Connacht looked the sharper side as the teams re-emerged from a six-month break, with first-half tries from John Porch and Kieran Marmion giving them a deserved half-time lead and they kicked on with a great try from Bundee Aki and finished the game with a late Jack Aungier try.

“Our energy was great. That was a crucial period. They dug really deep, some really strong characters,” said Connacht coach Andy Friend about going down a player. “We had five debutantes and Bundee on his 100th cap. I thought Bundee was really special,”

Dan McFarland was not a happy coach “I’m searching for the reason we didn’t have the spark I was expecting,” said McFarland. “It was disappointing to put in that kind of performance. I don’t want to take away from Connacht but we were a shadow of ourselves. You try to remind yourself of levels.”

Ulster: Stockdale; Gilroy, Hume, McCloskey, Ludik; Burns (c), Cooney; McGrath, McBurney, Moore, A O’Connor, Treadwell; Timoney, Murphy, Coetzee.

Replacements: Andrew, O’Sullivan, O’Toole, Carter, Rea, Mathewson, Madigan, Lowry.

Connacht: Porch; Sullivan, Aki, T Farrell, Wootton; Carty, Marmion; Buckley, Heffernan, Bealham, Dillane, Thornbury; Masterson, Butler, Boyle.

Replacements: Murphy, Duggan, Aungier, Murray, Oliver, Kerins, Dean, Daly.

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