Pro14: Ulster 42-19 Cheetahs
History was made at the Kingspan as the Cheetahs made their Pro14 bow, losing 42-19 to a lively looking Ulster side who had secured their bonus point by half time.
It was the visitors who scored the first try to take a 16th minute lead, responding to John Cooney's penalty as Blommetjies stepped his man to score in the corner after fine work by Specman.
However, Ulster fired back almost instantly, with Tommy Bowe enjoying his new role in midfield to buy some room and use his pace. He got the province's opening try of the season after being sent clear by Ludik, who was on hand to link the play following good work from Piutau.
A frantic few minutes then saw the Cheetahs get their second try out of a relatively safe position for Ulster. They tried to kick downfield, but Mpipi blocked it and was alert enough to chase the ball downfield and beat Piutau to dive on it as it sat dead after bouncing over the try-line.
Ulster's superior power in the pack saw the Cheetahs buckle under the pressure in their own 22, and Venter was sin-binned for pulling down an Ulster maul that was fast approaching his try-line.
A lineout soon followed, and although the Cheetahs won it, they fumbled possession and in the resulting melee Alan O'Conner dived on the loose ball to score and help his side into a lead in the 28th minute.
The impressive John Cooney, making his debut, then timed a pass to perfection to release McCloskey 2 minutes later, and the big centre broke his line to touch down near the posts.
Just 3 minutes later, Ulster secured the bonus point.
It's been a while since the Kingspan faithful have seen consistent and impressive running from the forwards with the ball in hand, but what's exactly what they got when Coetzee and Deysel crashed through the Cheetahs' defence. The backs soon recycled it and got it through the hands, which resulted in Piutau diving over in the corner.
After the break, the Cheetahs physically returned to the field, but they may as well have stayed in the dressing room, as Ulster simply worked their way up the pitch, moved it wide, and scored their 5th try in the 41st minute.
This time Ludik was the benefactor, slipping through some weak tackles to finish in the corner.
The Cheetahs woke up again in the 49th minute when replacement Afrika showed explosive pace to burn away from the Ulster defence and slip it over to Peterson, who just about managed to touch the ball down after stumbling across the line.
Ulster looked to have made a clean break down the right in the 64th minute when Trimble ran into space, but Johan Coetzee hauled him down by the shirt collar and was sent to the sin-bin as a result.
There was still time for the home side to add some gloss to the scoreline as replacement Pete Nelson crashed over to score, and then convert his own try, in the 75th minute.