In dire weather conditions Ulster just missed out on their fourth consecutive bonus point victory, putting three tries past Benetton Treviso whose stout defence in the final quarter kept the elusive fourth score at bay.
Jared Payne, Sean Reidy and Charles Piutau got their names on the scoresheet at a rain-lashed Kingspan Stadium to secure the win which keeps the pressure on the fourth-placed Scarlets who are away to Leinster tomorrow night.
Gunning for their fourth bonus point victory in as many weeks, Ulster’s firepower was boosted by the return of Ireland backs Craig Gilroy, Andrew Trimble and Payne, lining up at full-back, wing and centre respectively.
The remainder of the back-line was of a similarly high quality, with Stuart Olding in midfield, Piutau on the wing, and the half-back partnership of Peter Nelson and eventual man-of-the-match Ruan Pienaar.
Five changes to the pack brought in loosehead Callum Black alongside hooker Rob Herring and tighthead Wiehahn Herbst, and an all-new second row of Kieran Treadwell and Franco van der Merwe. The return of Marcell Coetzee at number 8 meant Reidy switched to openside flanker, with Roger Wilson coming in at blindside.
Once an early Treviso penalty from Tito Tibaldi had missed the target, Ulster assumed complete control firstly with Trimble latching onto a fine cross-field kick from Nelson, then Gilroy almost forcing his way through the middle as the backs moved the ball swiftly despite the poor conditions.
Try-scoring opportunities, however, were in short supply on the muddy surface until a 19th minute scrum created the space for Payne to slide over from Olding’s pass, Pienaar adding the extras.
Tireless chasing from Treadwell forced Ian McKinley and the ball into touch just after the restart, but a lack of real cohesion in the home ranks meant an eventual loss of possession, and the Italians enjoyed a good spell of pressure until knocking on deep in the Ulster 22.
A steal by Herring at the Treviso lineout engineered Ulster’s next notable chance, but a good five minutes of pressure came to naught as Coetzee lost control of the ball from Pienaar’s pass five metres out. There was still time before the break, however, for a final push off a close range lineout, but another Ulster knock-on ensured Treviso ran off only 7-0 down.
Brave contesting of a 50-50 ball on the deck from Olding got Ulster off on the front foot as the second period began, their cause helped further with Francesco Minto sent to the sin-bin on 45 minutes for repeated infringements as Treviso battened down the hatches.
The score came seven minutes later, back rower Reidy applying the finishing touches after good ground work from Payne and Pienaar as the Treviso scrum started to creak.
Olding, now at out-half as Luke Marshall replaced Nelson, turned on the style moments later, showing the Italian midfield a clean pair of heels and despite the return of Minto to the field on 56 minutes, Piutau was soon collecting try number three from the youngster’s neat dink towards the corner flag.
Treviso bagged themselves a consolation try on 70 minutes through lock Filo Paulo, and with fewer than five minutes remaining the prospect of a bonus point for Ulster began to look exceedingly unlikely – until the Italians knocked on just inside the Ulster 10-metre line.
With a try for either side enough to secure the scorers a bonus point, neither team kicked to touch as possession changed hands several times deep into injury-time, but an eventual knock forward ensured a somewhat disappointing conclusion for both parties.
Les Kiss’ men face Italian opposition again next Saturday in the form of Zebre, whom they welcome to Kingspan Stadium for a 6.05pm kick-off.
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