael Makase spilling the final pass as he bore down on the Ulster line.
Ulster struggled to get out of their ‘22’, with a knock-on five metres from their line not helping their cause, and only intensive defence and another knock-on from the Kings eventually got the visitors out of trouble.
The Ulstermen hit back on the cusp of the second quarter, with a sublime team try originating all the way back at their own try line. Piutau and Lealiifano made the early metres, before quick recycling from Trimble and Cooney caught the Kings cold, and Reidy took over with a strong grounding.
Zono’s penalty re-extended the Kings’ lead to 10 points on 24 minutes, but as Ulster began to impose their authority on the match, Andrew forced his way over at the base of a rolling maul.
No sooner had play restarted than a fine run from Cave came to an abrupt end with a misplaced pass, and Makase took full advantage as he outpaced Piutau to his own kick-on to just touch down before the Kiwi full-back.
Back on the attack, another Ulster rolling maul – this one starting on the Kings ‘22’ – got their forwards to within two metres and, as play was spread from right to left, a deliberate knock-on from Penxe saw the Kings reduced to 14 men for 10 minutes.
Ulster spurned their chance from the resulting penalty, but had enough time before the break to launch three further raids on the Kings’ defence, all of which the South Africans defended manfully.
Half-Time Score Southern Kings 22 Ulster 10
Playing with the wind at their backs in the second half, Ulster soon got into their groove and opted once more for the lineout and rolling maul with a 46th-minute penalty. Cooney soon made it to the line to ground the ball, but a collision with referee Quinton Immelman en route to the whitewash meant the try could not stand.
The tide had turned, however, and the next rolling maul paid dividends once again as Andrew registered his second. The Kings had barely time to catch their breath before Piutau and Trimble combined on the left to find Ludik, whose perfectly-timed pass inside fed Cooney for the bonus-point score.
The Kings grabbed their own bonus point on 62 minutes, Klaasen emulating Andrew’s feat with a close-range touchdown, converted by Zono.
The Ulster response was instant, replacement prop Ross Kane just held up over the line by Klaasen on 64 minutes, before a pinpoint penalty to touch from Lealiifano crafted the space for replacement Tommy Bowe’s short pass to Trimble, who ran in under posts.
With eight minutes remaining, quick hands got replacement Ross stretching over for try number six and the first Ulster lead in the match, but once again the Kings refused to roll over and Penxe sneaked in for his second with four minutes to play.
However the drama was still not done, and that man Piutau was once again the architect, as he burst down the right wing and supplied Diack to ground the winning try on his native soil.
Lealiifano’s conversion put Ulster seven points to the good with seconds remaining, but the never-say-die Kings pressed deep into stoppage time, eventually undone by an overthrow at their own lineout as they hunted a last-gasp equaliser.
Full-Time Score Southern Kings 36 Ulster 43
Southern Kings (15 – 9) Yaw Penxe; Michael Makase, Berton Klaasen, Luzuko Vulindlu, Alshaun Bock; Oliver Zono, Rudi van Rooyen
(1 – 8) Schalk Ferreira (c), Stephan Coetzee, Rossouw De Klerk, Stephan Greeff, Bobby de Wee, Anidisa Ntsila, Jurie van Vuuren, Ruan Lerm
Replacements (16 – 23) Tango Balekile, Mzamo Majola, Luvuyo Pupuma, Lindokuhle Welemu, Dries van Schalkwyk, Rowan Gouws, Kurt Coleman, Jarryd Sage
Ulster (15 – 9) Charles Piutau; Craig Gilroy, Louis Ludik, Darren Cave, Andrew Trimble; Christian Lealiifano, John Cooney
(1 – 8) Andrew Warwick, John Andrew, Wiehahn Herbst, Kieran Treadwell, Alan O’Connor, Matthew Rea, Chris Henry (c), Sean Reidy
Replacements (16 – 23) Adam McBurney, Callum Black, Ross Kane, Robbie Diack, Clive Ross, Jonny Stewart, Peter Nelson, Tommy Bowe
Les Kiss’s side trailed for 70 minutes as the Kings came exhilaratingly close to their first Guinness Pro12 victory, but first half tries from Sean Reidy and John Andrew, and second-half scores from Andrew again, John Cooney, Andrew Trimble and Clive Ross kept Ulster in touch throughout before Robbie Diack secured the points in the dying minutes.
Ulster go into the three-week international break in second place in conference B on 28 points, six behind leaders the Scarlets, while the Kings pick up their first two points of the campaign thanks to their five-try tally and the seven-point loss margin.
Gilroy’s inclusion was one of 10 changes from the starting XV who lost to Leinster Saturday last, with full-back Charles Piutau and out-half Christian Lealiifano the only backs to retain their places. Outright record cap holder Trimble returned to the left wing, with Louis Ludik and Darren Cave teaming up in midfield, and Cooney back at scrum-half after injury.
