Ulster staged a second half fightback against Edinburgh in Belfast, but Richie Murphy's side had to be content with two losing bonus-points in their 34-29 defeat at Affidea Stadium.
A calamitous first 50 minutes from Ulster saw them fall 34-5 behind, as Sean Everitt's Edinburgh carved the home side open with four tries, and James Grayson kicked four conversions a penalty from out-half in an excellent display.
To their credit, Murphy's Ulster never threw in the towel, and tries from Zac Ward, David McCann and Keynan Knox got them back within touching distance heading down the stretch, but the Scottish side survived the final minutes for a huge opening day win.
Ulster handed debuts to five new signings in their starting team, and they struggled to gel as a group early on as Edinburgh dominated the early exchanges.
Grayson saw a penalty rattle the post, but they made their possession and territory count on 20 minutes, when Freddy Douglas eventually broke in for the opening try, which Grayson converted before adding a penalty shortly after for a 10-0 lead.
Ulster finally woke up and got their attack going, and on 26 minutes they were in for a try when Jamie Benson's deft pass to Mike Lowry sent the captain scampering in to reduce the arrears, but Edinburgh tagged on three more points shortly after, as a Grayson penalty made it 13-5 to the visitors.
While Edinburgh were the dominant team in the opening half, their try right on the stroke of half time had a stroke of fortune to it, as Grayson's kick in midfield was deflected off an Ulster hand, falling kindly for the attacking team and Malelili Satala, who ran in for his side's second try and a 20-5 lead.
The second half was just two minutes old when Edinburgh struck again, with Satala again at the centre of it as he was sent clear down the right wing, before passing back inside to scrum-half Hector Patterson for a third try, and on 48 minutes they brought up the bonus-point as Piers O'Conor sliced through the defence, Grayson's conversion making it 34-5.
It looked like game over, but with 23 minutes Ward put some life into the game when he dived over in the left corner, and shortly after McCann forced his way over from a similar spot, with both touchline conversions nailed by Jack Murphy, as they game suddenly looked alive at 34-19.
There was real hope around Affidea Stadium by now, and that hope turned to belief on 66 minutes when former Munster prop Knox forced his way over for Ulster's fourth try, which gave Ulster a bonus-point and brought them within eight points of Edinburgh.
All three second half tries were converted by Murphy, who added a penalty with seven minutes to play and reduce Edinburgh's lead to just five points, but the Scottish side held on for a priceless win, as Ulster had to be content with two losing bonus-points.
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