Angus Bell stole the show with a sensational solo try as Ulster ground out a hard-fought 21-14 victory over Cardiff on a bitterly cold night at the Affidea Stadium, moving above their opponents into fourth place in the United Rugby Championship standings.

The Australian prop, on a short-term deal from the Waratahs until the end of the season, produced a moment of individual brilliance that left even his own team-mates open-mouthed. Picking up the ball on the edge of the 22, Bell beat two Cardiff defenders before sidestepping full-back Cam Winnett with the footwork of a seasoned winger to touch down for his first Ulster try.

Yet this was far from a comfortable evening for Richie Murphy’s men. Having thrown away leads of 19 and 14 points in their two previous meetings with Cardiff – most recently in December’s Challenge Cup thriller at the Arms Park – Ulster were made to work until the final whistle to preserve their unbeaten home record this season.

Cardiff, missing 18 players due to international selection and injury, refused to capitulate. Johan Mulder’s try early in the second half gave the visitors hope, and when Steffan Emanuel crossed with 12 minutes remaining, the Welsh side were within a converted score. Only a crucial turnover from James Hume inside his own 22 in the closing stages prevented what would have been another remarkable Cardiff comeback.

Key moments

5′ – EARLY PRESSURE ULSTER: Jack Murphy produces a peach of a grubber kick deep into Cardiff territory, forcing a lineout just five metres from the visitors’ line. Charlie Irvine almost steals the throw as Ulster establish early dominance

11′ – TRY ULSTER: The hosts’ sustained pressure finally tells. Werner Kok combines with Matthew Dalton and Dave McCann in a sweeping move down the right. The ball is recycled quickly and tighthead prop Scott Wilson crashes over under the posts from close range. Jack Murphy converts with ease (Ulster 7-0 Cardiff)

18′ – TRY ULSTER: The moment of the match. Loosehead prop Angus Bell picks up at the back of a breakdown on the edge of the Cardiff 22 and sets off on a mesmeric run. He bursts through a gap, beats two defenders with quick feet, then produces a devastating sidestep to sit full-back Cam Winnett on his backside before gliding over under the posts for his first Ulster try. The score is so extraordinary that team-mate Marcus Rea is left standing with his hands on his head in disbelief. Jack Murphy converts (Ulster 14-0 Cardiff)

24′ – CARDIFF HELD UP: Cardiff finally threaten with their first meaningful attack. After winning a penalty inside the Ulster 22, they opt for a tap and go. Prop Rhys Barratt looks destined to score but Scott Wilson, having earlier crossed at the other end, produces a heroic intervention to get under the ball and hold it up over the line. A crucial moment that keeps Cardiff scoreless

34′ – FLASHPOINT: A coming together between James Hume and Dan Thomas forces referee Hollie Davidson to stop play and deliver a warning to both captains that such behaviour will not be tolerated

Half-time: Ulster 14-0 Cardiff

48′ – CARDIFF THREATEN: George Nott breaks through the Ulster defence far too easily before being stopped on the fringes of the 22. Callum Sheedy’s kick is claimed by Zac Ward under pressure from two Cardiff defenders, who takes the mark. Ulster survive, but Cardiff have started the second half with renewed purpose

53′ – TRY CARDIFF: The visitors’ second-half pressure finally pays dividends. After a series of powerful carries from the pack, prop Javan Sebastian goes close before Johan Mulder shows lightning reactions, scooping the ball at full pace to snipe over from close range. Callum Sheedy converts to cut the deficit in half (Ulster 14-7 Cardiff)

62′ – LEIGH HALFPENNY INTRODUCED: The Wales legend, now serving as Cardiff’s backs coach, comes off the bench at full-back – 17 years after his first appearance in Belfast. Can his experience help guide Cardiff back into the contest?

64′ – DALTON DENIED: Ulster work the ball to the right and flanker Matthew Dalton wastes no time in eating up the turf. With the line gaping, Dave Shanahan cannot control Dalton’s offload and Cardiff survive what should have been Ulster’s third try

66′ – TRY ULSTER: The hosts finally find their release after their first sustained period of territory in the second half. A dominant shove at the scrum produces quick ball and after two phases with quick recycles, second row Charlie Irvine – a fourth-year medical student at Queen’s University Belfast – forces his way over under the posts for his first try in Ulster colours. Jack Murphy converts to restore the 14-point cushion (Ulster 21-7 Cardiff)

67′ – TRY CARDIFF: Cardiff respond instantly with a superb team try. The tireless Alun Lawrence takes the ball to the line before possession is moved to Taine Basham. The explosive back-row bursts through the Ulster midfield, tears into the home half and releases Steffan Emanuel, who shows brilliant pace to evade Werner Kok’s tackle and finish in the corner. Sheedy converts superbly to bring Cardiff within seven points (Ulster 21-14 Cardiff)

76′ – HUME’S CRUCIAL INTERVENTION: With Cardiff launching repeated attacks through rolling mauls and pick-and-go phases, James Hume produces a huge turnover inside his own 22. The centre jackals brilliantly to win a penalty and relieve the immense pressure on the Ulster line. It proves the decisive moment

80′ – NO TRY ULSTER: Deep into red time, Ulster opt for ambition over caution, repeatedly tapping penalties inches from the Cardiff line in search of a bonus-point try. Dave Shanahan appears to touch down but referee Hollie Davidson refers to the TMO, who rules a double movement. Cardiff are awarded a relieving penalty and the match ends

Full-time: Ulster 21-14 Cardiff

Match report

Ulster will reflect on a job done, if not quite completed to perfection, as they head into the Six Nations break with their unbeaten home record intact and their play-off ambitions firmly on track. Yet there will be frustration too – frustration at another failure to secure a bonus point, and frustration at allowing Cardiff back into a contest that had seemed settled at half-time.

