Ulster survive battle with Newport Gwent Dragons

Newport Gwent D’gons 12 Ulster 19

The Dragons were 9-6 ahead at half-time thanks to three Dorian Jones penalties against two from Ulster fly-half Paddy Jackson.

Ulster scrum-half Paul Marshall grabbed the only try of the match after the break, with Jackson converting and booting two more penalties against one final Dragons penalty from Jason Tovey.

The Dragons stole the early advantage as

Ulster flanker Stuart McCloskey was seen to purposely shoulder-barge Jones as the fly-half was chasing a kick and spent time in the sin-bin. Jones landed a penalty for McCloskey’s infringement and booted over a monster three points from the touchline soon afterwards.

However, Ulster stuck to their guns and saw out the 10 minutes, and got their first points on the board when Jackson landed a 20m penalty in front of the Dragons posts.

When Faletau stepped into a ruck, referee Dudley Phillips awarded Ulster another penalty, reducing the arrears to three points at the interval.

And then Ulster took control after the teams returned.

DRAGONS: Meyer, Hewitt, Hughes, Warren, Scott, D. Jones, Pretorius, Stankovich, Dee, Knight, Hill, Landman, Jackson, Griffiths, Faletau.

Replacements: Wardle for D. Jones (78), C. Davies for Pretorius (63), Harris for Knight (51), Screech for Hill (68), Evans for Jackson (63). Not Used: Buckley, Price, Tovey.

ULSTER: Nelson, Scholes, Cave, McCloskey, Arnold, Jackson, P. Marshall, McCall, Herring, Herbst, Tuohy, van der Merwe, Diack, Henry, Mulholland.

Replacements: Gilroy for Arnold (59), Pienaar for P. Marshall (56), Best for Herring (53), Lutton for Herbst (66), Stevenson for van der Merwe (74), Reidy for Mulholland (68).

Not Used: B. Ross, Humphreys.

Referee: Dudley Phillips (Ireland).