Life under new director of rugby Lyn Jones started in style thanks to the boot of Jason Tovey, who returned from a year-long stint at Cardiff Blues to slot four penalties and an early drop goal.
A sterling defensive display limited Ulster to just a single try mid-way through the first half and then kept last season’s beaten finalists at bay when they piled on the pressure late on.
The Dragons were the dominant force at the breakdown and improved drastically under the new scrum engagement laws in the second period as they hinted at just how much progress has already been made under Jones’ stewardship.
Having finished 10 places and 53 points below table toppers Ulster last term and ended up with a points difference of 460 less than the Belfast-based side, the Dragons went into their opening RaboDirect PRO12 fixture as substantial underdogs but they were good value for a hard-fought win.
Tovey kicked them into a 6-3 lead with a 10th-minute drop goal and a 15th-minute penalty but it was Ulster who claimed the game’s only try through No8 Roger Wilson. The former Northampton back rower dived over from close-range after Mark Anscombe’s men had driven a lineout to within a metre of the Dragons line to hand Ulster the advantage.
But Paddy Jackson’s failure to add the extras was followed by two missed penalties, meaning the hosts would have led at the break had Tovey’s tough effort found the target in the closing stages.
As it was, they trailed 8-6, but they did lead once more seven minutes after the restart as Tovey sent a long-range effort just over the crossbar after Ulster captain Johann Muller had been penalised for not rolling away in midfield.
That 9-8 advantage became 12-8 on the hour when Tovey struck again from distance as the Dragons began to gain the upperhand. Ulster had no answer to their hosts’ intensity at the breakdown in particular and would eventually end proceedings with a penalty tally almost twice as high as the Dragons.
One of those numerous indiscretions resulted in Tovey stretching the gap to seven points with 10 minutes left thanks to yet another sweet strike from a far from straightforward position, leaving Ulster searching for an unlikely converted score to salvage a draw.
They did come close on two occasions but the Dragons defence was nothing short of magnificent as they forced the 2012 Heineken Cup runners up backwards at every opportunity.
