Ulster director of rugby Les Kiss has hailed the impact made by Springbok Marcell Coetzee in Friday's 24-18 win over Edinburgh at Kingspan Stadium.

Coetzee has been out of action for almost a year after suffering a serious knee injury in early 2016 on Super Rugby duty with the Sharks. He was finally able to make his debut for Ulster on Friday, where he impressed at No 8.

Ulster raced into a 24-10 lead at half-time, and while they failed to maintain the scoring momentum in the second half, Kiss said he was pleased with the end result and the return of Coetzee.

'There were a lot of positives in the first half, and you saw some real aggressive, abrasive play from Marcell, and what he can bring to the game. It was a plus for us.

'He brings a lot to the team, not only in the game, but on the training pitch. He's an infectious, enthusiastic person, and it was good to see him have a very strong hit out. He's been champing at the bit for a while, so I'm really pleased for him.'

Afterwards, Coetzee said he was thrilled to finally be back in action.

'With the whole build-up after not playing for 10 months, it was a very emotional week for me personally, so just to get back and play rugby again was fantastic. I'm just happy to be back and for us to have got the win.'

Photo: Ulster Rugby/Dicksondigital.com