ULSTER 20 TOYOTA CHEETAHS 10

Kingspan Stadium legend Ruan Pienaar made a welcome return to his old stomping ground this evening with new side Toyota Cheetahs, but it was the current crop of Ulster stars who ran out victorious, thanks to tries from Tom O’Toole and Robert Baloucoune, and fine kicking display from Man of the Match Bill Johnston. The win, ground out in difficult playing conditions, extends Ulster’s advantage over tonight’s opponents to ten points in the Guinness Pro14 Conference A table, with the province sitting in second place on 41 points, while Glasgow’s win over Dragons elevates them above the Cheetahs to third. Dan McFarland’s side welcomed full-back Michael Lowry and centre James Hume back to the staring XV for their first outings since October, after recovering from ankle and hamstring injuries respectively. Three further changes to the side that lost narrowly to the Ospreys last weekend brought in Johnston at out-half, and the flanker tandem of Nick Timoney and Jordi Murphy. Elsewhere Ulster lined up with Baloucoune and Louis Ludik on the wings, Luke Marshall partnering Hume in midfield, and David Shanahan alongside Johnston at scrum-half. In the starting pack Eric O’Sullivan and Marty Moore propped either side of hooker Adam McBurney, with skipper Alan O’Connor and Kieran Treadwell in the second row, and Marcell Coetzee continuing at Number Eight. The Conference A clash of second versus third was barely five minutes old when O’Toole replaced Moore, recipient of an early knock, and the newly-introduced prop needed only three minutes to make his presence felt, bludgeoning over for the try after patient work on the five-metre line from Ulster forwards and backs alike. Johnston topped up the score from the tee, and after a good ten minutes of stout defence on the environs of their own five-metre line, two successive stolen lineouts saw the hosts play themselves out of danger. Back in Cheetahs territory, Ulster chipped away at the visitors’ defensive line but failed to make any sort of breakthrough despite some trademark carrying from Coetzee and plenty of endeavour from Marshall and Hume. So solid was the South African defence, indeed, that O’Connor had no hesitation in directing Johnston towards the posts on 35 minutes when a penalty came just outside the ‘22’. Three supplementary points secured, Ulster soon gifted three back, Pienaar splitting the posts from distance just as he had done so many times before at Kingspan Stadium in Ulster white and red. With half-time approaching there was just enough left on the clock for a final Ulster lineout, but once again the orange and black brick wall proved impenetrable, and the sides ran off with no further additions to the scoreboard. Half-Time Score: Ulster 10 Toyota Cheetahs 3 Ulster came out for the second period with the bit firmly between their teeth, forcing four penalties in quick succession, the last of which saw hooker Wilmar Arnoldi awarded a yellow card for repeated infringement. Changing tack from the lineout this time, Johnston picked up from the rolling maul and sent a searching crossfield kick to the right wing where the waiting Baloucoune collected to dot down. Johnston added the extras once more, before taking his personal tally to ten just before the hour mark with his second penalty of the encounter. Cheetahs went on to enjoy a good spell of possession which eventually culminated in a 65^th-minute try for full-back Clayton Blommetjies, converted by Pienaar – and seemed to spur Ulster back into life for the closing minutes of the match, with the visitors now only ten points behind. The Ulstermen probed and prodded, but again the breakthrough would not come, and a combination of strong Cheetahs defence and an increasingly slippery conditions ensured that the remainder of the game played out scoreless. Full-Time Score: Ulster 20 Toyota Cheetahs 10 Ulster (15 – 9) Michael Lowry; Robert Baloucoune, Luke Marshall, James Hume, Louis Ludik; Bill Johnston, David Shanahan (1 – 8) Eric O’Sullivan, Adam McBurney, Marty Moore, Alan O’Connor (c), Kieran Treadwell, Nick Timoney, Jordi Murphy, Marcell Coetzee Replacements (16 – 23) John Andrew, Andrew Warwick, Tom O’Toole, David O’Connor, Sean Reidy, Jonny Stewart, Stewart Moore, Craig Gilroy Toyota Cheetahs (15 – 9) Clayton Blommetjies; Rhyno Smith, William Small-Smith, Benhard Janse van Rensburg, Craig Barry; Tian Schoeman, Ruan Pienaar (c) (1 – 8) Boan Venter, Wilmar Arnoldi, Luan de Bruin, Sintu Manjezi, Walt Steenkamp, Chris Massyn, Junior Pokomela, Jasper Wiese Replacements (16 – 23) Joseph Dweba, Charles Marais, Aranos Coetzee, JP Du Preez, Aidon Davis, Tian Meyer, Louis Fouche, Chris Smit