United Rugby Championship, Affidea Stadium

Ulster (5) 29

Tries: Lowry, Ward, McCann, Knox Cons: Murphy (3) Pens: Murphy

Edinburgh (20) 34

Tries: Douglas, Satala, Patterson, O’Conor Cons: Grayson (4) Pens: Grayson (2)

Ulster’s thrilling second-half comeback came up short as Edinburgh left Belfast with a 34-29 win in the opening game of the United Rugby Championship.

In a pulsating start to the new season, the Scottish side played Ulster off the pitch in the first 55 minutes as they built what looked like an unassailable 34-5 lead.

Tries came from Freddy Douglas, Malelili Satala, Hector Patterson and Piers O’Conor, with James Grayson converting them all and adding two penalties.

Only Michael Lowry’s try troubled the scorers for Ulster.

Then, from out of nowhere, the home side found their stride, scoring three tries in the space of 10 minutes from Zac Ward, David McCann and Keynan Knox, with Jack Murphy adding the conversions and a late penalty.

Momentum was on their side but Ulster couldn’t complete the job, coming away with two bonus points for their efforts.

Ulster’s pre-season had been full of optimism as they began a season looking to reach the top eight of the URC for the first time in three years.

Ten minutes into the second half of the opening game, they found themselves 34-5 behind to an Edinburgh side without many of their Scottish internationals.

Ulster were missing quite a few as well and were giving debuts to eight players, six of them new signings, but that should not be an excuse for such a slow start especially at home on opening night.

Head coach Richie Murphy summed it up well, calling it a “massively disappointing” night.

“There were 11,500 people turned up tonight to support their team. They only saw them for 15 minutes when it’s an 80-minute game,” he continued.

“That’s probably what hurts the most. We have to live with that and make sure we try and fix a few things before we go to Glasgow away next week.”

Edinburgh attacked from the first whistle, stretching Ulster’s defence from touchline to touchline as they probed for weakness.

For a while they couldn’t find any but as Ulster’s lineout capitulated, they eventually did.

How dominant were Edinburgh? When they opened the scoring after 19 minutes they had 76% possession and 84% territory.

With only Lowry’s try to show for one of only three ventures into the Edinburgh 22, Ulster found themselves 20-5 down at half-time and whatever was said in the dressing room, it didn’t appear to seep in as Edinburgh scored two beautiful tries in the opening 10 minutes after the interval.

The visitors, however, had an Achilles’ heel themselves. Last season they had lost five games after leading with 20 minutes remaining.

An influx of replacements for Ulster turned the game and almost the result.

Zac Ward, Matt Devine, Henry Walker and Keynan Knox in particular made a difference as Ulster found their legs and the crowd their voices.

Three tries, all well worked, and a penalty for 24 unanswered points, but they still came up short.

They did secure two bonus points and can take the positives on the road to Glasgow next week.

Ulster: Lowry; Baloucoune, Carson, Benson, King; Murphy, McKee; O’Sullivan, McCormick, Bello; Snyman, Donnell; McCann, Moloney, McNabney

Replacements: Walker, Mcallister, Knox, Sheridan, McKillop, Stewart, Devine, Flannery, Ward

Edinburgh: O’Conor; Satala-Navlivou, Currie, Higgins, Gwynn; Grayson, Patterson; Hepburn, Morris, Hill; Hunter-Hill, Young; McConnell, Douglas, Bradbury

Replacements: Blyth-Lafferty, Whitcombe, Rae, McVie, Currie, McAlpine, Scott, McHaffie