Late surge sees Ospreys beat Ulster in Bridgend

Ospreys (7) 21

Tries: Foley, Ratti, Kasende Cons: Walsh 3

Ulster (10) 10

Tries: Ward, Stewart

Ospreys kicked off a new block of United Rugby Championship fixtures with a nervy win over Ulster at the Brewery Field.

Scrum-half Cormac Foley got them off to a dream start, only for Ulster to hit back with two quick tries from wing Zac Ward and hooker Tom Stewart.

The 3,761-strong crowd then had a lengthy wait before flanker James Ratti and wing Daniel Kasende scored in the dying minutes, while Angus Bell had a try disallowed for the visitors.

Ospreys remain ninth in the table, level on points with Bulls who occupy the final play-off place, while Ulster drop to sixth.

Ospreys drew first blood just three minutes into the Bridgend contest.

Ross Moriarty picked up from the back of the lineout and powered to within a metre of the line. From there it was all about speed of ball and a gap opened up for Foley to go over on his first Ospreys start.

Ulster hit back soon after thanks to the vision of Nathan Doak, who had been released from Ireland's Six Nations camp. His cross-field dink landed into the grateful hands of Ward who had been hugging the touchline looking for space.

A second try followed when Jude Postlethwaite won turnover ball not long after the re-start. The resulting kick gave Ulster the attacking platform from which to launch a devastating rolling maul, with Tom Stewart touching down from the base.

The first-half tries dried up after 11 minutes, with Ulster the more threatening of the two sides, while Ospreys looked a little rusty after the international break.

Chasing a three-point game, Mark Jones introduced Wales duo Reuben Morgan-Williams and Harri Deaves along with Tom Botha just a few minutes into the second-half.

They got them on the front foot, but they were left to rue turning down a kickable penalty from a Doak offside when an isolated Deaves was held up over the line.

Ospreys continued to squander chances as they dominated possession and territory, but basic errors let Ulster off the hook as the clock ticked down.

The breakthrough eventually came 10 minutes from time.

Replacement hooker Lewis Lloyd took a quick-tap penalty before Ratti recycled and crashed over to send the home crowd wild.

Jack Walsh kicked the conversion to give Ospreys a four-point lead, but it was one they could not defend as Ulster re-took the lead on 73 minutes through Bell's close-range effort.

And just as Ulster thought they had nicked it, play was dramatically brought back for a dangerous clear-out on Owen Watkin, with referee Fillipo Russo showing Marcus Rea a yellow card.

Ospreys rallied and went back to the other end of the pitch and an error from full-back Mike Lowry allowed Kasende to pounce on a loose ball to make sure of the result, with Ulster heading back to Northern Ireland empty handed.

The win enhanced Ospreys boss Mark Jones' belief they can mount a successful challenge to make the play-offs.

"I really believe in the group, but I also know that you've got to you've got to stack some good training sessions some good moments and good performances because the whole thing - one win, one loss, one bonus point win - can shift you up and down the table three or four places... we could creep in (to the top eight).

Ospreys: Hopkins; Kasende, Watkin, K Williams, Giles; Walsh, Foley; G Thomas, Parry (co-capt), Henry, Fender, R Smith, Ratti, Moriarty, Morse.

Replacements: L Lloyd, S Thomas, Botha, Sutton, Deaves, Morgan-Williams, Scully, Boshoff.

Ulster: Lowry; Kok, Hume, Postlethwaite, z Ward, Muprhy; O'Sullivan, Stewart, Wilson, Henderson, Irvine, Dalton, McCann, B Ward.

Replacements: Herring, Bell, O'Connor, Sheridan, Rea, McKee, Flannery, Carson.

Referee: Fillipo Russo (Italy)

Assistants: Craig Evans (Wales ) and Keith David (Wales)

TMO: Stefano Penne (Italy)