Recent academy graduate Henry Walker shone on his first competitive start for Richie Murphy's side as he scored two tries for the province and showed great promise in the front row against a tenacious Zebre outfit.

Last season's beaten finalists took a 19-0 lead with Jacob Stockdale also crossing in between Walker's first-half double.

Zebre clawed their way back into the contest in the second half but the visitors finished strongly to keep hold of their bonus point.

Ulster's defence was called into action in the opening exchanges of the game after a set-piece play from a Zebre line-out gave the hosts a dangerous chance before the effort was held up.

In a tightly fought opening 10 minutes, Juarno Augusto also saw an effort held up before Walker got over the line for his first senior try for Ulster on the occasion of his first competitive start.

That score seemed to settle Ulster into a rhythm as they marched up the field six minutes later only for Nathan Doak's finish to be ruled out for a knock-on after a fine passing move.

Stockdale soon rectified the error from his fellow Irish international as the Ulster full-back finished off a strong team move in the corner to increase the province's lead to 12.

Zebre's afternoon went from bad to worse when Walker dived over to score his second and Ulster's third in the opening half hour.

By the half-time whistle, Ulster held firm and restricted Massimo Brunello's side in their attacking efforts to merely half-chances.

But Zebre came out swinging in the second half as Giovanni Licata rolled down the short side following a scrum to put his side on the scoreboard before Giacomo da Re converted after 43 minutes.

Four minutes later, David McCann marked his first time captaining the side with a try of his own as Ulster quickly restored their 19-point advantage.

With 15 minutes left of what was becoming a tightly-fought second half, Ulster were put under pressure when replacement Jack Murphy was sent to the sin bin moments after coming on as a replacement.

The hosts, who are currently bottom of the URC table, took advantage of their numerical superiority just a minute later as they doubled their try tally through Alessandro Ortombina.

Replacement back Mike Lowry continued the high-scoring for Ulster when he finished off a patient but punishing move after he was found on the left wing and produced a finish worthy of the passing build-up.

For the hosts though, the game was far from over, with full-back Giovanni Montemauri scoring a try that temporarily knocked Ulster out of bonus-point range.

Martin Moloney, who replaced McCann for Ulster, however replied within minutes to restore the crucial three-try buffer and seal maximum points from the trip to the Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi.

With the Challenge Cup now parked until December, Ulster face three consecutive away trips back in the URC, starting with a South African double-header against the Bulls and Stormers.

Replacements: Stewart, O'Sullivan, Wilson, Hopes, Moloney, Devine, Murphy, Lowry

Replacements: Ribaldi, Pisani, Minervino, Krumov, Botturi, Baronio Gauna, Casarin, Belloni