Impressive Ulster See Off Cheetahs In Exciting PRO14 Opener

Ulster gave the Toyota Cheetahs a rude initiation into GUINNESS PRO14 rugby with a powerhouse six-try 42-19 win at Kingspan Stadium tonight.

A display of great hunger and urgency from Les Kiss’ men 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 success 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, who was drafted in only last week from the Brumbies on a five-month contract.

All were to play their part in a pulsating seasonal opener. Lealiifano proved composed and controlled in everything he did in 55-odd minutes of game-time, man-of-the-match Deysel tackled like a bulldozer and carried with power throughout, while high-energy Cooney seemed to cover every blade of grass, as well as notching 10 points off the tee.

In an eventful first half Ulster bagged four tries, three in a 10-minute purple patch with the visitors down to 14 men due to flanker Henco Venter’s sin-binning.

However, he 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 out.

Ulster retained possession well and put in some 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.

The teams swapped tries again soon after, each with a stroke of luck – first for the Cheetahs as a fortunate charge-down allowed winger Makazola Mapimpi to hack on and outpace Piutau – no mean feat in itself. Then, luck was on Ulster’s side when a botched 10-metre lineout somehow bobbled into lock O’Connor’s grateful hands on the try-line.

As Ulster then took complete control, their next two scores were all about power. Firstly, McCloskey barged through the heart of the South Africans’ defence from Cooney’s pass off the lineout, and 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. That left it 27-14 at the turnaround.

The second half opened in the same prolific vein for Ulster, left winger 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 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 the full complement before Nelson’s neat sidestep got him the try his cameo 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 to face Benetton Rugby on Saturday week, before hosting the Scarlets on Friday, September 15.

Giving his reaction afterwards, Ulster director of rugby Kiss said: “To be at Kingspan and show what this place means to us, it was important. I think the other factors that were really important were becoming a better team week in, week out, and I think our bench came on and delivered. We want to recognise the guys that didn’t play.

“We’ve certainly got a bit more traction in what we’re trying to do and there’s some nice stuff that came through that we’re trying to build on. There’s a fair way to go. There are going to be a lot of teams this week that are first and a lot of teams that are second and that’s all it is at this stage.”

He added: “I was bloody nervous before this game and it was important we raised to the challenge and certainly weren’t shy to each other about how good they are. The Cheetahs will be good this year.

“Happy where it is at the moment but it’s only one game into the season. We actually left one or two (scores) with a better decision here or there. I think it’s been proven that teams that can keep pressure on and be clinical at the same time, they start to put the scores together over the season. I still think we took the wrong option at times.

“We did a lot better things with a lot better flow. The boys trusted their skill-sets but the big thing for me was that we were positive and our appetite to play positive rugby in that first half was evident. It was good for the game, for a historic match like that you’d have to be happy with where it ended up.”