This action-packed Irish derby started with a moment of respectful reflection, as both teams and supporters joined in applause in memory of the late, great Scottish International and British and Irish Lion, Doddie Weir.
From the kick-off it was Leinster who put themselves on the scoreboard early, as Stuart McCloskey was penalised for not releasing. Ross Byrne made no mistake with the kick from 40 metres.
Ulster’s first promising attack came in the 8th minute as Mike Lowry used his footwork to get Ulster on the front foot. A phase later, Tom Stewart found himself in space. He will be disappointed not to have given the pass to Ethan McIlroy outside, opting to carry instead. A knock on shortly after in Leinster territory gave the front row a first chance to do battle. And it was Ulster who made the first dent, winning a penalty, allowing Cooney to level the scores at three apiece.
After Jamison Gibson-Park knocked on at the base, Leinster’s front row were pleased to get another opportunity to inflict early revenge on the Ulster pack, earning themselves a penalty of their own with a strong drive. Conan opted to go quick, but the promising opportunity was ended early as Gibson-Park couldn’t gather the offload.
After a period of kick tennis and both sides exchanging penalties, Tom Stewart had to leave the field with a blood injury. The Television Match Official was brought in to look at the circumstances which led to the injury. After a quick review, Cian Healy was shown a red card for a head-on-head collision. Regular English Premiership referee, Christopher Ridley, cited a high level of danger with no mitigation. Ulster would have 60 minutes ahead with a man advantage.
Straight away, the Ulstermen capitalised. Irish International, Rob Herring, on for Stewart, shooting off the side of a powerful Ulster maul which seemed to be heading for the touchline. The travelling supporters were off their feet, as he dived in for the first try of the night. Ulster now leading 10-3 after John Cooney’s conversion.
Ulster capitalised again on the player advantage, this time at the scrum as Cooney and Burns opted to dart down the blindside. A high tackle by Ross Byrne on his opposite number allowed Ulster to set up another driving maul. With the drive stopped, it was over to the power game. After Stuart McCloskey came within inches, Kieran Treadwell rammed his way over Byrne for the second try. Cooney’s tricky conversion went straight through the uprights, giving Ulster a 17-3 lead at the RDS.
Ulster’s tails were up, and after absorbing a number of phases, they looked to move the ball. Super hands across the backline allowed Hume, under pressure, to release Stuart Moore who drew the last defender, releasing Ethan McIlroy down the right wing. Cooney had a rare miss with the attempted extras, but Leinster found themselves in a rare position, 22-3 down at home with five minutes left in the half.
Leinster were determined to show their championship quality and moved their way into the Ulster 22 with a couple of line breaks. However, their handling let them down and a number of opportunities went begging. But it would only take one sniff, and that came when McCloskey was guilty of a high tackle. Byrne wasted no time to pop the ball in the corner. Leinster turned up the power for Ronan Kelleher to score off the maul on the stroke of half time. Byrne converted.
HALF TIME | Leinster 10 - 22 Ulster
With only four minutes played in the half, a typically strong carry from James Lowe forced play to stop for the tackler Cooney to receive attention. He was forced to leave the field giving Nathan Doak a chance to control things at Nine through the second half.
Neither team created much of a scoring chance over the next ten minutes of play. At one point Andrew Porter clamped on the ball to win a penalty for Leinster, but off the maul they lost possession moving the ball. Marcus Rea popped up with a powerful turn over as Gibson-Park tried to take him on through the middle, but Ulster couldn’t find a break as they moved the ball.
From here, things started to heat up and game started to open up. Both sets of back three dealing well with the kick tennis. Leinster began to move the ball, Ulster continued to deal with them well defensively.
After a big hit on Moore by James Lowe into touch, Leinster took the quick line out and Irish fullback, Keenan, broke off into space. Mike Lowry was penalised for jumping offside around the breakdown and Byrne looked to the corner once again. The blue pack tried their best up front, but it took the magic feet of captain Garry Ringrose to break down the Ulster defence for their second try. Byrne converted to bring the scores back to 17-22.
