Ulster 16-12 Cardiff Blues

Ulster had to work hard to overcome a stubborn Cardiff side to claim a 16-12 victory in the PRO14.

The home side got the scoreboard moving through John Cooney's 2nd minute penalty, but the Welsh dominated the following phases to open the try-scoring.

Full back Matthew Morgan crossed in the corner with 10 minutes played, but the province hit back just 3 minutes later.

Stu McCloskey showed some quick thinking to run a penalty from the middle of the park before offloading to Kieran Treadwell. The lock was unable to collect the ball cleanly, but it came off his knee and he was able to chase it down and get over the line.

However, Cardiff were patient and comfortable in possession, and eventually saw hooker Kris Dacey finish off a few phases of mauling by the forwards to squirm over from close range for their second try.

It gave them a 2-point lead which looked relatively secure until Seb Davies was sin-binned 10 minutes into the second half, and the Ulster pressure quickly resulted in another Cooney penalty which made it 13-12 to the home side.

The scrum-half kicked another penalty with 67 played, and the home side withstood late Cardiff pressure to hang on for the win.