Ulster were undone by two late tries in a disappointing game at Cardiff Arms, their failure to pickup a losing bonus denting their push for a play off place.

The visitors had looked in control when Craig Gilroy was put in by Sam Arnold to give Ulster a 6 – 13 lead five minutes into the second half. 

Up till then Paddy Jackson and Rhys Patchell had swapped penalties in a largely forgettable 45 minutes and indeed there was not a lot of action for the twenty minutes after Gilroy scored. 

The game sparked to life, for the hosts at least, when Patchell added a third penalty on the 65th minute after Welsh international Josh Navidi brought some go forward to the Blues attack. 

Cardiff finished of the game very much in control with a break by Rey Lee-Lo finished of by Patchell before Aled Summerhill went over in the corner to wrap up the game. 

Les Kiss will be concerned by Ulster’s inability to close out the match. The loss of their defensive shape, the number of missed tackles and their general lack of cohesion are a worry and over the last few games they have looked like a group of individuals rather than a team.

Plenty to work on but with Ulster still in fourth place, after the weekends results, there is still something to play for. 

Ulster: Stuart Olding, Craig Gilroy, Luke Marshall, Sam Arnold, Jacob Stockdale, Paddy Jackson, Ruan Pienaar, Callum Black, John Andrews, Bronson Ross, Peter Browne, Franco van der Merwe, Robbie Diack, Chris Henry, Nick Williams. Replacements: Jonny Murphy, Kyle McCall, Ricky Lutton, Roger Wilson, Sean Reidy, Paul Marshall, Darren Cave, Rory Scholes.