Once again it was not meant to be for the Scarlets, but the youngsters who showed flair with quick ball in hand, proved there is hope for the future.Stephen Jones was handed an early opportunity to prove his worth and show all why he's such an asset. Two minutes in Jones put the Scarlets three points ahead.

The home team responded strongly with a try by flanker Willie Faloon and converted by fly half Ian Humphreys. The Scarlets' early lead was soon reversed to a four-point deficit.

Ulster's winger Andrew Trimble was penalised for holding on to the ball which gave Jones another opportunity to go for goal, which he confidently kicked through the posts.
Scrum half Isaac Boss looked dangerous when the ball was stolen from behind the scrum and a very confident individual run towards the Scarlets' line, but the ball was lost forward.

Prop Rhys Thomas was controversially yellow carded for a supposed spear tackle on second row Ryan Caldwell which gave Humphreys an opportunity to take Ulster's lead to 10 points to 6.

Once again the visitors were handed a chance to claw back three points with a penalty in front of the posts. Jones kicked successfully.

Jones put the visitors back in the lead when Ulster was penalised for a forward pass. Ulster 10 Scarlets 12.

Humphreys took the lead for Ulster once again with some 7 minutes of the first half remaining with a successfully kicked penalty; Scarlets' defensive line was off side.

In what was a half dictated by the boot Ulster were given the last word with another penalty kick for Humphreys in front of the posts, which he did not manage to strike on target.

Martin Roberts narrowly stopped Ulster from scoring their second try just before the half time whistle.

Winger Sean Lamont was penalised for high tackle on Paddy Wallace another penalty kick was successful taking Ulster's lead to four points going in to the second half.

Ulster got the first points on the board in the second half, a penalty kick by Humphreys taking their lead to 19 points to 12.

The early points on the board fired the Ulster pack and we soon saw Trimble cross for try. Not converted by Humphreys. The Scarlets had a lot to do facing a 24 - 12 deficit.

The Scarlets faced further anguish after Ulster winger Timoci Nagusa scored a try from turn over ball which was converted by Humphreys.

It looked likely to be a tough final twenty minutes for the visitors.

Lee Williams was denied a try by the TMO with his left leg over the touchline.

It looked like game over for the Scarlets when a miss pass landed in the arms of Trimble who crossed for his second try and secured a bonus point for Ulster. Converted by Humphreys. Ulster 38 Scarlets 12.

Centre Jon Davies brought a glimmer of hope for the Scarlets crossing the line for a try and Stephen Jones converted to bring the score to 38 - 19.

The final nail in the coffin came from replacement back Ian Whittle who ran in for an easy try under the posts which was converted once again by Humphreys. Ulster 45 Scarlets 19.

Davies put in another eye-catching performance and underlined that the Scarlets can be dangerous with quick ball in hand. He showed individual flair and skill by crossing for his second try from a move by the Scarlets that emphasised what they can do on the break. However, it was once again too little too late as the final whistle came with Ulster winning by a margin of 45 points to 24.

Immediately after the game, Head Coach Nigel Davies could not hide his frustration at the unflattering score line. He said: "I was very disappointed with that performance. We were second best by a mile and it was a real wake-up call ahead of our European opening game against Brive next Saturday.

"Yes we tried and played at points, with some positive moments like the tries from Jon. But at times we over-played, we chased the game early in the second half when we didn't need to and lost our composure.

"We have a game we can work with but this was a reality check for us tonight."

A young Scarlets team will now need to come of age next Saturday with a home crowd behind them at Parc y Scarlets, as they go into their first European encounter against French side Brive.

Ulster: 15 Schifcofske, 14 Nagusa, 13 Cave, 12 Wallace, 11 Trimble, 10 Humphreys, 9 Boss, 1 Court, 2 Brady, 3 Botha, 4 O'Donoghue, 5 Caldwell, 6 Ferris, 7 Faloon, 8 Diack
Replacements: 16 Kyriacou (75mins on for Court), 17 Fitzpatrick (54 for Botha), 18 McComb (62 for Ferris), 19 Anderson (62 for Faloon), 20 Marshall, 21 Whitten (69 for Boss), 22 McCrea

Scarlets: 15 Priestland, 14 Lamont, 13 Maule, 12 Davies, 11 Williams, 10 Jones, 9 Roberts, 1 I Thomas, 2 Rees, 3 R Thomas, 4 Cooper, 5 Reed, 6 Jones, 7 Edwards, 8 Lyons (c)
Replacements: 16 John (55 for I Thomas), 17 Owens (65 for Rees), 18 Welsh (55 for Cooper), 19 Turnbull, 20 Pugh (55 for Edwards), 21 Evans, 22 Higgitt (65 for Maule)