Ulster says no...that won’t do in the final

As the last step along the road to a Heineken Cup final, this was not the procession many believed Ulster would enjoy against Edinburgh on Saturday.

Yet this hard-earned victory over Michael Bradley’s young, ambitious side did not make it any less enjoyable for Brian McLaughlin as his Ravenhill outfit celebrated in the Dublin twilight.

Having heroically dumped Munster out in the quarter-finals at Thomond Park, approaching this semi-final as odds-on favourites in a seemingly one-sided contest against Celtic League strugglers was always going to be a difficult follow-up act for Ulster. Indeed, it was not until man of the match Ruan Pienaar slotted his fifth penalty of the game in the 76th minute that Edinburgh were left truly out of reach at 22-12, rendering the Scots’ superb late converted try merely a consolation effort.