An all new-front row of Andrew Warwick, Andrew and Wiehahn Herbst lined up ahead of the returning Kieran Treadwell and Alan O’Connor, retained at lock from the Leinster game. Flanker Matthew Rea was the sole new addition to the back row, where he partnered captain Chris Henry and Number Eight Reidy.
Kings, winless from seven games since joining the Guinness Pro14 and without a single losing bonus point to their name, enjoyed early ball and belied their low standing with a try from centre Berton Klaasen within four minutes.
Better still from the hosts came three minutes later, out-half Oliver Zono grubbing through for full-back Yaw Penxe to pick up and dive over in the corner. A third should have followed on 12 minutes, wing Michael Makase spilling the final pass as he bore down on the Ulster line.
Ulster struggled to get out of their ‘22’, with a knock-on five metres from their line not helping their cause, and only intensive defence and another knock-on from the Kings eventually got the visitors out of trouble.
The Ulstermen hit back on the cusp of the second quarter, with a sublime team try originating all the way back at their own try line. Piutau and Lealiifano made the early metres, before quick recycling from Trimble and Cooney caught the Kings cold, and Reidy took over with a strong grounding.
Zono’s penalty re-extended the Kings’ lead to 10 points on 24 minutes, but as Ulster began to impose their authority on the match, Andrew forced his way over at the base of a rolling maul.
No sooner had play restarted than a fine run from Cave came to an abrupt end with a misplaced pass, and Makase took full advantage as he outpaced Piutau to his own kick-on to just touch down before the Kiwi full-back.
Back on the attack, another Ulster rolling maul – this one starting on the Kings ‘22’ – got their forwards to within two metres and, as play was spread from right to left, a deliberate knock-on from Penxe saw the Kings reduced to 14 men for 10 minutes.
Ulster spurned their chance from the resulting penalty, but had enough time before the break to launch three further raids on the Kings’ defence, all of which the South Africans defended manfully.
Half-Time Score Southern Kings 22 Ulster 10
Playing with the wind at their backs in the second half, Ulster soon got into their groove and opted once more for the lineout and rolling maul with a 46th-minute penalty. Cooney soon made it to the line to ground the ball, but a collision with referee Quinton Immelman en route to the whitewash meant the try could not stand.
The tide had turned, however, and the next rolling maul paid dividends once again as Andrew registered his second. The Kings had barely time to catch their breath before Piutau and Trimble combined on the left to find Ludik, whose perfectly-timed pass inside fed Cooney for the bonus-point score.
The Kings grabbed their own bonus point on 62 minutes, Klaasen emulating Andrew’s feat with a close-range touchdown, converted by Zono.
The Ulster response was instant, replacement prop Ross Kane just held up over the line by Klaasen on 64 minutes, before a pinpoint penalty to touch from Lealiifano crafted the space for replacement Tommy Bowe’s short pass to Trimble, who ran in under posts.
With eight minutes remaining, quick hands got replacement Ross stretching over for try number six and the first Ulster lead in the match, but once again the Kings refused to roll over and Penxe sneaked in for his second with four minutes to play.
However the drama was still not done, and that man Piutau was once again the architect, as he burst down the right wing and supplied Diack to ground the winning try on his native soil.
Lealiifano’s conversion put Ulster seven points to the good with seconds remaining, but the never-say-die Kings pressed deep into stoppage time, eventually undone by an overthrow at their own lineout as they hunted a last-gasp equaliser.
Full-Time Score Southern Kings 36 Ulster 43
Southern Kings (15 – 9) Yaw Penxe; Michael Makase, Berton Klaasen, Luzuko Vulindlu, Alshaun Bock; Oliver Zono, Rudi van Rooyen
(1 – 8) Schalk Ferreira (c), Stephan Coetzee, Rossouw De Klerk, Stephan Greeff, Bobby de Wee, Anidisa Ntsila, Jurie van Vuuren, Ruan Lerm
Replacements (16 – 23) Tango Balekile, Mzamo Majola, Luvuyo Pupuma, Lindokuhle Welemu, Dries van Schalkwyk, Rowan Gouws, Kurt Coleman, Jarryd Sage
Ulster (15 – 9) Charles Piutau; Craig Gilroy, Louis Ludik, Darren Cave, Andrew Trimble; Christian Lealiifano, John Cooney
(1 – 8) Andrew Warwick, John Andrew, Wiehahn Herbst, Kieran Treadwell, Alan O’Connor, Matthew Rea, Chris Henry (c), Sean Reidy
Replacements (16 – 23) Adam McBurney, Callum Black, Ross Kane, Robbie Diack, Clive Ross, Jonny Stewart, Peter Nelson, Tommy Bowe