Mark Anscombe’s men had a slow start but still pulled away from the Dragons, writes Kristian Ross
Ulster made it three wins in Wales on the bounce to stay top of the PRO12 with yet another try fest against the Newport Gwent Dragons on Friday night.
It was yet another slow start for the Ulstermen in Wales, Ulster stealing the ball illegally early on to give Tom Prydie the chance to fire the Dragons ahead after just a minute, and he didn't disappoint with a kick from distance to give the Welsh side a 3-0 lead.
Prydie then kicked the Dragons further in front on the 8 minute mark, following more errors by a new look team in white. Ulster sensed they needed to get the next score and that's exactly what did, a good free flowing move saw Darren Cave move the ball to Dan Tuohy and Ruan Pienaar offloaded to Tom Court to score the games first try allowing Pienaar to convert for Ulster to take the lead at 7-6.
Ulster looked however to be the masters of their own downfall just a few minutes later as they came in from the side allow Tom Prydie to have another shot at goal but this time he skewed it wide.
The Belfast side were then awarded a penalty themselves moments later as the Dragons weren't ten metres following a quick tap and go, but Pienaar was unable to extend the advantage, pulling the kick very wide.
As the game move towards the 25 minute mark, Ulster had the better of the possession and play and were awarded another penalty via an infringement in the scrum by the Dragons, but Pienaar again failed to make amends, this time curling the away from the posts.
The Dragons pushed forward in search of their own try and were awarded when a good pressure was finished off by Andy Tuilagi after bouncing off some tackles and Tom Prydie easily converted for a 13-7 lead.
However it was a case of anything you can do as Maori born Nick Williams continued his fantastic form smashing his way through the Dragons defence and reaching over the line and Ruan Pienaar converted a straightforward kick to give Ulster a one point advantage.
Again though, the Dragons were awarded another penalty, the fourth of the night as Declan Fitzpatrick was called for hitting down at an angle, and Prydie put the Dragons back in front at 16-14 with his boot with another decent kick.
Missed chances by Ruan Pienaar had been a theme in the game so far, but when he charged down Prydie's kick, he had no one in front of him to get Ulster in the lead yet again, but he failed to add the extras with missed kick, this time from a very difficult angle. But it was enough to give Ulster a 19-16 lead going into half time !
The second half began with Ulster knowing they needed just one more try for a bonus point but the opening points of the first half came from a penalty just seconds after the kick off. Ruan Pienaar making sure he wouldn't miss this one as a six point advantage opened up.
After an error strewn first half, Ulster were looking to try and make up for the mistakes in the second, and after a good scrum that forced a mistake from the Dragons, Pienaar popped over another three points to give Ulster a nine point advantage.
Now the Ulstermen sensed the chance to bury this game and following a line out and the PRO12 leaders going through the phases, Darren Cave came inside well to touchdown another Ulster try as the bonus point was sewn up and Ruan Pienaar got his seventieth point of the night as Ulster started to like very dominant at 32-19.
And the Ulstermen were at it again when Coleraine born Andrew Trimble intercepted allowing the wing in for an easy fifth try of the evening and South African, Pienaar added more misery for the Dragons with the conversion.
And the rout was completed three minutes from time when Jared Payne, the man of the moment scored underneath the posts to score number six and Pienaar added the final points of the evening to give Ulster another huge win to stay at the summit of the PRO12.
So the positives. Well it's eight wins in eight games across the PRO12 and Heineken Cup. And it's also Ulster's third win in Wales this season, a fantastic record so far. Jared Payne was firing on all cylinders, Iain Henderson again showed his talents, Nick Williams was... well Nick Williams and Ulster showed that they had depth, with positional changes that included Tommy Bowe at full back.
The negatives are that it was at times, error strewn. Ulster need to cut out the mistakes, and if they do there's a chance that they will rack up even more tries and concede less points against the opposition.
In the end, it has to be said, Ulster were purely unstoppable in the second half, they look the real deal this season, not fearing anyone and showing just how much talent they have. Anscombe has got most of the cogs working perfectly in a well oiled machine. And as the Ulstermen take on Edinburgh next week at Fortress Ravenhill, we ask ourselves....
How many points will we score next week ?
I'm Kristian. 18. And my mind is filled with rugby shaped thoughts. Supporting Ulster Rugby, Newcastle Falcons and of course the mighty Ireland. Tommy Bowe is the MAN !!!! SUFTUM.
