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Ulster hold on with 13 men against Dragons

By Liam Blackburn
John Cooney slide in for a try for Ulster /PA

Ulster played most of the final 10 minutes with 13 men but held on for a 28-15 victory over the Dragons at Rodney Parade to return to third in Pro14's Conference B.

The Belfast side are just a point behind second-place Benetton Treviso with four games left to play, while the Dragons are one adrift of Southern Kings at the foot of the table.

Josh Lewis opened the scoring with a penalty for the hosts, but Ulster bounced back through Jordi Murphy, Marty Moore and John Cooney tries despite the sin binning of Darren Cave.

Rob Lyttle and Louis Ludik were shown yellows for deliberate knock-ons in quick succession as the game entered the final 10 minutes, the hosts receiving a penalty try for the latter's offence.

Ulster were far from exposed, however, and their impressive discipline at the back was rewarded when Alan O'Connor powered through to seal the bonus point.

Taine Basham pulled one back late on as the hosts pushed for a losing bonus point, but Ulster held on despite their numerical disadvantage to register an impressive away victory.