Ulster retain air of invincibility in Wales

Celtic League/ Newport Gwent 25 Ulster 32: Two games into the Magners Celtic League and Ulster have picked up where they left off last season.

Mark McCall's side didn't lose a game in Wales last term or, indeed, during the second half of their campaign.

And, even if the unavailability of their six Ireland squad players and injured captain Simon Best has blunted their firepower, the northern province have not lost their ruthless streak in closing the deal in the final quarter.

Just as a barnstorming second-half display turned defeat into victory in their opening game, against Llanelli at Ravenhill, so once again they overturned a first-half deficit to leave the Dragons choking, never mind breathing fire.

This was a much more rounded performance by Ulster, however. Had they not gifted the home side two tries during a see-saw first half, they would not have required a last-ditch defensive effort to secure the victory against a late Dragons rally.

So much of Ulster's cutting edge last season came from the physical line-breaking prowess of Andrew Trimble and Tommy Bowe. What will have impressed McCall is that Paddy Wallace and new signing Mark Bartholomeusz are proving admirable replacements.

The pair had a hand in Ulster's first three tries, while the fourth, which secured the province's first ever winning bonus point in Wales, came from a moment of magic from scrumhalf Kieran Campbell. His sniping break, following a sustained spell of pressure, put substitute prop Declan Fitzpatrick over for the first try of his provincial career.

Bryn Cunningham also produced a sublime performance, touching down in either half after Andrew Maxwell had dummied his way over to cancel out a converted try by Nic Fitisemanu.

"For us to show the composure and . . . skill level we did in the second half, and then come up with a big defence in the final 10 minutes, was great," said McCall.

The first half had been a rollercoaster affair, the lead changing hands on several occasions as the Dragons also ran in a brace of tries by Aled Brew.

Ulster responded with touchdowns by Maxwell and Cunningham, and a penalty by David Humphreys.

Although five points adrift at the interval, Ulster played with the confidence of a side who felt time was on their side.

After Humphreys and Sweeney had swapped penalties, they pulled away with a second try for Cunningham, and Fitzpatrick's decisive touchdown 11 minutes from time.

"We were thrilled with the attitude of the players, especially in the second half," added McCall.

SCORING SEQUENCE: 3 mins: N Fitisemanu try, C Sweeney con, 7-0; 7: A Maxwell try, D Humphreys con, 7-7; 12: Humphreys pen, 7-10; 19: A Brew try, Sweeney con, 14-10; 27: B Cunningham try, Humphreys con, 14-17; 29: Sweeney pen, 17-17; 34: A Brew try, 22-17; Half-time: 22-17; 44: Humphreys pen, 22-20; 47: Sweeney pen, 25-20; 56: Cunningham try, 25-25; 69: D Fitzpatrick try, Humphreys con, 25-32.

NEWPORT GWENT DRAGONS: C Warlow; G Wyatt, N Brew, C Sweeney, A Brew; M Hercus, A Walker; A Black, B Daly, R Thomas; I Gough, P Sidoli; C Charvis, J Ringer, N Fitisemanu. Replacements: J Bearman for Fitisemanu (55 mins), L Harrison for Thomas (64 mins), K Crawford for Daly (68 mins). Blood replacements: S Stewart for Brew (26-33 mins); A Hall for Sidoli (40-42 mins).

ULSTER: B Cunningham; M Bartholomeusz, P Steinmetz, P Wallace, A Maxwell; D Humphreys, K Campbell; J Fitzpatrick, P Shields, T Court; J Harrison, T Barker; S Ferris, N McMillan, R Wilson. Replacements: M McCullough for Harrison (49 mins), K Dawson for McMillan, D Fitzpatrick for Court (both 61 mins), K Maggs for Wallace (62 mins), P Marshall for Campbell (73 mins), Court for Fitzpatrick (76 mins), N Brady for Shields (78 mins).

Referee: D Changleng (SRU).