[tag=image]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/f ... s_logo.png[/tag][tag=content]Ulster and the Exeter Chiefs played out an entertaining pre-season friendly which was eventually won by the English side 22-21 following late tries by Ceri Sweeney and Matt Jess.
Ulster had led for the majority of the game through two tries from Rory Scholes and a further score from new signing Louis Ludik, however the away side refused to give in and provided a remarkable comeback in the dying moments of the game.
New interim coach Les Kiss will not be too upset by what he saw at the Kingspan Stadium in his first game in charge, however he will be disappointed at his side’s inability to close out a game that could have been won easily, even if it was just a friendly.
It was a night on which Ulster gave debuts to six players, although for Sean Reidy that debut only lasted seven minutes upon which he was brought off clutching his chest to be replaced by another debutant in Clive Ross.
New South African utility back Louis Ludik was nearly the second debutant casualty for the home side, but he decided to battle on despite taking a knock in the fourteenth minute, and this would prove crucial in the game’s opening score.
Up to this point it was the Irish province who looked the more threatening with winger Rory Scholes providing a real attacking strength with a couple of strong bursts in the opening fifteen minutes.
But then whenever the visitors were given a sniff of an opportunity they took it with a lightning quick passing move along the backs setting former Ulster centre Ian Whitten past the helpless Ludik, allowing him to feed winger Matt Jess to score.
Henry Slade was given a fantastic opportunity only four minutes later to extend that lead to 8-0 only to see his relatively straightforward penalty kick sail wide of the uprights.
And he would be made to pay for that error as the ever dangerous Scholes received the ball on the wing following a quick passing move of Ulster’s and he turned on the afterburners to speed over in the corner.
On his return to the Kingspan Stadium, Ian Humphreys made no mistake with the conversion and the Ulstermen found themselves in the lead for the first time.
That lead was quickly extended to 14-5 on the 33rd minute after a trademark quick tap penalty from Paul Marshall saw the ball shifted to Ludik, who by now had shaken off his previous knock, and the outside centre squeezed under two tackles to score a debut try.
A raft of substitutes at half time meant that it was two very changed teams that lined up for the second period and it was Exeter who got on an early offensive, showing promising signs only to produce no end result.
It did not stop them from getting the first points of the second half though, through a penalty from second half substitute Gareth Steenson, who was also a former Ulster player.
A rather subdued Kingspan crowd were soon on their feet and cheering again though as a cleverly worked move involving several dummy runners allowed Rory Scholes the space to ghost through and score his second try of the evening, taking the score to 21-8.
Amidst all the replacements which saw six more debutants come on for Ulster, including summer signings Ruaidhri Murphy and Wiehahn Herbst in the front row, there was very little exciting rugby being played.
That which was exciting was coming from the Chiefs who were finding success when full-back Chrysander Botha had ball in hand, however they could not break down what was an increasingly stubborn Ulster defence enough to make any significant inroads.
On the other hand, the Ulster pack were setting up great positions for their backs, however too many unforced errors were hampering their attempts to put the game beyond any reasonable doubt.
It took until the final ten minutes for the game to really spring to life, as Ulster’s inability to cross the line came back to haunt them with Ceri Sweeney crossing for a converted try in the seventieth minute to reduce the gap to six after putting a lot of pressure on the Ulster line.
Then only four minutes later it was Matt Jess who received the ball from a kick through and he dotted down for his second try of the evening under the posts to give the Chiefs the lead for the first time since the fifteenth minute.
Sean O’Hagan had a long range penalty effort to give the hosts the win with just two minutes left on the clock, however his kick was short and left of the posts handing the visitors a hard fought win and condemning Les Kiss to a defeat in his first match as Ulster head coach.
Scorers
For Ulster
Tries: Scholes (2), Ludik
Cons: Humphreys (3)
For Exeter
Tries: Jess (2), Sweeney
Cons: Steenson (2)
Pen: Steenson
ULSTER RUGBY
(15-9) Ricky Andrew (Jack Owens 59), Rory Scholes (Ross Adair 65), Louis Ludik, Michael Allen, Jacob Stockdale, Ian Humphreys (Sean O’Hagan 59), Paul Marshall (Michael Heaney 40 (Dave Shanahan 64)); (1-8) Callum Black (Andrew Warwick 40 (Ruaidhri Murphy 64)), John Andrew (Kyle McCall 40 (Jonny Murphy 64)), Declan Fitzpatrick (Bronson Ross 40 (Wiehahn Herbst 64)), Alan O’Connor (Lewis Stevenson 40), Franco van der Merwe (Neil McComb 40), Charlie Butterworth (Conor Joyce 40), Sean Reidy (Clive Ross 7), Roger Wilson (Mike McComish 40).
Subs not used: James Simpson, Frank Taggart.
EXETER CHIEFS
(15-9) Phil Dollman (Chrysander Botha 16), Tom James, Ian Whitten, Sam Hill (Ceri Sweeney 68), Matt Jess (Adam Hughes 40), Henry Slade (Gareth Steenson 40), Haydn Thomas (Stuart Townsend 40); (1-8) Ben Moon (Carl Rimmer 46), Jack Yeandle (Elvis Taione 35, 61), Moray Low (Alex Brown 47), Ryan Caldwell, Damien Welch (Don Armand 59), Mitch Lees (Ben White 47), Tom Johnson (James Scaysbrook 55), Thomas Waldrom (Kai Horstmann 59).
Subs not used: Tomas Francis, Sireli Naqelevuki, Will Chudley, Brett Sturgess, Greg Bateman.
Yellow card: Jack Yeandle (35)
Referee: Gary Conway (IRFU)
Attendance: 13,542[/tag]
Match Report: Ulster Rugby 21-22 Exeter Chiefs
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