Ulster kicked off their Challenge Cup campaign with a deserved bonus-point 21-40 victory against Zebre Parma.
Henry Walker and Daniel Hawkshaw made their first starts in an Ulster jersey, while David McCann led the team out for the first time as captain.
Ulster made a disciplined and impressive start in the Italian sunshine, combining a strong defensive effort with some excellent attacking play.
The visitors threatened early on, with Fusco breaking the line following a lineout in the third minute, only for David McCann to help bring the attack to a halt with a determined defensive effort.
Ulster’s scrum was powerful in the opening set piece, and in the seventh minute, McCann produced another excellent tackle to force a knock-on.
Ulster continued to build pressure, with McKillop securing possession from a lineout in the 10th minute. The attack was held up, but the visitors were awarded a penalty five metres from the line.
Two minutes later, Benson found the corner, allowing Ulster to launch another attack from the lineout, and hooker Henry Walker was on hand to finish.
Augustus powered towards the line in the 13th minute before releasing the ball for Walker to score his first senior try on his first start. Nathan Doak added the conversion to give Ulster a 7-0 lead, rewarding their disciplined opening.
Zac Ward continued Ulster’s strong defensive display in the 17th minute, driving Zebre’s fly-half into touch.
A minute later, McCann found Doak running a good support line, and the scrum-half crossed the line. However, the try was ruled out for a knock-on in the tackle, denying Ulster a score after an excellent counter attack.
Ulster did not have to wait long for their second try. A strong carry from McCann helped set the platform, before Ward produced a pass out to Jacob Stockdale, who finished well in the 20th minute.
Some excellent one-handed offloads from Augustus and Izuchukwu contributed to the build-up, although Doak’s conversion attempt drifted wide from out on the touchline, leaving the score at 12-0.
Ulster’s defence continued to frustrate Zebre, forcing a forward pass in the 25th minute, while another powerful scrum two minutes later kept the pressure firmly on the hosts. Doak’s kicking game also caused problems, with Baloucoune coming close to breaking free as Ulster looked to extend their advantage.
Walker grabbed his second try of the afternoon in the 28th minute with an excellent individual finish. Gathering the ball one-handed, the young hooker stepped past his defender, before stretching over the line to cap an impressive first-half performance. Doak added the conversion to make it 19-0.
Ulster’s scrum remained dominant as the half progressed, and the visitors went into the break firmly in control at 19-0, having impressed at both ends of the pitch with their attack, discipline and set-piece strength.
HT: Zebre Parma 0-19 Ulster Rugby
Ulster returned for the second half looking to build on their 19-0 advantage, but Zebre Parma came out with renewed intensity and applied early pressure.
The hosts got their first try in the 44th minute when number eight Giovanni Licata picked up from the base of a five-metre scrum and powered over the line. Giacomo Da Re added the conversion to reduce the deficit to 19-7.
Ulster responded almost immediately. In the 46th minute, Walker found McKillop from a lineout five metres out, with the forwards carrying strongly to bring the visitors close to the line. David McCann finished the move a minute later, stretching out one-handed to ground the ball. The referee initially believed the effort had fallen short, but a TMO review confirmed the grounding. Doak added the conversion to extend Ulster’s lead to 26-7.
The game became increasingly scrappy as the half progressed and substitutions were made.
In the 54th minute, a wayward Ulster lineout throw was knocked on by Zebre, handing the visitors a scrum. Four minutes later, Zebre were penalised for a deliberate knock-on, allowing Benson to kick to the corner and give Ulster another attacking lineout. However, the resulting effort was held up.
Ulster’s task became more difficult in the 61st minute when Jack Murphy was shown a yellow card for deliberately knocking the ball from the carrier while off his feet.
Zebre capitalised on their numerical advantage almost immediately, with lock Alessandro Ortombina finding a gap in the Ulster defence to score in the 62nd minute. Da Re converted to make it 26-14.
Despite being down to 14 men, Ulster continued to threaten. In the 68th minute, the TMO reviewed a pass from Stockdale to Lowry after it appeared to have been deliberately knocked on by a Zebre player. Ulster were awarded a penalty.
A minute later, replacement hooker, Tom Stewart, found Joe Hopes at the lineout as Ulster pressed again, with Augustus held up over the line. A review confirmed no try, and Ulster were awarded a penalty following an offside infringement.
Ulster finally made their pressure count in the 70th minute.
Following an attacking scrum, Devine took a quick tap before Benson delivered an excellent looping pass to Michael Lowry, who finished in the corner for Ulster's fifth try.
It was an outstanding response from Ulster with 14 men on the field, and Benson produced an excellent touchline conversion to extend the lead to 33-14.
Zebre refused to give in, however, and responded two minutes later. A punt downfield from the replacement hooker created the opportunity for Montemari to finish, and he converted his own try to bring the score to 33-21.
Ulster continued to push forward and secured their sixth try of the afternoon in the 77th minute. Moving the ball superbly from right to left, Jack Murphy produced an excellent pass to find Martin Moloney on the left flank.
The flanker finished well to score his first try for Ulster, with Benson adding the conversion to make it 40-21.
With the clock ticking into the closing stages, Ulster were determined to secure the attacking bonus point.
Zebre earned a penalty advantage in the 82nd minute and kicked to the corner in search of another score, but Ulster’s defence held firm. Cormac Izuchukwu produced a crucial lineout steal before Matthew Devine volleyed the ball into touch to bring the contest to an end.
With the final whistle, Ulster took the five point victory producing an impressive performance in Italy to kick off their Challenge Cup Pool Stage.
Juarno Augustus was named Player of the Match following an influential display as Ulster made it a memorable afternoon in Parma.
FT: Zebre Parma 21-40 Ulster Rugby
Scorers:
Zebre Parma:
TRY: Licata, Montemari, Ortombina
CON: Da Re (2), Montemari
Ulster Rugby:
TRY: Walker (2), Stockdale, McCann, Lowry, Moloney
CON: Doak (3), Benson (2)
Teams
Zebre Parma:
- Sergio Pelliccioli, 2.Tommaso di Bartolomeo, 3. Juan Barbotti,4. Francesco Ruffolo, 5. Alessandro Ortombina, 6. Giacomo Ferrari, 7. Bautista Stavile Bravin, 8. Giovanni Licata, 9. Alessandro Fusco (c), 10. Giacomo da Re, 11. Tobias Wade, 12. Damiano Mazza, 13. Marco Zanon, 14. Giulio Bertaccini, 15. Giovanni Montemauri
Replacements
16. Giampietro Ribaldi, 17. Federico Pisani, 18. Francisco Minervino, 19. Leonard Krumov, 20. Jacopo Botturi, 21. Patricio Baronio, 22. Riccardo Casarin, 23. Mirko Belloni
Ulster Rugby:
1. Tom O'Toole, 2. Henry Walker, 3. Keynan Knox, 4. Harry Sheridan, 5. Cormac Izuchukwu, 6. James McKillop, 7. Dave McCann (c), 8. Juarno Augustus, 9. Nathan Doak, 10. Jamie Benson, 11. Zac Ward, 12. Jake Flannery, 13. Daniel Hawkshaw, 14. Rob Baloucoune. 15. Jacob Stockdale
Replacements:
16. Tom Stewart, 17. Eric O'Sullivan, 18. Scott Wilson, 19. Joe Hopes, 20. Martin Moloney, 21. Matthew Devine, 22. Jack Murphy, 23. Michael Lowry