Ulster make a fight of it to charge back at Lions in Johannesburg heat and altitude

To their credit, though Ulster did at least take a try bonus point from the game after charging back into the contest after half-time.

They might have even taken two points andhad Nathan Doak's conversion of Corrie Barrett's late try been the final scoring from the heat at Ellis Park, but it wasn't to be as a weary-looking Ulster coughed up a fifth try in the dying moments.

John Cooney, Aidan Morgan, Werner Kok and Corrie Barrett scored for Ulster — the latter two managing their first tries for the province — though only one was converted which was also costly.

The game started ominously when Ulster managed to fumble the kick-off and things didn't improve as following a scrum penalty against the province, the Lions launched their maul and broke blind through PJ Botha. Francke Horn carried and supplied winger Rabz Maxwane, who ran in to score on nine minutes.

The conversion was missed by \Kade Wolhuter, then on the quarter of an hour mark he landed a penalty to put the hosts 8-0 ahead.

The pressure on them continued and, on the half hour, the lively Sanele Nohamba knocked on with a possible score on offer from an inside pass delivered by Rynhardt Jo It should have been more four minutes later when a stunning 50/22 from Quan Horn deep in his own territory brought the Lions up to five metres from the Ulster line.

Though they mauled over, and Botha touched down, referee Sam Grove-White ruled the score out for an apparent offside infringement.

It was a reprieve for Murphy's men but nker.

Another score for the Lions seemed inevitable and it came on 33 minutes from skipper Horn. A penalty at a previous lineout against Nick Timoney saw the Lions go for the corner and from the following maul, the red shirts surged over for their second try of the game.

Wolhuter's conversion from the touchline bisected the posts and Ulster now trailed 15-0.

Ulster now had to find something and to their credit they launched their most effective attack play of the half with Stuart McCloskey, Stewart Moore and Kieran Treadwell prominent.

From a penalty with the clock in red, Ulster put the ball to the corner, threw to Alan O'Connor and after several short-range carries with McCloskey and Timoney again showing up strongly, Cooney got the nudge to score in the 44th minute which was so reminiscent of David Shanahan's last gasp effort to win the previous game against Glasgow. Cooney, however, missed the conversion but the scoreboard now read 15-5 to the Lions.

Ulster charged out of the blocks on the resumption and after Ethan McIlroy made a half break in midfield, the province produced a stunning move, producing up to 17 phases, with Sean Reffell and Matty Rea showing up strongly, for Morgan to get the try.

Again, though, Cooney missed the conversion but now it was game on.

The response from the home side was swift and after they were held up by Timoney a penalty was still theirs. From the following lineout maul, the Lions trundled over again with replacement hooker Franco Marais earning them the five points.

Wolhuter was unable to convert but made no mistake shortly afterwards when Horn shredded Ulster's defence and after linking with Erich Cronje, sub Henco van Wyk ran in under the sticks for the bonus point.

Wolhuter's 56th minute penalty then brought up the 30 points.

But then Ulster struck back and after Doak — one of a raft of subs now on the field — kicked through after a Lions ball had gone loose, Kok beat Wolhuter in the chase for the touchdown. Doak, though, was unable to convert.

Then with time running out, Kok made a try-saving tackle on Cronje and shortly afterwards Ulster launched a final surge for points. Morgan was short of the line and then Barrett rumbled through for the try bonus, which Doak converted.

Ulster were now looking as if they could take two points from this gamebut in the final minute, Wolhuter stepped over tired bodies and ran in for an unconverted try — the Lions' fifth.

​Scorers — Lions: R Maxwane, F Horne, F Marais, H van Wyk, K Wolhuter try each; Wolhuter 2 cons; Wolhuter 2 pens. Ulster: J Cooney, A Morgan, W Kok, C Barrett try each; N Doak con.

Emirates Lions: Q Horn, R Maxwane, E Cronje, R Jonker, T Mafura, K Wolhuter, S Nohamba, M Naude, PJ Botha, A Ntlabakanye, R Nothnagel, D Landsberg, J Cairns, R Venter, F Horn (capt). Replacements: F Marais for Botha (43), J Schoeman for Naude (43), C van Vuuren for Ntlabakanye (66), R Schoeman for Horn 55mins, S Qoma for Venter (55), R du Plessis for Cairns (67), N Steyn for Nohamba (65), H van Wyk for Mafura (42).

Ulster: E McIlroy, W Kok, S Moore, S McCloskey, J Stockdale, A Morgan, J Cooney, A Warwick, J Andrew, T O'Toole, K Treadwell, A O'Connor (capt), Matty Rea, S Reffell, N Timoney. Replacements: J McCormick for Andrew (52), E O'Sullivan for Warwick (52), C Barrett for O'Toole (52), I Henderson for Treadwell (52), J McNabney for O'Connor (52), N Doak for Cooney (55), M Lowry for McIlroy (66), D McCann for Rea (51).

​Referee: S Grove-White (SRU)