Ulster kicked their pre-season off with a hard-earned two point 28-26 away victory against Edinburgh Rugby at Hive Stadium.
It was a successful night for Richie Murphy's side, with a number of impressive performances across the squad.
There were first appearances in the white of Ulster for Matthew Devine, Jamie Benson, Daniel Hawkshaw, Chay Mullins from the start, while Eduardo Bello, Ben Donnell, Eli Snyman, Martin Moloney, Flynn Longstaff and Jed Findlay all appeared from the bench.
Ulster were put under pressure early on by the home side, and lock Harry Sheridan showed excellent composure to deal with a dangerous kick in behind and snuffle out the danger.
The away side then started to build possession, and looked dangerous with ball in hand.
Ulster had threatened to get into Edinburgh's 22 and it wasn't long before they would land the first blow.
After a scrum penalty win, Jamie Benson kicked to the corner and Ulster geared up for a lineout attack.
After a great take from David McCann, Ulster drove forward and hooker James McCormick was the man to dot down to finish the attack in the 12th minute. Jamie Benson added the conversion.
The home side responded immediately in the 17th minute, and scored after a 5m tap and go penalty.
Centre Mosese Tuipulotu was able to find his midfield partner, Geordie Gwynn, who then crashed over while under pressure. Grayson converted to level the scoreline.
Ulster's backs were looking dangerous with time and space, while Ulster's forwards were putting themselves about in the contact area.
In the 21st minute, Ulster would add a second score, after a superb pass out wide from Ben Carson to Aitzol Arenzana-King on the left wing, who showed brilliant pace to finish. Benson slotted his second kick to bring the scoreline to 7-14.
Matthew Devine would be the next to get on the scoresheet in the 25th minute, producing a swivel to beat his defender and dot down. The try came after a great dart inside from Chay Mullins on the right wing.
Edinburgh were determined to score before half-time, and threatened with a ball in behind the Ulster backfield, only for Michael Lowry to collect and hold onto possession under intense pressure.
Harry Sheridan relieved pressure with what was his second lineout steal of the half.
Despite their best efforts, Edinburgh would get their try before the half was up, as Hector Patterson scored in the 42nd minute, with Grayson bringing the half-time score to 14-21.
HT: Edinburgh Rugby 14-21 Ulster Rugby
Richie Murphy rang the changes at the break, with Eduardo Bello, Ben Donnell, Jake Flannery all on.
There was also a return to action for James McNabney, who made a welcome return to the pitch after his recovery from an ACL injury.
Edinburgh completely changed their XV for the second half.
It didn't take long for Eduardo Bello to make an impact, with the Argentina prop winning an early scrum penalty for his side.
Five minutes into the second half, Eric O'Sullivan would add his name to the scoresheet following a well-worked lineout routine, with the experienced prop running a smart line and powering over moments later. Jake Flannery added the conversion to make the scoreline 28-14 to the visitors.
Only two minutes after O'Sullivan's try in the 47th minute, Edinburgh replied through Paul Hill, who powered over from a close range drive.
Ross Thompson made the conversion and reduced the deficit to 7 points.
With more changes to the Ulster side and with the wind against them, Edinburgh put the away side under a heavy amount of sustained pressure.
Aitzol Arenzana-King showed the defensive side of his game, with a try-saving tackle on an Edinburgh attacker into touch that gained the celebrations of his teammates.
Ulster put in a massive shift in defence, and it wasn't breached until the 73rd minute, when scrum half Conor McAlpine finished off the attack.
The following conversion attempt pinged off the post, and Ulster's two point lead was in place with only a few more minutes left.
With 6 Academy players on the field, Ulster showed grit to see out the win. A trademark carry from James McNabney gained vital metres and Jack Murphy ended the match by kicking the ball out into the stands.
An intense pre-season workout for Ulster, who could take plenty of positives and things to work on into next week, when Ospreys come to Affidea Stadium for the final pre-season fixture before the 2026/27 season starts.
FT: Edinburgh Rugby 26-28 Ulster Rugby
Scorers
Ulster Rugby: (28)
TRY: McCormick, Arenzana-King, Devine, O'Sullivan
CON: Benson (3), Flannery (1)
Edinburgh Rugby: (26)
TRY: Gwynn, Patterson, Hill, McAlpine
CON: Grayson (2), Thompson (1)
Teams
Ulster Rugby:
1. Eric O’Sullivan, 2. James McCormick, 3. Tom McAllister, 4. Harry Sheridan, 5. Joe Hopes, 6. James McKillop, 7. Tom Brigg, 8. David McCann, 9. Matthew Devine, 10. Jamie Benson, 11. Aitzol Arenzana-King, 12. Daniel Hawkshaw, 13. Ben Carson, 14. Chay Mullins, 15. Michael Lowry (C)
Replacements:
Henry Walker, Flynn Longstaff, Eduardo Bello, Ben Donnell, Eli Snyman, Martin Moloney, James McNabney, Clark Logan, Jake Flannery, Jonny Scott, Jed Findlay, Jack Murphy.
Edinburgh Rugby:
- Alec Hepburn, 2. Harri Morris, 3. Jamie Stewart, 4. Christian Lindsay, 5. Glen Young (C), 6. Ollie Duncan, 7. Jack Utterson, 8. Tom Currie, 9. Hector Patterson, 10. James Grayson, 11. Wes Goosen, 12. Mosese Tuipulotu, 13. Geordie Gwynn, 14. Fin Doyle, 15. Piers O’Conor
Second-half XV
- James Whitcombe, 2. Jerry Blyth-Lafferty, 3. Paul Hill, 4. Euan McVie, 5. Callum Hunter-Hill, 6. Sam Byrd, 7. James Dalrymple, 8. Tom Dodd, 9. Conor McAlpine, 10. Ross Thompson, 11. Rory McHaffie, 12. Kienan Higgins, 13. Matt Currie, 14. Harry Paterson, 15. Jack Brown.