Three-Try Ulster Defeat Much-Improved Treviso

Ulster did enough to secure a 22-11 victory on their first away trip of the new GUINNESS PRO12 campaign, putting three tries past a much-improved Benetton Treviso side this afternoon at a sultry Stadio di Monigo.

Despite a somewhat patchy performance from Les Kiss’ side which saw the hosts enjoy much of the possession and register a late try of their own, scores from Luke Marshall, Rob Herring and Ruan Pienaar – the latter two having already opened their accounts in last week’s opener at Kingspan Stadium – made the difference.

Featuring six changes to the team that defeated the Newport Gwent Dragons in round 1, Ulster lined up with Louis Ludik at full-back, the youthful pairing of Robert Lyttle and Jacob Stockdale on the wings, and full internationals Marshall and Stuart Olding – earning his 50th Ulster cap – in the centre.

Brett Herron continued at out-half with last week’s man-of-the-match Pienaar alongside him, while in the pack props Kyle McCall and Rodney Ah You took over from Callum Black and Ross Kane, the latter taking a place on the bench.

Herring led the side from hooker, with young lock Kieran Treadwell making his first Ulster appearance alongside Franco van der Merwe. Last week’s back row of Clive Ross, Sean Reidy and Roger Wilson all retained their starting berths.

Clad in blue, Ulster’s strong start with four minutes of unsurrendered possession culminated in a try for Marshall off Olding’s short pass, converted by Pienaar, before a speedy kick and chase from Lyttle on his right wing almost had the youngster in for his third try in only his second outing.

At this stage, however, the balance of power shifted somewhat in Treviso’s favour, where it would stay for the remainder of the first half. Firstly, a lucky escape for Ulster saw Tommaso Allan squander three easy points as his penalty sailed wide after Marshall had come in from the side, but a sustained spell of Treviso pressure followed, alleviated only on the 25-minute mark by a knock on from Filo Paulo.

Then an Italian steal at the lineout got Jayden Hayward to inches from the Ulster try-line before play was pulled back for a penalty, dispatched this time by Allan.

The concession momentarily sparked Ulster back into life, Pienaar landing a penalty on the half hour, but once winger Andrea Buondonno had missed with a kick of his own from distance, a series of defensive errors from the visitors gifted Allan his second points of the encounter, making it 10-6.

Treviso continued to edge the game as the break approached, but a late infringement on Olding gave Pienaar the chance to test his long range kicking, the scrum half eventually clipping the post from just short of halfway.

Strong carrying from Treadwell got Ulster deep into Treviso territory on the restart, but it was to prove the debutant’s last contribution as he limped off with a knock to be replaced by Peter Browne.

As the visitors contrived to lose possession via an overthrown lineout, Treviso again enjoyed the lion’s share of possession until Pienaar’s tap and go turned the tide and saw Paulo yellow carded for a late tackle on Kane, a recent entrant for Ah You.

Ulster took full advantage of their numerical superiority within minutes, Herring grabbing his second try of the season from a well-marshalled rolling maul, and Pienaar’s missed conversion soon looked immaterial as he touched down with ease on 57 minutes after a huge carry from man-of-the-match Ross had made the space for Stockdale down the left wing.

This time the Springbok converted, and despite the return of Paulo to the Italian ranks for the final quarter, Ulster pressed on for the bonus point try – Herring too ardently for referee Dudley Phillips’ liking, as he came into a ruck from the side and booked himself 10 minutes in the sin-bin.

Treviso worked hard as the clock ticked down but failed to capitalise on their own numerical advantage and with only two minutes remaining, a final Ulster drive came close to securing the bonus point, only for Ah You to be penalised metres from the line for coming into a maul from the side.

There was still time for some last-minute havoc as Treviso broke away through David Odiete’s hack forward. Olding saw yellow for challenging the man before he had reached the ball, and Tommaso Benvenuti grounded from Ian McKinley’s sweet chip to the corner to give the Italians a final tally which was much more representative of their performance.