Jason Tovey enjoyed a fine return to the Newport Gwent Dragons, kicking all the points in a 15-8 victory over Ulster to ensure Lyn Jones’ tenure got off to a fine start. The Dragons limped into 11th place last season but in came Jones over the summer and he has already made a difference – the Welsh outfit seeing off last season’s RaboDirect PRO12 runners-up. Ulster scored the only try of the match through Roger Wilson but they were lacklustre for large spells, where as the Dragons were resolute and were fortunate that Paddy Jackson’s radar was off target. Eager to impress their new coach, the Dragons began brightly with both young winger Hallam Amos and No.8 Lewis Evans making surging runs early on. Fly-half Tovey, who spent last season at Cardiff Blues, missed his first penalty on his second debut for the Dragons but he made no mistake with an expert drop goal soon after to give the hosts a ninth-minute lead. Ulster gradually grew into the game however and last year’s RaboDirect PRO12 regular season table toppers were level on 13 minutes thanks to a Jackson penalty after the visitors exerted their dominance at the scrum. The Dragons maintained their early momentum however and retook the lead on 15 minutes after Ulster prop Callum Black was pinged for holding on – Tovey this time hitting the target. Just three minutes later however Ulster had their first try of the season – expertly worked after opting to kick for a lineout rather than for the posts and from the subsequent set-piece, the visitors formed a rolling maul and No.8 Wilson trucked the ball up to the line and dived over. Jackson missed the conversion however – a sign of things to come – and he did so again five minutes later with three points on offer, both times erring to the right. Yet again Jackson could not find his range and on 34 minutes he let the Dragons off the hook, only for Tovey to follow suit from the right-hand touchline with three minutes left in the half. Ulster flew out of the blocks in the second half but gave away a penalty with the tryline beckoning as the Dragons ensured they stayed within touching distance. And they took the lead on 49 minutes when Tovey found his kicking boots again after Ulster captain Johann Muller was penalised at the breakdown. Back came Ulster however with a fine length-of-the-pitch move, started by Wilson and after moving the ball to the right, Chris Farrell’s chip over the top was just too long for Andrew Trimble. On the hour mark, Tovey further extended the home side’s lead after Ulster infringed at the scrum, the left-footer nailing a fine effort to give his side a four-point cushion. Despite their deficit, Ulster failed to trouble the Dragons and with nine minutes to go, Tovey struck his fourth penalty of the night to put his side 15-8 to the good. That stirred Ulster into life and they spent a sustained period of time camped on the Dragons line but the hosts defended superbly to withstand the pressure and while Tovey missed a late drop goal effort, it wasn’t to matter as Jones’ men held on for the victory.
