Ulster capitalised on a Lions yellow card as they claimed a thrilling 39-37 win in the early United Rugby Championship clash in Johannesburg.
The triumph keeps them on the tails of Leinster at the summit, but they had to withstand a late fightback from the Lions in order to pick up the points.
Ulster were 18-10 down when Henco van Wyk was sin-binned shortly before half-time, with Robert Baloucoune’s early try having been cancelled out by scores from Emmanuel Tshituka and Francke Horn.
However, Billy Burns, Rob Lyttle and Stuart McCloskey all went over in Van Wyk’s absence while Rob Herring added his own name to the scoresheet shortly after the centre’s return from the bin.
Tries from Andries Coetzee and Quan Horn plus a second for Francke Horn set up a tense finale but Ulster clung on to become the first northern hemisphere side to win in South Africa in the United Rugby Championship this season.
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Baloucoune – back from Emerging Ireland duty for this fixture – scored the opening try inside two minutes.
Ulster won turnover ball just inside their own half and spread it wide to Baloucoune, who carved open the Lions with a step inside to sprint clear and touch down under the posts.
John Cooney added the extras before Gianni Lombard reduced the deficit with a long-range penalty.
Cooney’s first penalty went over off a post but the Lions were level when Ruan Dreyer’s superb offload sent Francke Horn charging over from halfway and Gianni Lombard converted.
Lombard gave the Lions the lead for the first time from the tee after 26 minutes and the home side looked to turn the screw as they repeatedly kicked penalties to the corner.
Their ambition paid off just after the half-hour mark when Tshituka crashed over from close range, although Lombard missed the conversion.
The Lions lost Van Wyk to the sin bin for a deliberate knock-on two minutes from half-time and Ulster took immediate advantage through Burns’ try. Cooney’s missed conversion meant Ulster trailed 18-15 at the break.
They were back in front less than two minutes into the second half when Lyttle had space on the left wing to dart over and Cooney rediscovered his range.
An unforced error from Marius Louw at a lineout opened the door for McCloskey to snatch the bonus-point try, with Cooney again on target to make it 29-18.
Herring then touched down from a driving maul, with Nathan Doak kicking his first conversion, before Coetzee brushed off Mike Lowry’s tackle to give the Lions hope.
Although the conversion was missed, Quan Horn added another score soon after and Jordan Hendrikse’s extras brought the Lions within six.
Doak split the posts with a penalty before Francke Horn’s second and another Hendrikse conversion made it a two-point game with two minutes to play but Ulster held on for their fourth win of the season.
Sharks too good for Glasgow Warriors in Durban
The Sharks bounced back from last weekend’s defeat at Leinster as they secured a bonus-point 40-12 victory over Glasgow Warriors at Kings Park.
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Tries from Anthony Volminck (2), Bongi Mbonambi, Aphelele Fassi and Werner Kok saw them to the five points, with Boeta Chamberlain kicking 13 points.
Glasgow Warriors flanker Tom Gordon scored once in each half for his side, but Tom Jordan’s conversion of the first represented their only other points in the match.
The Sharks handed debuts to World Cup winner Eben Etzebeth and fellow close-season arrival Vincent Tshituka, while their star-studded bench featured Siya Kolisi, Makazole Mapimpi, Mbonambi and Ox Nche.
Chamberlain kicked the hosts in front after 13 minutes, but it was Glasgow – in the absence of head coach Franco Smith due to visa delays – who claimed the game’s first try, with Gordon carving a route through the Sharks defence to touch down next to the posts. Jordan added a simple conversion before another Chamberlain penalty reduced the gap to a single point.
Jordan sent his next effort from the tee off target, but he was given something of a let-off when Chamberlain was similarly wasteful from his next attempt.
Chamberlain atoned for his miss when he exploited a gap in the Glasgow defence before setting up Volmink to go over and adding the extras.
Gordon emerged from a maul to touch down early in the second half, but Jordan was again wayward with the follow-up.
Kolisi and Mbonambi were among a group of replacements sent on after 50 minutes and the Sharks immediately re-established a cushion, showing fantastic hands to get the ball out to Volmink, who raced down the left wing to score.
Chamberlain – again involved in the build-up – failed with the conversion but added a subsequent penalty to make it 21-12 to the hosts.
Mbonambi then touched down at the back of a driving maul before Fassi went over to wrap up the bonus point, with Chamberlain converting both.
Chamberlain capped a strong individual performance by finding Kok with a cross-kick for a late try, although the conversion bounced back off a post.
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