ULSTER 42 TOYOTA CHEETAHS 19

Tonight at the Kingspan Stadium Ulster gave South African visitors the Toyota Cheetahs a rude inauguration into Guinness Pro14 rugby with a powerhouse six-try-to-three victory. A display of great hunger and urgency from Les Kiss’s side brought tries for Tommy Bowe, Alan O’Connor, Stuart McCloskey, Charles Piutau, Louis Ludik and Peter Nelson, and while the Cheetahs’ physical and pacy display showed they will be a force to be reckoned with in their new environment, the nature of Ulster’s bonus-point win augurs well for the 2017-18 campaign. Led by Chris Henry in the absence of recently reappointed captain Rory Best, Ulster handed first caps to summer signings John Cooney at scrum-half and Jean Deysel in the back row, as well as out-half Christian Lealiifano, drafted in only last week from the Brumbies on a five-month contract. All were to play their part in a pulsating season-opener. Lealiifano proved composed and controlled in everything he did in 55-odd minutes of gametime; Deysel tackled like a bulldozer and carried with power throughout; and the high-energy Cooney seemed to cover every blade of grass, as well as notching 10 points from the boot. In an eventful first half Ulster bagged four tries, three in a 10-minute purple patch with the visitors down to 14 with flanker Henco Venter in the sinbin. The Cheetahs were quick to acclimatise to Northern Hemisphere rugby, only missing out on landing their first Pro14 points inside four minutes when centre William Small-Smith’s eminently kickable penalty spun horribly wide. Cooney made no such mistake when his chance came moments later, neatly opening his Ulster account from 25 metres. Ulster retained well when in possession and put in sizeable hits when without the ball, but the Cheetahs’ quality shone through on 16 minutes when Rosco Spearman’s flawless take of Lealiifano’s clearance created the space for out-half Clayton Blommetjies’ try. The hosts hit back rapidly as Bowe illustrated just how much of a threat he can pose in his new role at centre, breaking the line off Ludik’s flat pass and outstripping the wrong-footed defence to score. Another try apiece followed in quick succession, each with a stroke of luck – first for the Cheetahs as a fortunate charge-down allowed wing Makazola Mapimpi to hack on and outpace Piutau – no mean feat in itself; then for Ulster whose botched 10-metre lineout somehow bobbled into O’Connor’s grateful hands on the try-line. As Ulster then took complete control their next two scores were all about power – first McCloskey barging through the heart of the Cheetahs’ rearguard from Cooney’s pass off the lineout; then, before the Kingspan Stadium had time to catch its breath, Marcell Coetzee’s blitzing diagonal run set up Piutau on the left – and the Kiwi’s upper body strength carried him though two lunging tackles to the line. Half-Time Score Ulster 27 Cheetahs 14 The second half opened in the same prolific vein for Ulster, Ludik touching down within 90 seconds despite a tight squeeze on the left touchline. Full-back Sergeal Peterson pulled one back for the Cheetahs as the Ulster defence showed a momentary lapse in concentration, but once Peter Nelson, freshly on in place of Lealiifano, was held up over the line in a big Ulster push from the restart, Cooney prudently knocked over a penalty to establish a 16-point cushion. More indiscipline from the South Africans saw flanker Johan Coetzee yellow-carded just after the hour for a grab at Andrew Trimble’s neck, but Ulster had to wait until the visitors were back to full complement before Nelson’s neat sidestep got him the try his abridged performance deserved. The Cheetahs – grouped in Conference A – will most likely have to wait until next season for a chance to exact revenge. Ulster now go on the road for a trip to Treviso on Saturday 8 September, before hosting incumbent champions the Scarlets on Friday 15 September. Full-Time Score Ulster 42 Cheetahs 19 Ulster (15 – 9) Charles Piutau; Andrew Trimble, Tommy Bowe, Stuart McCloskey, Louis Ludik; Christian Lealiifano, John Cooney (1 – 8) Kyle McCall, Rob Herring, Wiehahn Herbst, Robbie Diack, Alan O’Connor, Jean Deysel, Chris Henry (c), Marcel Coetzee Replacements (16 – 23) John Andrew, Callum Black, Rodney Ah You, Matthew Rea, Sean Reidy, David Shanahan, Peter Nelson, Darren Cave Toyota Cheetahs (15 – 9) Sergeal Petersen; Rosko Specman, William Small-Smith, Ali Mgijima, Makazole Mapimpi; Clayton Blommetjies, Shaun Venter (1 – 8) Charles Marais, Jacques Du Toit, Johan Coetzee, Justin Basson, Reniel Hugo, Paul Schoeman, Henco Venter, Niell Joordaan (c) Replacements (16 – 23) Torsten van Jaarsveld, Ox Nche, Tom Botha, Rynier Bernardo, Gerhard Olivier, Tian Meyer, Cecil Afrika, Ryno Benjamin