Ulster 23-14 Cardiff

Ulster picked up a solid, if unspectacular, win over Cardiff in the PRO14 at Kingspan on Friday night.

The home side made a flying start, scoring a 3rd minute try after Sean Reidy charged down an attempted clearance kick. The back row was able to gather cleanly and then offload to Luke Marshall for a routine finish.

It was converted by John Cooney, who then kept the kept the score ticking over with a 9th minute penalty.

Ulster extended their lead with another try in the 21st minute. This time it was Billy Burns, captaining the side for the first time, who made the most of Ulster's quick ball to dart between defenders and touch down under the posts.

However, their momentum was somewhat undone when Marshall got himself sin-binned on the verge of half time for a high tackle, and the Welsh made their numbers count after the break.

It was only 3 minutes into the second half that Aled Summerhill finished a smart move among the backs to narrow the deficit, with Jarrod Evans converting.

Cooney immediately replied with a penalty, but Cardiff scored their second try after 58 minutes. A quick counter saw them work their way the length of the pitch before they moved it wide to flanker Will Boyde to finish in the corner.

Another Cooney penalty on 63 kept Cardiff 9 points behind heading into the final stages of the game, which proved enough distance for them to hold on for the victory