ULSTER 10 LEINSTER 28

The Leinster juggernaut rolled on to its fifteenth straight Guinness Pro14 victory of the campaign tonight at the Aviva Stadium, securing a 100% record in the season proper at the expense of Ulster, who must now regroup for next weekend’s play-off at Edinburgh. Should Dan McFarland’s men triumph at Murrayfield in seven days’ time, tonight’s opponents could well be the side standing in their way come the final – an ominous prospect given the flair with which a far-from-full-strength Leinster bossed the game tonight in Dublin. A Rob Herring try and five points from the boot of John Cooney were all Ulster had to show for from a performance where possession and territorial advantage were roughly even, but where Leinster showed a clinical cutting edge that the Ulstermen simply could not match. Lock Sam Carter captained the side in one of eight changes to the starting line-up that lost by six points to Connacht Sunday last at the same venue. Carter’s second row partner Kieran Treadwell and back-rowers Jordi Murphy and Marcell Coetzee were the only starting forwards retained from that game, with an all-new front row of props Eric O’Sullivan and Tom O’Toole and hooker Herring getting the nod, and flanker Matthew Rea coming in at blindside. The backline saw changes on the wings and at out-half, with Matt Faddes, Rob Lyttle and Ian Madigan securing starting berths – the latter for his first full cap after making his debut as a replacement against Connacht. Full-back Jacob Stockdale, centres James Hume and Stuart McCloskey, and scrum-half Cooney completed a strong back seven. Leinster – fielding an entirely different starting XV from that which enjoyed a narrow win over Munster last weekend – wasted little time in making their mark, prop and captain Ed Byrne scrambling over from close range within three minutes. The skipper’s namesake Ross added the conversion, and although Ulster settled into some decent possession, two infringements in quick succession presented out-half Byrne with a simple penalty on the 22-metre line to extend the lead to ten. This further concession seemed to spur Ulster into action, and a promising move sparked by Stockdale’s run from deep put Leinster under hitherto unmatched pressure which, although it came to nothing, illustrated their potential going forward ball in hand. While a second Byrne penalty pushed Ulster further adrift as the second quarter began, more pressure from the men in white earned a five-metre lineout, cannily stolen by Ross Molony to prolong the Ulster frustration despite a patently improving performance. A Cooney knock-on stymied the next Ulster chance after the lineout had this time been won, and although McFarland’s team closed out the half with superior overall possession – 54% over 46% - a fantastic turnover at the maul in the dying seconds from flanker Josh Murphy ensured the nominal home side ran off at the break with a blank scoresheet. Half-Time Score Ulster 0 Leinster 13 The stop-start nature of Ulster’s night continued at the restart, Stockdale executing a great aerial take within seconds of the whistle but soon getting crowded out as he pushed forward. Another Byrne penalty rubbed salt in the wound on 44 minutes, but as Ulster set up camp in the Leinster half five minutes later, a well-formed rolling maul got Herring over for the try, with Cooney adding the extras. Good news was soon followed by bad as Stockdale limped off the field before the resumption of play, but with Louis Ludik slotting in at full-back Ulster defended the inevitable Leinster onslaught manfully, eventually clearing their lines on 65 minutes courtesy of a penalty. A knock to Murphy soon reunited the flanker with Stockdale on the sidelines, and with Nick Timoney now among the ranks – along with elective replacements David O’Connor, Marty Moore, John Andrew and Bill Johnston – a 68^th-minute Cooney penalty brought Ulster back within six points. However a flash of brilliance five minutes later from replacement out-half Harry Byrne, picking out Scott Penny on the right flank with inch-perfect precision, sealed Ulster’s fate with the try despite Ludik’s best efforts to track back. An intercept and sprint for the line from Cooney ended in more disappointment for Ulster with the try ruled out after TMO review for a marginal offside from the scrum-half as he latched onto the Leinster pass in his own half, and with trademark ruthlessness, Leinster took full advantage of the resulting penalty, with another Byrne – Harry this time – applying the finishing touch for try number three. Full-Time Score Ulster 10 Leinster 28 Ulster (15 – 9) Jacob Stockdale; Matt Faddes, James Hume, Stuart McCloskey, Rob Lyttle; Ian Madigan, John Cooney (1 – 8) Eric O’Sullivan, Rob Herring, Tom O’Toole, Sam Carter (c), Kieran Treadwell, Matthew Rea, Jordi Murphy, Marcell Coetzee Replacements (16 – 23) John Andrew, Kyle McCall, Marty Moore, David O’Connor, Nick Timoney, David Shanahan, Bill Johnston, Louis Ludik Leinster (15 – 9) Rob Kearney; Hugo Keenan, Rory O’Loughlin, Ciarán Frawley, Cian Kelleher; Ross Byrne, Jamison Gibson-Park (1 – 8) Ed Byrne (c), Sean Cronin, Michael Bent, Devin Toner, Ross Molony, Josh Murphy, Will Connors, Max Deegan Replacements (16 – 23) James Tracy, Michael Milne, Tom Clarkson, Rhys Ruddock, Scott Penny, Rowan Osborne, Harry Byrne, Jimmy O’Brien