Ulster 12 Ospreys 20Defending Celtic League champions Ospreys picked up a useful away win last night against an Ulster side which failed to impress.

Both sides were missing players, but Ulster, who had eight called up to Irish duty, never settled into any rhythm and while the Ospreys played an unattractive game, they even denied the Irish province a bonus point in a rare home defeat.

Ospreys got in front on the 12th minute through a Shaun Connor penalty, and although Ulster kept in touch 9-6 at the interval, Jason Spice's second-half try was to be the crucial difference. Connor rubbed salt in the wounds with a drop-goal deep in stoppage-time which denied Ulster a losing bonus point, but they still remain in second place this morning.

The opening 20 minutes were erratic, Ulster working with some scrappy ball and certainly not appearing to use the wind that was in their advantage.

Ulster were also having some difficulties with their set-pieces, both scrum and lineout, but managed to hold their own. From a lineout outhalf Paddy Wallace launched a crossfield kick which winger Andy Maxwell caught, and having beaten off one man, he just could not get past Ospreys fullback Adrian Cashmore, who put him into touch.

A kick by Connor gave Ulster another lineout in a good attacking position and this time debutant Ryan Caldwell took and set up the driving maul. Ulster went again and again, pushing the Ospreys back and then Wallace put the ball high in the air, with Cashmore calling his mark.

Ulster made a promising start to the second half and Paul Steinmetz kicked over to level the scores at 9-9 after 56 minutes. Disaster struck two minutes later though, when Ospreys scrumhalf, Jason Spice broke clear after a scrum, kicked ahead and although Campbell Feather looked to have it covered, as he went down it hit his legs and bounced nicely into the path of Spice who got the try. Connor missed the conversion, but the defending champions had the initiative.

ULSTER: B Cunningham; J Topping, K Maggs, P Steinmetz, A Maxwell; P Wallace, I Boss; J Fitzpatrick, N Brady, B Young, J Harrison (capt), R Caldwell, C Feather, N McMillan, R Wilson. Replacements: D Fitzpatrick, R Moore (Young 25), H Head (Caldwell 69), S Ferris (Feather 62), R Spee, A Larkin (Wallace 72), J Bell.

OSPREYS: A Cashmore; R Mustoe, A Bishop, L Davies, A Brew; S Connor, J Spice; P James, B Williams (capt), A Millward, A Newman, I Evans, J Bater, S Tandy, L Beach. Replacements: R Hibbard, C Griffths, L Bateman, R Pugh (Tandy 68), J Vaughan, M Jones, R Rees.

Referee: Iain Heard (Scotland).