The opening 40 minutes had been all Ulster. Fielding a side depleted by international call-ups, Richie Murphy’s men nonetheless started with purpose and intensity, immediately looking to play with tempo and width. Jack Murphy managed territory intelligently, while Hume and Kok tested Cardiff’s defensive organisation with probing runs.

The first try, when it came in the 12th minute, was a reward for that sustained pressure. After some sharp carries and quick recycling near the Cardiff line, Ulster shifted the ball swiftly through short phases. Dalton’s offload set McCann away down the right before the ball was worked back for Wilson to crash over under the posts.

But it was Bell’s try seven minutes later that will live longest in the memory. The Australian had arrived at Ulster in the summer as cover and had shown glimpses of his talent, but nothing quite like this. His burst from the breakdown was powerful enough, but it was the footwork that followed which elevated the score to something special. The sidestep that left Winnett grasping at thin air was worthy of any international winger, never mind a loosehead prop.

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Cardiff, to their immense credit, refused to fold. They almost got on the scoreboard before half-time when Barratt was held up over the line following a tap-and-go, Wilson’s defensive intervention proving every bit as valuable as his earlier try.

The Welsh side emerged after the interval with renewed belief. Their pack, led by the tireless Lawrence and the dynamic Basham, began to win collisions and territory. When Mulder sniped over from close range after Sebastian had softened up the Ulster defence, suddenly the visitors sensed an opportunity.

The game became scrappier as temperatures fell and the rain threatened. Neither side could establish sustained momentum, though Ulster almost extended their lead when Dalton burst clear only for Shanahan to fumble the crucial offload with the line at his mercy.

When Irvine powered over from close range following a dominant scrum, it appeared Ulster had finally killed the contest. But Cardiff responded within 60 seconds through Emanuel’s fine individual effort, and suddenly the final quarter became a test of nerve.

Wave after wave of Cardiff pressure followed. The introduction of Halfpenny from the bench added experience and nous to the visitors’ attack. Yet Ulster’s defence, which had been questioned at times this season, stood firm when it mattered most. Hume’s turnover with five minutes remaining was the decisive intervention – a moment of individual brilliance to match Bell’s earlier effort at the other end.

The closing stages saw Ulster camped on the Cardiff line in search of a bonus point, but the visitors’ defence held firm. Shanahan’s apparent try was ruled out for a double movement, and Cardiff escaped with a losing bonus point that could yet prove valuable in the race for the play-offs.

What they said

Iain Henderson (Ulster captain): “We knew things were bubbling in the last 18 months. Last week’s game and this game shows we are by no means the finished article, we have loads to work on. Fair play to the coaching staff and what they have brought our squad from last season to pre-season and to the start of this season.”

James Hume (Ulster centre): “I was very nervous before the game with the pressure of last week, not getting it over the line and we needed a response tonight. I am proud of the group. We are our own worst enemy sometimes late in the game. I love playing with this group. It is unbelievable to go into work with your best friends.”

Matthew Dalton (Player of the Match): “That was awesome, what a night at the Affidea Stadium. It can’t get better than that. First start at six. I was worried coming into the game as I am normally a second row, but that was awesome. We are sitting in a great position going into the next block.”

Angus Bell (Ulster prop): “It was good fun and good to get the win at home. It has been awesome. Cardiff are a great team, great players, great set pieces and great coaches so we knew we had to put points on them.”

Josh McNally (Cardiff captain): “I think in the first half we defended for a long time. There was a lot of fighting and a lot of scrap. We didn’t execute in a few areas, but we came out in the second half and really felt like we put them under pressure. Maybe we left a couple out there and we were fighting right until the last few minutes to get something out of the game.”

Corniel van Zyl (Cardiff defence coach): “In the circle there, you feel the disappointment of the boys but ultimately in the first-half we had a lot of pressure. We didn’t get all the things right we planned to do and they just had the ball for too long in good field positions. So it was tough to turn it around but credit to the boys, they stuck in there. The fight was amazing.”

Player of the match

Angus Bell’s sensational solo try will dominate the highlights, and rightly so – it was a score that would have graced any occasion. But the Australian’s contribution went beyond that moment of magic. His scrummaging helped Ulster establish early dominance, and his work-rate around the park was impressive throughout.

Special mention too for Matthew Dalton, who was named BKT Player of the Match after an energetic display at blindside flanker. Playing out of position – he is normally a second row – Dalton brought athleticism and ball-carrying threat that kept Cardiff on the back foot. His break in the second half should have produced a try had Shanahan held on to the offload.

Teams

Ulster: Ethan McIlroy; Werner Kok, James Hume, Ben Carson, Zac Ward; Jack Murphy, Conor McKee; Angus Bell, Rob Herring, Scott Wilson; Iain Henderson (captain), Charlie Irvine; Matthew Dalton, Marcus Rea, David McCann
Replacements: James McCormick, Sam Crean, Bryan O’Connor, Harry Sheridan, Lorcan McLoughlin, David Shanahan, Jake Flannery, Ben Moxham

Cardiff: Cameron Winnett; Ioan Lloyd, Harri Millard, Steffan Emanuel, Tom Bowen; Callum Sheedy, Johan Mulder; Rhys Barratt, Evan Lloyd, Javan Sebastian; Josh McNally (captain), George Nott; Alun Lawrence, Dan Thomas, Taine Basham
Replacements: Dafydd Hughes, Danny Southworth, Joe Cowell, Rory Thornton, Lucas de la Rua, Aled Davies, Elijah Evans, Leigh Halfpenny

Referee: Hollie Davidson (SRU)