It was a double blow for Ulster, as the referee was alerted to another head-on-head collision in the build-up to the score. This time it was James Hume on Ringrose. On this occasion Christopher Ridley cited a high level of danger but with mitigation due to the change of direction, so Hume was shown a yellow card. 60 minutes played and it would be 14 v 14 for the next ten minutes.
Leinster’s time to try and prove a point. Andrew Porter coming up with another muscular position over the ball at the breakdown to win a penalty. The maul was phenomenal, the play was unstoppable and Garry Ringrose was in again. To add insult to injury, Nick Timoney was shown a yellow card for bringing down the maul. Ross Byrne converted, putting Leinster 24-22 ahead. Ulster now with 13 players on the pitch.
It might not have been exciting, but Ulster’s tactics during this period were smart. Doak continuing to put box kicks up allowing Moore and McIlroy to put pressure on and keep Leinster pinned back. This proved even more effective when Leinster were forced into a knock on trying to gather in their own 22, handing Ulster a scrum and keeping the clock ticking on. However, despite keeping it tight Leinster popped up with an intercept and cleared down field.
Rea attempted another big turnover, but he was judged to have been off his feet. Leinster stuck it back in the corner, and unbelievably having been 19 points down, Andrew Porter, squeezed his way over for a home bonus point try. Byrne converted again, and Leinster now found themselves 31 - 22 ahead. Six minutes left.
And they weren’t finished. Inaccuracy in the Ulster attack coughed up possession again, allowing Keenan, McCarthy, and Doris to bring play back to the Ulster line. A wide pass from Byrne allowed James Lowe to walk in for Leinster’s fifth try. Byrne, once again with the kick.
Ulster could have thrown in the towel, but knowing they couldn’t leave with nothing they kept moving the ball. After a cross field kick to Jacob Stockdale was dealt with well, Ulster kept up the tempo and Sam Carter crossed for Ulster’s bonus point try. Doak converted.
With the clock in the red, the Ulstermen kept going, looking for another bonus point, but it wasn’t to be as play broke down around half way. Ulster will leave hugely disappointed, knowing they had Leinster on the ropes in the first half, Leinster fans delighted knowing how their team reacted.
FINAL SCORE | Leinster 38 - 29 Ulster.
Scorers
Leinster
Tries: R Kelleher, G Ringrose (2), A Porter, J Lowe
Conversions: R Byrne (5)
Penalties: R Byrne
Red Cards: C Healy
Ulster
Tries: R Herring, K Treadwell, E McIlroy, S Carter
Conversions: J Cooney (2), Doak
Penalties: J Cooney
Yellow Cards: J Hume, N Timoney
Line-Ups
Leinster
(15-9): Hugo Keenan, Jimmy O’Brien, Garry Ringrose, Jamie Osborne, James Lowe, Ross Byrne, Jamison Gibson-Park;
(1-8): Cian Healy, Ronan Kelleher, Michael Ala’alatoa, James Ryan, Jason Jenkins, Ryan Baird, Josh van der Flier, Jack Conan
Replacements: Dan Sheehan, Andrew Porter, Tadhg Furlong, Ross Molony, Caelan Doris, Nick McCarthy, Charlie Tector, Liam Turner.
Ulster
(15-9): Michael Lowry, Ethan McIlroy, James Hume, Stuart McCloskey, Stewart Moore, Billy Burns, John Cooney;
(1-8): Andy Warwick, Tom Stewart, Marty Moore, Alan O’Connor, Kieran Treadwell, Iain Henderson (Captain), Marcus Rea, Nick Timoney.
Replacements: Rob Herring, Callum Reid, Tom O’Toole, Sam Carter, Duane Vermeulen, Nathan Doak, Jacob Stockdale, Matty Rea.