After an impressive first-half Ulster survived an Italian onslaught to escape Treviso with a 24-20 win in the GUINNESS PRO 12. First-half tries from Paddy Jackson, Ruan Pienaar and Tommy Bowe gave Ulster a 24-0 lead with less than 30 minutes played. But the hosts scored late in the half and that was the first of 20 unanswered points for the Italians who looked to mount an unlikely comeback. Ulster put pressure on from the off and had a chance to dot down on two minutes but Louis Ludik knocked on under pressure. A try followed after another four minutes with some smart play from Jackson, who kicked through the Treviso defence and collected to run over on the right and touchdown under the posts – before converting himself. There was a yellow for Craig Gilroy moments later, offside as the Italians attacked, and Treviso looked to capitalise with some good possession in Ulster’s 22. But attack turned to defence in no time as Ulster won possession and made steady progress up the field before Jackson produced a beautiful kick into the corner. Treviso escaped from trouble but 14-man Ulster extended their lead to 10-0 after 19 minutes following another impressive kick from Jackson. Ulster were in again after 22 minutes after a quick burst through the middle found the Italians light in defence and Craig Gilroy fed Pienaar who ran over unopposed – Jackson adding the extras. Gilroy was making up for his time in the bin and he pirouetted past three defenders to create some space before Jackson fed Bowe for the score. Jackson was again accurate with the boot and the visitors had racked up a 24-0 lead after 25 minutes. Ulster were moving the ball well and looked menacing in attack as they went in search of the bonus point before half time but the Italians stood firm and mounted their first period of sustained pressure as the clock ticked down. And they got themselves on the board after 38 minutes when Jayden Hayward kicked through a gap in the Ulster defence and Sam Christie collected before crashing over – Hayward with an impressive conversion from the left touchline. Ulster struggled to impose themselves after the break and couldn’t find a way through the Treviso defence after some sloppy handling in the opening ten minutes. Treviso looked like they might close the gap even further on 56 minutes when they found a huge gap through the middle but some dogged defence from Ulster halted their progress. The Italians were determined though and forced a way over thanks to Francesco Minto – Hayward successful with his second conversion of the day. With 20 minutes to go a Treviso comeback looked more likely than an Ulster bonus point as Hayward’s nimble feet saw the hosts mount another period of pressure. With 66 minutes gone Ulster conceded a penalty and Hayward made it 17 unanswered points to the home side and closed the gap to seven points. A long penalty from Hayward with nine minutes left on the clock took the scores to 24-20 and the home crowd smelled blood. With five minutes left Ulster won a penalty inside the 22 and, instead of opting to restore their seven-point lead, Pienaar looked to the corner only for Ulster to knock on from the resultant lineout. The momentum was with the hosts but they couldn’t find the killer blow as Ulster clung to victory. Follow us on Facebook, join the conversation on Twitter, sign up to our YouTube channel for extensive match highlights and sign up for our newsletter for regular updates on the GUINNESS PRO12
