Hopefuls give Schmidt plenty to ponder

In the end, it was Ulster who got the bragging rights — just.

Ulster’s 29-19 victory moved them up into the top four again, helped with 19 points from the boot of Ruan Pienaar. But boy, one must give credit to Munster who came from 20-0 down to come within a dismantled scrum of possibly drawing the game and a try-scoring bonus-point to go with it.

So who were the pugs and who were the poodles? To be honest, there were not too many little pets running around Ravenhill. For a start it was rugged with bone-crunching tackling, a couple of near misses, some sweet running lines and a lot of frustration. That was Ulster in the first half as they began to run away with the game.