Ulster leave it late

Ulster scrum-half Ruan Pienaar kicked a last-gasp penalty to snatch a dramatic 18-16 victory over the Scarlets on Friday night.

The home side looked set to claim the win at a rain-soaked Parc y Scarlets as they entered added time with a one-point lead, but conceding a penalty from a scrum allowed Pienaar to kick his sixth three-pointer of the night.

Scarlets' losing bonus point took them up to third in the Magners League table, but they will struggle to take any positives from the result after the late drama.

The Welsh outfit had been ahead since the 22nd minute, when a penalty try gave them control. They were indebted to 11 points from Priestland, while all of Ulster's points came via the boot of Pienaar.

Ulster suffered a late withdrawal as fly-half Ian Humphreys was forced to withdraw after a recurrence of a shoulder injury, paving the way for 19-year-old Paddy Jackson to make his first start for the Irish province.

The Scarlets welcomed back four internationals, including Wales new boys Priestland and Josh Turnbull and Scotland wing Sean Lamont.

Dash

Ulster had opened up a 6-0 lead by the 10-minute mark as Pienaar kicked two penalties, with the South African also creating his side's best try-scoring opportunity with a 30-metre dash from a lineout.

But Priestland levelled the scores with two quick penalties of his own on 12 and 15 minutes.

The Scarlets then started to assert themselves up front and wing Gareth Maule took full-back Adam D'Arcy over his own try-line before three five-metre scrums resulted in a penalty try.

Although the hosts had the upper hand in the scrum, they could not make things click at the lineout, keeping Ulster in the hunt as Pienaar kicked a third penalty.

Seven minutes from the end of the first half, Ulster regained their seven-point lead as Priestland nailed a well-struck drop-goal.

The rain hammered down after the break and the second half was littered with mistakes, but Pienaar continued to be reliable with the boot as penalties on 48 and 60 minutes brought the visitors to within a point.

And just when it seemed the Scarlets had hung on, number eight Ben Morgan slipped his binding illegally at a scrum, allowing Pienaar to win it at the death.