Match report by Neil Carnduff
A fiercely-contested Irish derby ended in defeat for Ulster this afternoon at the RDS, as interprovincial rivals Leinster edged above Neil Doak’s side into fourth spot in the Guinness Pro12 standings.
While the 13-point gulf on the scoreboard certainly flattered the home province, a gutsy and technically-improved performance from Ulster was undone by a high penalty count and a moment of lapsed concentration which let in out-half Ian Madigan for an opportunistic and decisive try early in the second half.
A strong forward’s try from Wiehahn Herbst – his first in Ulster colours – and two penalties from Ruan Pienaar were all Ulster had to show for from a game in which they enjoyed a good proportion of possession and territory, particularly in the first half. The province now sit in fifth place in the Pro12 table, one point behind this afternoon’s opponents on 35 points.
Pienaar, Rory Best and Tommy Bowe all returned to the starting XV after missing the 13-10 defeat of Connacht, with head coach Doak also making two positional changes which saw versatile Peter Nelson move to full-back, and last week’s try-scorer Craig Gilroy switch from the right to the left wing.
Darren Cave and Stuart Olding continued their partnership in the centre, while Pienaar teamed up with Paddy Jackson in the half-back berths for the first time this season.
Up front, Callum Black and Herbst lined up either side of skipper Best, with Dan Tuohy and Franco van der Merwe in the second row, while Roger Wilson recovered from injury sustained in last week’s interpro tie to wear the Number Eight shirt, flanked by Robbie Diack and Clive Ross.
Early breaks from van der Merwe and Nelson served as a clear indication of Ulster’s intent, with the youngster impressing under several searching high balls launched by Madigan in the first five minutes. However it was a raid from Tuohy from a smart Jackson pass, followed by rapid recycling across the line, which got Ulster to within five metres of the whitewash in a promising position before Leinster wrestled back possession.
Ulster absorbed some decent Leinster pressure before a 14th-minute Pienaar penalty from metres short of half-way agonisingly rebounded off the crossbar and back into play, but the Springbok was on target two minutes later from just inside the Leinster half after Madigan had been pulled up for a high tackle on Olding.
The Leinster response was swift, Bowe misreading the flight of another Madigan kick and presenting the ball to Luke Fitzgerald inside the ‘22’. The centre’s diagonal run eliminated several prospective tacklers before drawing the Ulster infringement in front of the posts, awarding Madigan with an elementary kick to make it 3 – 3.
Good work from Ross earned Pienaar a similarly simple penalty in the 26th minute, before acceleration down the right flank from Bowe asked the Leinster defence some more hard questions just before the half-hour mark. The hosts resisted on this occasion, clearing their lines well and drawing level once more through a second Madigan penalty moments later.
Leinster enjoyed their best spell of possession in the final minutes of the first half, their pressure eventually paying off as Tuohy was sent to the sinbin for leaping off his feet into a challenge on Isaac Boss as the scrum-half extracted the ball from a maul, and Madigan slotted over his third kick to send his team off at the break three points to the good.
Half-Time Score Leinster 9 Ulster 6
Disadvantaged by Tuohy’s temporary expulsion, Ulster struggled straight from the restart and fell further behind on 42 minutes as Madigan feigned a penalty kick to touch from five metres out, taking a quick tap and breaking through hurried tackles from Wilson and Black to stretch centimetres over the line.
Madigan’s conversion duly dispatched, Ulster did well to keep the Leinstermen at bay until Tuohy retook the field, and indeed grabbed a try of their own just seconds before the 10 minutes had elapsed, building from a scrum for Herbst to bundle over from close distance with van der Merwe assisting his momentum as he hit the whitewash. Pienaar’s conversion spun just wide, leaving Ulster five points adrift with half an hour remaining.
With Bowe, who had picked up a nasty cut in the first half, withdrawn just before the score and replaced by Luke Marshall, Ulster had to re-organise with Olding moving to full-back, Nelson to the wing and Marshall slotting into the Number 12 berth. The enforced changes did nothing to impair their defensive prowess, however, as Ulster manfully resisted five minutes of intense Leinster pressure until an eventual infringement gave Madigan his fourth penalty of the encounter.
After a 62nd-minute Pienaar penalty had fallen short of the posts, another searching run from Nelson set the next Ulster move in motion, but this time there was no breaching the blue line despite the best efforts of Cave and Gilroy, and Leinster eventually turned the ball over.
Opportunities for Ulster to salvage at least a losing bonus point were in short supply as the clock ran into the final 10 minutes, with Leinster coming closest to adding to their tally as replacement Jimmy Gopperth knocked on Madigan’s mis-executed crossfield kick, the ball brushing the Kiwi’s hand as it bounced up from his boot before he chased and touched down.
However, there was still time for Leinster man-of-the-match Jack Conan to leave the result in no doubt whatsoever as he powered over in the very last minute and, although his score went unconverted by Madigan, the 13-point victory ensured Leinster finished the game in a play-off position, displacing Ulster to fifth place.
Next up is a trip to face 11th-placed Italian side Benetton Treviso on Sunday 11 January, when a return to winning ways will be imperative if Ulster are to sustain their challenge for a top four place in the Pro12.
Full-Time Score Leinster 24 Ulster 11
Leinster (15 – 9) Z Kirchner; F McFadden, L Fitzgerald, G D’Arcy, D Kearney; I Madigan, I Boss (1 – 9) J McGrath, R Strauss, M Ross, D Toner, M McCarthy, J Conan, J Murphy, J Heaslip (c)
Replacements (16 – 23) S Cronin, M Bent, T Furlong, K Douglas, J van der Flier, L McGrath, J Gopperth, B Te’o
Ulster (15 – 9) P Nelson; T Bowe, D Cave, S Olding, C Gilroy; P Jackson, R Pienaar (1 – 8) C Black, R Best (c), W Herbst, D Tuohy, F van der Merwe, R Diack, C Ross, R Wilson
Replacements (16 – 23) R Herring, A Warwick, B Ross, A O’Connor, S Reidy, P Marshall, I Humphreys, L Marshall