Ulster 21 Chiefs 22

Ulster 21

Exeter Chiefs 22

Mark Stevens at the Kingspan Stadium

Late tries from Matt Jess and Henry Slade ensured Exeter Chiefs maintained their unbeaten record this pre-season as they saw off a strong Ulster side at the Kingspan Stadium.

Trailing 21-8 entering into the final 10 minutes of an entertaining encounter in Belfast, the Chiefs dug deep into their reserves to produce two excellent scores to seal victory.

Ulster played their part on the night with winger Rory Scholes crossing twice, alongside another try from debutant Louis Ludik, but it was not enough to see off Rob Baxter’s valiant visitors, who also claimed a first half score through the impressive Jess.

Having kicked-off their pre-season games with a 24-17 win at the Cardiff Blues, Baxter fielded a powerful line-up for their latest engagement across the Irish Sea. Summer signings Moray Low, Ryan Caldwell and Thomas Waldrom were all handed first starts in the pack, while behind Tom James returned on the wing after he was forced to sit out the previous week.

Ulster, meanwhile, paraded five of their new recruits with starting spots for Franco Van Der Merwe, Sean Reidy and Charlie Butterworth up front, whilst behind Ian Humphreys started at fly-half following his summer move from London Irish and South African Ludik was given the nod in the centre.

Early on and it was the home side who set the attacking tone as scrum-half Paul Marshall looked to get his team on the front foot with some darting breaks inside the Chiefs half.

Each time, however, the visitors were able to thwart the Irishmen with some dogged defensive work. England international Waldrom was the stand-out figure for Exeter as he continually put his body on the line with a number of bone-crunching hits.

Having survived the early pressure, the Chiefs slowly began to find their feet and on 15 minutes they claimed the opening points of the game through winger Jess.

A line-out move wide on the left was cleverly worked back in field to the onrushing James, who in turned combined with fellow Welshman Phil Dollman to create the opening that allowed the ‘Heamoor Flyer’ to squeeze over in the right-hand corner.

Sadly Slade saw his touchline conversion attempt float wide of the far post before a penalty chance just moments later also failed to hit the target as the Chiefs looked to press home their advantage.

The missed kicks proved costly as on 25 minutes Ulster responded with their opening try of the night. A slick attacking move was initially worked down the left flank before it was masterfully worked back across the park to the waiting Scholes, who did the rest with a simple finish.

Humphreys added the extras to that score and Ulster’s second which arrived just past the half hour mark. Marshall did the damage as his quick-thinking from a tap penalty caught the Chiefs defence napping and when it was fed to Ludik, he was propelled over the whitewash by a handful of team-mates.

And things didn’t get any easier for the Chiefs who - straight from the kick-off - saw skipper Jack Yeandle sent to the sin-bin for a dangerous tackle.

HALF TIME ULSTER 14 EXETER CHIEFS 5

Former Ulster youngster Steenson and Will Chudley were both introduced at the start of the second half for the Chiefs, whilst the home side swapped their entire pack, which included former Sandy Park favourite Lewis Stevenson in the second row.

And it did not take Steenson long to make an impact as the Dungannon-born playmaker landed an early penalty after Chudley’s tap penalty had released Don Armand on the charge in the home 22.

Hopes of a Chiefs revival were quickly dampened as Ulster struck with a third try - and a second for Scholes - when he was able to scorch through the middle and under the sticks for Humphreys to convert once more.

The Devonians looked to counter almost immediately as James Scaysbrook’s quick penalty helped to release Waldrom and then Tomas Francis, but sadly the tight-head did not have enough speed to evade the Ulster rearguard and he was hauled to the floor just metres from the line.

Replacement prop Carl Rimmer became the second Chief to effectively see yellow just past the hour mark for a professional foul - but with both clubs agreeing prior to kick-off just to replace those who transgress, Ulster were unable to exploit the numbers game to the full.

Instead, the Chiefs countered at the other end as replacement wing Adam Hughes looked to make the most of a hacked kick through. Although the Welshman did well to lead the charge, Ulster had sufficient numbers in defence as the chance came and went in an instance.

To their credit the Chiefs continued to pile forward in search of a way back into the contest and their efforts were rewarded in the final ten minutes.

Stunning offloading skills from Hughes and Botha created the platform for Slade to cross under the sticks; then moments later Slade was the architect for a second score from Jess, who applied a deadly finish as he latched onto a clever grubber kick in behind from the England youngster.

Steenson converted both to put his side back in front, but still the drama had not finished as Ulster had one last chance to grab a last-gasp victory.

On this occasion, though, replacement Sean O’Hagan could not benefit as he saw his lengthy penalty chance sail wide of the left post, much to the relief of Baxter and the vociferous travelling Tribe.

Ulster: R Andrew (J Owens 59); J Stockdale, L Ludik, M Allen, R Scholes (R Adair 65); I Humphreys (S O’Hagan 59), P Marshall (M Heaney h/t), D Shanahan 64); C Black (A Warwick h/t, R Murphy 64), J Andrew (K McCall h/t, J Murphy 64), D Fitzpatrick (B Ross h/t, W Herbst 64); A O'Connor (L Stevenson h/t), F Van Der Merwe (N McComb h/t); C Butterworth (N McComish h/t), S Reidy (C Ross 8), R Wilson (capt, C Joyce h/t).

Try - Scholes (2), Ludik; Conversions - Humphreys (3)

Chiefs: P Dollman (C Botha 16); T James (M Jess 60), I Whitten, S Hill (H Slade 60), M Jess (A Hughes 59); H Slade (G Steenson h/t), H Thomas (W Chudley h/t); B Moon (C Rimmer 45, B Sturgess 61), J Yeandle (capt, E Taione 37-46, 61, G Bateman 76), M Low (T Francis 46); R Caldwell (M Lees 69), D Welch (B White 59); M Lees (D Armand 47), T Johnson (J Scaysbrook 55), T Waldrom (K Horstmann 59).

Tries - Jess (2), Slade; Conversions - Steenson (2); Penalty - Steenson

Yellow Cards - Yeandle, Rimmer

Referee: G Conway

Attendance: 13,542

UP NEXT FOR THE CHIEFS: v Worcester Warriors, Pre-Season Friendly, Friday, August 29 (7.30pm).