Match Reports

Report | Leinster 10 Ulster 20

27th November 2021
The Ulster men resumed their URC campaign in emphatic fashion after a superb victory over Leinster at the RDS on Saturday evening.

The visitors made a strong start, showing good ball retention and patiently building the phases as Leinster soaked up their attack. Ulster hammered at the Leinster line and had two attacking line-outs from five metres out, but Ross Molony was quick to get over the ball to force the turnover and get them out of their 22.

Ciarán Frawley got caught off his feet in a ruck which provided John Cooney the opportunity to kick at goal to get the first points on the board, but the flags stayed down on 11 minutes.

All of Ulster’s possession and territory finally converted to points after a strong run by James Hume and Greg Jones made a shrewd line to bundle over and Cooney slotted the conversion to make it 0-7.

After the re-start, Ulster again ran Leinster close to their line, but Robbie Henshaw made a nuisance of himself to get the penalty.

The men in blue finally got into Ulster’s 22 for the first time with a quarter of the game gone, but Ulster showed excellent line-speed in defence to force Leinster back, and eventually, to make the handling error to give Ulster the scrum and Cooney kicked the ball clear.

The hosts tried to go on the attack once more but Marcus Rea got his hands on the ball to claim the turnover. Leinster’s discipline faltered when Rhys Ruddock was pinged for not rolling away, again allowing the Ulster men to get back into the home side’s half.

A few minutes from the break, Leinster started to threaten but Ulster’s scramble defence shone through and Nick Timoney was able to get his hands on the ball and the home side were penalised for not releasing the ball.

On the 40-minute mark, the visitors had the chance to extend their lead to 10 points when Tadhg Furlong was penalised for having hands in the ruck but Cooney’s long-range effort was off-target.

In the opening minute of the second half, Ross Molony went on the break and Mike Lowry did really well to bring him down. Stuart McCloskey then made the follow-up tackle on Ross Byrne and got his hands on the ball to earn the penalty.

A succession of penalties by Leinster allowed Ulster to build territory and eventually, a kick at goal for John Cooney, for which he duly obliged to make it 0-10.

The 10-point lead was short-lived however, as Leinster came back through Robbie Henshaw who made the pick-up to force his way over. Ross Byrne landed the conversion to bring the gap to three points.

Marcus Rea was once again instrumental in making the jackal turnover to get Ulster back up-field and the men in white went on the charge again. Will Connors, who had just entered the field of play, however got over the ball in the ruck to get out of danger.

The home side made it all-square on 64 minutes through the boot of Ross Byrne after Ulster got penalised for going off the feet. However, Ulster soon regained the lead after Max Deegan was caught coming in at the side of the maul, and Nathan Doak fired over the three points.

The Ulster men had to put in another big defensive shift as the hosts probed and pressed. James Hume was up quickly to shut down Harry Byrne, forcing him to knock-on.

Ulster again got purchase at the breakdown with Rob Lyttle pouncing on the ball to earn the penalty, but Leinster soon got a penalty in exchange.

Two minutes from full-time, Leinster were in possession and looked to put the ball wide, but James Hume made a great read to make the intercept just inside their halfway line to run clear and score, with Doak landing the conversion to see out the game.

Up next for Ulster is a trip to Swansea.com Stadium to face the Ospreys next Saturday afternoon.

Full-time score: Leinster 10 Ulster 20

Worth Another Look

Player of the Match

Scorers

Leinster

Tries: Robbie Henshaw

Cons: Ross Byrne

Pens: Ross Byrne

Ulster

Tries: Greg Jones, James Hume

Cons: John Cooney, Nathan Doak

Pens: John Cooney, Nathan Doak

Line-ups

Leinster

(15-9) Jimmy O’Brien, Adam Byrne, Robbie Henshaw, Ciarán Frawley, Jordan Larmour, Ross Byrne, Luke McGrath (CAPT),

(1-8) Ed Byrne, James Tracy, Tadhg Furlong, Ross Molony, Devin Toner, Dan Leavy, Scott Penny, Rhys Ruddock

Replacements: Seán Cronin, Peter Dooley, Vakh Abdaladze, Max Deegan, Will Connors, Nick McCarthy, Harry Byrne, Tommy O’Brien

Ulster

(15-9) Mike Lowry, Craig Gilroy, James Hume, Stuart McCloskey, Ethan McIlroy, Billy Burns, John Cooney;

(1-8) Andrew Warwick, Rob Herring, Marty Moore, Alan O’Connor (Capt.), Sam Carter, Greg Jones, Nick Timoney, David McCann.

Replacements: Tom Stewart, Eric O’Sullivan, Ross Kane, Mick Kearney, Marcus Rea, Nathan Doak, Angus Curtis, Rob Lyttle.

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