Ulster beat Connacht 16-8 to reclaim top position in Conference B

Ulster 16 - 8 Connacht, Belfast

Ulster bounced back from their defeat to Zebre with a 16-8 victory over Ulster in their Pro 14 encounter in Belfast on Friday.

The win was Ulster's fifth this season as they reclaim the top position in Conference B while Connacht, who are without a victory in Belfast for 57 years are positioned at sixth in Conference A.

After the first 27 points went without a point, scrum-half John Cooney kicked a penalty to get Ulster off the mark but the visitors ended the first half with a slender two point lead following a touchdown from Tom McCartney.

Ulster stepped up the gears in the third quarter when Cooney slotted two penalties and was followed by a crossover from Jacob Stockdale to take them to 16 points while Connacht managed a solitary penalty kick from Jack Carty that came in the 49th minute.

As Connacht failed to make any other breakthrough, Ulster managed to complete an eight point victory to get their campaign back on track following the shocking 27-23 to Zebre last weekend.