Ruan Pienaar waves goodbye to Ulster

Ulster 17 Leinster 13: Thankfully it wasn’t all about the game itself on a bright summer’s day at the Kingspan Stadium on Saturday. At least two stand-out moments came from the two Ulster players who were bidding farewell to a venue they had graced on numerous occasions.

Firstly, there was number 8, Roger Wilson, deservedly picking up the man-of-the-match award, charging over from close range in the ninth minute to celebrate his 122nd and final appearance for the men in white with a try. It was a lead they were never to relinquish, although they did their best to throw it away thanks to a disastrously-ragged lineout performance and numerous errors.

“That try was my first for five years,” said Wilson, who is takes up a coaching role in Texas next season. “But the most pleasing thing was the result. It’s been a bit doom and gloom over the past two weeks especially, so it was important to finish off on a high going into the summer. This game was all about trying to get a bit of individual pride. I think we delivered. It was good to produce a performance worthy of a win, although it was far from flashy but we got over the line.”