Match Reports

Match Report | Leinster 21 Ulster 17

14th May 2021
Ulster suffered a narrow defeat to Leinster at the RDS Arena in a physical encounter on Friday evening. It was a game full of effort and commitment from the Ulster men; the visitors making a strong start, playing with tempo and enjoying a good spell of possession. They had a number of opportunities that went begging; Leinster disrupting Ulster’s line-out 5 metres out and a knock-on in the red zone proving to be the barriers. David Shanahan looked close to scoring after Stuart McCloskey made the initial break, but the scrum-half was brought down just short and the hosts were able to turn the ball over. The Ulster men finally got reward for their efforts after putting pressure on at the back of the Leinster scrum to steal the ball, sending it out to Jacob Stockdale who dispatched Robert Baloucoune into the right-hand corner. Billy Burns fired over the conversion. The hosts responded in the 25th minute, with Cian Healy barging over at short-range. Garry Ringrose brought the scores level. Ulster had another chance when Billy Burns spotted a gap in the Leinster defence to go on a fantastic run and Stuart McCloskey made the cross-field kick to Nick Timoney on the edge, but he just went into touch. Skipper Iain Henderson made use of the Captain’s Challenge to check for a high challenge by Robbie Henshaw on Robert Baloucoune in the build-up, but after consulting with TMO Olly Hodges, referee, Mike Adamson deemed there to be no foul play. The scores remained level going in at the break. Ulster had the opportunity to take the lead early in the second half, Billy Burns calling for the tee, but his kick drifted just to the left of the posts. Just five minutes later though, he made no mistake when offered a second bite at the cherry. Their lead was short-lived however, as Leinster struck through Jack Conan, who had just come off the bench to break through the Ulster defensive line and cross the chalk. Garry Ringrose added the two. The hosts got their third score of the evening after a period of sustained pressure; Ulster defending bravely but they were eventually breached by Robbie Henshaw. Ringrose was on-target for the conversion. The Ulster coaching team rung in the changes for the final quarter of the game, and in the 79th minute, Ian Madigan – who had come on to replace Billy Burns – spotted the space out wide and fired out a long pass for Craig Gilroy to collect and score in the corner. Madigan quickly took the tricky conversion to continue play, and Ulster went on the attack but a couple of handling errors scuppered any chances to snatch the win. Full-time score: Leinster 21 Ulster 17

WORTH ANOTHER LOOK

SCORERS

Leinster Tries: Cian Healy, Jack Conan, Robbie Henshaw Cons: Garry Ringrose (3) Ulster Tries: Robert Baloucoune, Craig Gilroy Cons: Billy Burns, Ian Madigan Pens: Billy Burns

LINE-UPS

Leinster (15-9) Jimmy O’Brien, Jordan Larmour, Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw, Dave Kearney, Ross Byrne, Luke McGrath (CAPT); (1-8) Cian Healy, Seán Cronin, Tadhg Furlong, Ryan Baird, James Ryan, Josh Murphy, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris. Replacements: Rónan Kelleher, Michael Milne, Michael Bent, Devin Toner, Jack Conan, Cormac Foley, Rory O’Loughlin, Tommy O’Brien. Ulster (15-9) Jacob Stockdale, Robert Baloucoune, James Hume, Stuart McCloskey, Craig Gilroy, Billy Burns, David Shanahan; (1-8) Eric O’Sullivan, Rob Herring, Marty Moore, Sam Carter, Iain Henderson (CAPT), Matty Rea, Sean Reidy, Nick Timoney. Replacements: Brad Roberts, Callum Reid, Tom O’Toole, Alan O’Connor, Greg Jones, Nathan Doak, Ian Madigan, Rob Lyttle.

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