Ulster stun Leinster with RDS raid
Leinster's Jimmy O’Brien is tackled by Mick Lowry of Ulster
Ulster claimed their first win at the RDS in eight years as they delivered an opening defeat of the season to league leaders Leinster in a gripping interprovincial battle at the resumption of the United Rugby Championship.
The victory, sealed with an intercept try from centre James Hume with two minutes to go, draws Ulster level at the top of the URC table alongside the four-in-a-row PRO14 champions who remain top on superior points difference after six rounds.
Yet the visitors, who had led 10-0 at half-time through a Greg Jones try, deserved this victory against an off-colour Leinster side.
Ulster shook off the disappointment of their first defeat of the season last time out when their visit to Aviva Stadium had ended in a comprehensive 36-11 reverse at the hands of “home” side Connacht. Their return to the capital showed the northern province in a belligerent mood, winning the gainline from the first whistle and taking up residency in the Leinster half as the champions lacked sharpness.
What was missing for the visitors, though, were points on the board as opportunities went begging, denied by a resolute Leinster defence with Ross Molony winning a turnover penalty on his own line eight minutes as Sam Carter was pinged for not releasing. It was Leo Cullen’s side, though, that were guilty of repeated inaccuracy and their rising penalty count gave Ulster’s John Cooney, finally injury-free after neck and hamstring issues, an opportunity three minutes later, only for the scrum-half to miss his first shot at goal.
Ulster finally took the lead on 16 minutes when their dominance of possession and territory paid off as centre and man of the match Hume broke free of Jordan Larmour’s attempted tackle and carried into the corner from where flanker Greg Jones blasted over for the opening try, Cooney converting to give Dan McFarland’s side a 7-0 lead.
It took Leinster 22 minutes to enter opposition territory courtesy of a penalty on halfway and a further Ulster concession saw Ross Byrne kick to the corner, only for a lineout malfunction to result in scrum-half and captain Luke McGrath knocking on as he scramble to gather a loose ball.
Though Leinster would return to the Ulster 22 they would be frustrated and they might have been 10-0 down at the interval had Cooney slotted his penalty on the stroke of half-time.
Ulster supporters will have feared a failure to capitalise on their first-half superiority in terms of physicality, possession and territory. Though a Cooney penalty on 48 minutes may have settled some nerves as the visitors opened up a 10-point lead, that advantage was all but wiped out in an instant as flanker Scott Penny broke down the right wing having pounced on a loose ball. Leinster quickly earned a five-metre lineout and from the set-piece the home side besieged the Ulster line, crabbing towards the posts from where McGrath switched directions with an inside pass, and though it was a poor delivery, Robbie Henshaw gathered expertly off the floor to dive in for a try on his first game of the season for his province a week after making his comeback from a foot injury for Ireland against Argentina. Ross Byrne converted and Leinster were right back in it with 30 minutes remaining just three points down at 10-7.
There was further cheer for the home supporters when Will Connors was introduced off the bench as the flanker made his return from a long-term knee injury and he joined a Leinster side finally beginning to click. Connors made an immediate impact with a turnover and was involved as Leinster edged towards the line, eventually winning a penalty in front of the posts, which Ross Byrne kicked to level the scores at 10-10 on 64 minutes.
It took only three minutes for Ulster to respond, Cooney’s replacement Nathan Doak coolly slotting a penalty after Max Deegan conceded a maul penalty.
Leinster indiscipline began to creep back into their play as their penalty count rose into double figures, allowing Ulster to eat up the clock as the contest entered the final 10 minutes and the visitors sniffed a famous win in Dublin.
It became a reality with two minutes to go as Hume expertly read a forced pass from replacement back Tommy O’Brien to run under the posts, Doak adding the conversion to seal a worthy win.
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