Angus Bell stole the show with a sensational solo try as Ulster ground out a 21-14 United Rugby Championship victory over Cardiff at a freezing Affidea Stadium.
Scott Wilson dotted down underneath the posts, with Jack Murphy adding the extras, before Bell scored his first Ulster try by shrugging off a couple of challenges and showing fleet footwork to ghost past Cam Winnett to touch down.
Jack Murphy added the extras to both tries to put Ulster 14-0 ahead at the interval but Yohan Mulder’s converted score halved the deficit to give Cardiff hope of a second-half comeback.
Charlie Irvine, though, scampered over and Murphy once again split the posts with his kick to restore Ulster’s 14-point cushion.
Cardiff were in no mood to throw in the towel and Steffan Emanuel crashed down and Callum Sheedy put the visitors back within a converted score with 12 minutes left.
Despite some late Cardiff pressure, Ulster clung on and leapt above their opponents in the URC standings into fourth, eight points off leaders Glasgow, who have played a game more.
E McIlroy; W Kok; J Hume, Ben Carson; Z Ward; J Murphy, C McKee; A Bell, R Herring, S Wilson; I Henderson (capt), C Irvine, M Dalton, M Rea, D McCann.
J McCormick, S Crean, B O’Connor, H Sheridan, L McLoughlin, D Shanahan, J Flannery, B Moxham.
C Winnett; I Lloyd; H Millard, S Emanuel; T Bowen; C Sheedy, Johan Mulder; R Barratt, E Lloyd, J Sebastian; J McNally (capt), G Nott; A Lawrence, D Thomas, T Basham.
D Hughes, D Southworth, J Cowell, R Thornton, L de la Rua, A Davies, E Evans, L Halfpenny.
Hollie Davidson
