Luke Marshall, Ulster born and bred, led the charge tonight, together with his young son, as he hit his 150th cap for the province.
There was an expectant crowd at the Kingspan Stadium as the top two in the new season BKT United Rugby Championship played it out in some terrible conditions.
After two bonus point wins for the home team, it was another Interpro derby following the win over Connacht two weeks ago at home.
A poor scrum, which Ulster chose to take, having won the freekick meant Leinster pushed Ulster down into their own 22. After some Leinster pressure and some slick passing, it led a try in the corner for their number 6, Ryan Baird, in the 7th minute. Ross Byrne produced a kick right between the posts from a difficult touchline angle to add the 2 points.
From a kickable penalty option to go for the lineout seemed to be the right option in the 15th minute as the Ulster forwards showed a great show of strength and persistence to try to get themselves over the line however, we were held up over the line
From the ensuing drop out by Leinster it ended up being an Ulster penalty in front of the posts which John Cooney gladly took advantage of. 3-7 in the 18th minute of the game.
A reversal of fortune for the Leinster forwards as a lineout in the 20th minute of the game led their number 2 Dan Sheehan to get over the line. Byrne added the extras making it 3-14.
In the 26th minute, the skies opened, but the game continued.
With the weather saw a change in strategy as more high balls began to come into the game.
The weather may have been cold and wet but the heat in the game was fiery as Leinster won a scrum penalty leading to a little bit of to and fro amongst the forwards, breathing a bit of life into the Kingspan faithful as they began to raise their voices once more.
However, cheers of optimism turned to groans of discontent as Leinster managed to win another penalty which Ross Byrne added to his perfect kicking record for the evening making it 3-17 going in at half time.
Half Time: Ulster 3 – Leinster 17
A lot of defensive work for Ulster led to an offside penalty to allow Leinster to get the first points of the second half, making it 3-20 in the 46th minute
The high balls continued but this time it was Ulster’s turn to see how Leinster would respond. A scrum inside the Leinster 22 allowed Ulster the chance to get back in this game. But with a key turnover from Van der Flier, it led to a kick and chase putting Ulster back into their own territory
Further pressure from the men in blue couldn’t be turned into points followed a wayward lineout throw 5 metres from the Ulster white line.
It was time for the men in white to show their resilience and character and that they did. Following a period of pressure lifting the crowd, it led to a yellow card for Leinster’s number 15 Jimmy O’Brien to put belief back into the home team once again. They showed real heart and converted the one-man advantage immediately with a John Andrew try with Cooney added the conversion. 10-20 at the start of the final quarter of the game
Momentum had well and truly shifted as the crowd were standing up for the Ulster men after a well worked back move led to winger Aaron Sexton sliding in the corner. They were made to sit down after the TMO ruled it out.
The chance of a comeback was still on when John Cooney stepped up to kick a penalty in the 72ndminute to make it 13-20.
The last flicker of hope was given with a scrum to Ulster on the halfway line in the dying seconds however it wasn’t to be as the game finished with a 7-point victory to Leinster after a strong finish by Ulster.
A chance to redeem this result comes next Saturday with another home game, this time against the Ospreys.
Full Time: Ulster 13 – Leinster 20
Worth Another Look
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">👏👏👏 Standing ovation for <a href="<https://twitter.com/lukemarshall121?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@lukemarshall121</a>> on his 150th appearance for <a href="<https://twitter.com/UlsterRugby?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@UlsterRugby</a>> <br><br>🏉<a href="<https://twitter.com/UlsterRugby?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@UlsterRugby</a>> 🆚 <a href="<https://twitter.com/leinsterrugby?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@leinsterrugby</a>> <br><br>LIVE on BBC2 NI & <a href="<https://twitter.com/BBCiPlayer?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BBCiPlayer</a>> <br>👉 <a href="<https://t.co/7tXfHK28ay">https://t.co/7tXfHK28ay</a>> <a href="<https://t.co/0vnT1DLrWD">pic.twitter.com/0vnT1DLrWD</a></p>&mdash>; BBC SPORT NI (@BBCSPORTNI) <a href="<https://twitter.com/BBCSPORTNI/status/1575918847395348510?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September> 30, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="<https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js>" charset="utf-8"></script>
Scorers
Ulster
Tries: John Andrew
Cons: John Cooney
Pens: John Cooney (2)
Leinster:
Tries: Ryan Baird, Dan Sheehan
Cons: Ross Byrne (2)
Pens: Ross Byrne (2)
Line-ups
Ulster
(15-9): Michael Lowry, Aaron Sexton, Luke Marshall, Stuart McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale, Billy Burns, John Cooney,
(1-8): Andy Warwick, Rob Herring, Tom O’Toole, Alan O’Connor (c), Kieran Treadwell, Matty Rea, Marcus Rea, Nick Timoney.
Replacements: John Andrew, Eric O’Sullivan, Marty Moore, Sam Carter, Greg Jones, David Shanahan, Angus Curtis, Ben Moxham.
Leinster:
(15-9): Jimmy O’Brien, Jordan Larmour, Garry Ringrose (c), Robbie Henshaw, Dave Kearney, Ross Byrne, Luke McGrath,
(1-8): Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Michael Ala’alatoa, Ross Molony, Jason Jenkins, Ryan Baird, Josh Van der Flier, Jack Conan.<br>
<br>
Replacements: John McKee, Ed Byrne, Vakhtang Abdaladze, James Ryan, Will Connors, Nick McCarthy, Johnny Sexton, Charlie Ngatai.