ULSTER 15 SCARLETS 13

Dan McFarland's tenure at the Ulster Rugby helm got off to a successful - and dramatic - start as John Cooney's late, late penalty just edged out the Scarlets as the Guinness PRO14 made its return to the Kingspan Stadium for 2018/19. The scrum-half – proving just as instrumental in tonight’s opener as he was all season long last term – scored all of the home points courtesy of five penalties, while last season’s runners-up breached the try-line once through Rhys Patchell in what was a tight and pulsating encounter. New recruits Will Addison, Henry Speight and Billy Burns all made their Guinness PRO14 debuts in the curtain-raiser, at full-back, wing and out-half respectively. Winger Craig Gilroy, centres Darren Cave and Stuart McCloskey, and scrum-half Cooney completed the back seven. Up front Marcell Coetzee made a welcome return at flanker after an injury-ravaged 2017/18 campaign, slotting into the back row along with Sean Reidy, either side of Number Eight Nick Timoney. Props Andy Warwick and Tom O’Toole, hooker John Andrew, and locks Alan O’Connor and Iain Henderson made up the front five. Despite good work from Speight to eliminate an early Scarlets charge that got them well within the Ulster five-metre line, the visitors’ ferocious start paid dividends with Patchell darting over for the try within seven minutes, and converting his own score. Better came from Ulster straight away, Addison collecting a high ball well then kicking on for Gilroy to chase down the right wing, and the first points soon came courtesy of a Cooney penalty after the Scarlets had creaked at scrum-time right in front of the posts. A second was soon to follow from wide on the left, but a huge hit in defence from O’Toole then put a premature end to the youngster’s day after a Head Injury Assessment, bringing Ross Kane into the pack on 20 minutes. Undeterred by the personnel change, Ulster continued to chip away at the Scarlets’ rearguard, eventually taking the lead on 25 minutes, once again courtesy of Cooney’s boot. The remainder of the first period played out scoreless as a final Cooney penalty fell just inches short of the crossbar, but the speed of the Ulster movement and the cohesion of their scrum, both of which became more apparent as the half wore on, offered as much encouragement as the slender three-point lead they ran off with at the break. Half-Time Score Ulster 9 Scarlets 7 Scarlets hurtled into the second half at full throttle, hooker Ken Owens just held up by Timoney under the posts within 90 seconds of the restart before Ulster had had time to compose themselves. Composure came quickly enough, however, with Gilroy and Speight posing threat on the wings and Burns supplying some nice touches in midfield. Nevertheless Scarlets were next on the scoresheet, replacement out-half Dan Jones knocking over a penalty from the 10-metre line on 55 minutes. Falling behind spurred Ulster into action, Cooney splitting the posts for the fourth time just before the hour mark, but hesitation at the restart gifted the visitors a close-range lineout, and a subsequent penalty gave Jones an elementary kick for 12 – 13. After a lengthy pause for treatment after an accidental collision between two Scarlets players and a TMO review of a high tackle on Speight – which ended in a yellow card for Ed Kennedy – a surrendered lineout left Ulster without the ball for a good three minutes as Scarlets plodded their way from half-way to the ‘22’. The turnover came eventually, however, and as Ulster pressed up the field an infringement from the Welsh gave Cooney the chance to snatch the victory – but his kick from 30 metres spun wide. However there was time for one more twist in the tale, as flanker David Bulbring followed Kennedy into the bin for an intentional knock-down of the ball as replacement prop Adam McBurney bore down on the posts. This time Cooney’s aim was true, his fifth successful penalty snatching Ulster the game with mere seconds remaining. Full-Time Score Ulster 15 Scarlets 13