Stewart scores hat-trick as Ulster edge Bulls

Jacob Stockdale impressed for Ulster while Kurt-Lee Arendse scored a superb try for the Bulls

Tom Stewart scored a hat-trick as Ulster returned to United Rugby Championship action with a 32-23 victory over the play-off rivals Bulls.

Stewart restored Ulster's lead but the Bulls led 20-12 ahead at half-time thanks to Zak Burger and Chris Smith.

Hooker Stewart completed his hat-trick and scrum-half Nathan Doak kicked nine points as Ulster ground out the win.

The victory at Kingspan Stadium means Ulster have completed an unprecedented clean sweep over the South African sides - the Bulls, Stormers, Lions and Sharks - ahead of their European Champions Cup quarter-final with Leinster in Dublin on Saturday.

In an enthralling first half, it took Ulster just three minutes on their return to action to cross when some neat hands through the backs allowed Michael Lowry to find returning wing Balucoune, who had enough in the tank to race the length of the 22 and dive over in the corner.

Doak missed the conversion, and opposite number Smith also miscued from the tee with his first penalty attempt, but the South African fly-half made amends with a long-range kick after Ulster were cut open by Burger and James Hume was penalised for a high tackle.

After a couple of near misses, when Bulls handling let them down after some scything runs, it felt like a matter of time before they made Ulster pay and the South Africans got their reward midway through the half when Arendse rounded off a superb break.

A loose kick by Lowry gave Arendse space and he fed Canan Moodie, who collected his own chip, burst through the tackle of Stewart Moore and fed the ball to his Springbok-capped full-back to score.

However, Ulster came again and Sam Carter was held up under the posts while Ulster had the penalty advantage, and the hosts eventually capitalised when hooker Stewart, the top scorer in the league, broke off a maul to drive over for his first try of the night and 11th of the season. Doak landed a superb conversion from the touchline.

In a half where most of the play was spent in the respective 22s, the Bulls went in ahead at the break when the power of their forward pack edged towards the line and Burger sniped in to capitalise on the stretched Ulster defence.

Smith converted the kick, and he added a long-range penalty to give the Bulls an eight-point lead at half-time.

Elrigh Louw was sent to the bin, a legacy of warnings from the first-half for repeated infringements, early in the second and Stewart immediately pounced with his second score of the game from a maul.

The Bulls held Ulster out for the remaining nine minutes down to 14 players, but Stewart soon completed his hat-trick with a brilliant finish as he was brought down shy of the line but the 22-year-old managed to roll and touch down through the sky blue jerseys.

The Bulls came again and Smith's penalty brought the margin down to three points, but the ever-reliable boot of Doak restored Ulster's six-point margin with eight minutes to play.

Knowing a converted try woud snatch vcitory, the Bulls were prepared to kick the ball into the Ulster corner after being awarded a penalty but replacement hooker Bismark du Plessis had clattered Billy Burns in the build-up with an illegal tackle and referee Craig Evans reversed his initial decision.

That allowed Ulster to clear their lines and Dan McFarland's men held out to move up to third in the table as replacement John Cooney kicked a penalty with the last action of the game.

Ulster: Lowry; Balocoune, Hume, Moore, Stockdale; Burns, Doak; Warwick, Stewart, Toomaga-Allen; Treadwell, Carter; McCann, Timoney, Vermeulen (capt).

Replacements: Andrew, O'Sullivan, Milasinovich, O'Connor, Sheridan, Marcus Rea, Cooney, Postlethwaite.

Bulls: Arendse; Moodie, Hendricks, Vorster, Kriel; Smith, Burger; Steenekamp, Grobbelaar, Smith; Vermaak, Nortje (capt); Van Staden, Brink, Louw.

Replacements: Matanzima, Du Plessis, Klopper, Swanepoel, Steenkamp, Papier, Steyn, Gans