A hat-trick of tries from hooker Tom Stewart helped Ulster defeat the Vodacom Bulls in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship on Saturday night in Belfast.
The hosts fought back from 20-12 down to secure a 32-23 victory and make it three URC wins in a row, to continue to pressurise second-placed DHL Stormers ahead of the play-offs.
The Bulls’ first try was a thing of beauty and came about when Michael Lowry’s kick through was picked up by Kurt-Lee Arendse, who threw a pass to Canan Moodie. The winger chipped over the top, collected the ball and threw the scoring pass to the supporting Arendse.
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With eight minutes left in the opening stanza, having applied a lot of pressure on their hosts’ defensive line, the visitors found another converted try as Zak Burger went over the line with a dummy pass that caught Ulster off guard.
.@UlsterRugby have come FLYING out of the block! ? #BKTURC #URC | #ULSvBUL pic.twitter.com/GOy92kRB9D
— BKT United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) March 25, 2023
Ulster winger Robert Baloucoune also crossed for a score, with Nathan Doak kicking three conversions and a penalty and John Cooney slotting a solitary penalty. Baloucoune scored two minutes into his comeback from injury after Ulster threw the ball out to his wing.
A timely penalty to the hosts saw them regain their six-point lead with seven minutes left on the clock, and the Bulls would be reduced to 14 men for the rest of the game as replacement Bismarck du Plessis was shown yellow for a late clean.
A late penalty would see Ulster add another three points – on the stroke of full time – to register a nine-point victory at Kingspan Stadium on the night.