Irish eyes were smiling after Ulster extended their winning Guinness PRO14 streak to three matches when they beat the gritty Isuzu Southern Kings 28-7 at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Sunday.
Ulster knew they had been in a tough battle against a Kings side who had to defend heroically for long spells.
Not even the support of 5,096 vocal home fans, however, could carry the Kings home against a well-organised Irish outfit who took control in the second half.
Ulster outscored the Kings by three tries to one, with all their tries coming in the second half.
They led 9-0 at halftime. It has been another slow start to the season for the Kings who have yet to win after three rounds and face another tough challenge when they host the Glasgow Warriors on Saturday.
Worryingly, since their debut in the competition last year, the Kings have won only once in 24 starts.
With new sponsors on board and a consortium of businessmen ready to throw cash at the franchise, the Kings will be keen to beef up their squad.
With Ulster down to 14 men after captain Rob Herring was sent to the sin bin, the Kings cashed in on their numerical advantage, when skipper Michael Willemse dotted down after a lineout drive just after halftime.
Ulster’s lead was reduced to 9-7 after Masixole Banda succeeded with the conversion.
A frenetic passage of play followed as both teams went on the offensive.
It was South African Marcel Coetzee who scored Ulster’s first try after 61 minutes after he powered his way over the tryline.
With Bill Burns slotting the conversion, Ulster increased their lead to 16-7.
Ulster were starting to dominate in the second half, and when Angus Kernohan scored their second try after 67 minutes the Kings were facing an uphill battle.
Ulster dominated the opening exchanges and their pressure was rewarded when John Cooney slotted a penalty after four minutes.
The penalty count was mounting against the Kings, and Cooney slotted his second successful kick after nine minutes to put Ulster into a 6-0 lead.
Scottish referee Sam GroveWhite eventually lost patience with the home team and he yellow-carded Martinus Burger after 19 minutes.
Ulster thought they had made the numerical advantage count when the mercurial Cooney darted over the line two minutes later.
But the try did not stand after Grove-White spotted an infringement in the build-up and Ulster lock Alan O’Çonnor was sent to the naughty chair.
With the teams reduced to 14 men, both sides fought to gain the advantage, but the penalty count continued to mount against the Kings.
The irrepressible Cooney pushed the Ulster lead out to 90 when he slotted his third penalty after 16 minutes.
Cooney left the field after 32 minutes with a blood injury after the Kings enjoyed their best spell of territorial advantage.
The game then developed a raw edge with the opposing forwards getting to grips with one another off the ball before Grove-White restored order.
It was the Kings who ended the first half on attack, and it was only desperate Ulster defensive work that held them at bay.
Before Sunday’s clash, Ulster narrowly beat Edinburgh and the Scarlets to lay the foundations for what has been an impressive start to the season.