Leinster sweat over McFadden’s fate as Rea sets up Ulster victory
ULSTER secured a hardfought derby victory over Leinster, but the visitors will be more concerned about the fate of Fergus McFadden in the coming days.
The veteran Leinster wing appeared to headbutt Ulster flanker Sean Reidy off the ball in the early stages of this hard-fought interprovincial derby.
Referee George Clancy reviewed the incident but decided the offence was worthy of only a yellow card. McFadden, however, may still find himself in hot water with the citing commissioner.
Leo Cullen’s men face Saracens in the European Champions Cup Final on May 11 and McFadden’s availability is now in doubt.
Leinster had a 16-point lead over second-placed Ulster before yesterday’s clash in Belfast and had a home semi-final secured long before this contest.
With both sides assured of their positions in the knockout stages, the frontliners were held back for this final-round encounter. It very much felt like a dead rubber for the first 30 minutes, but the game burst into life heading towards the break.
Leinster stuck and it was a try of the highest quality with Ross Byrne involved before Jimmy O’Brien finished in the corner. It was another reminder of the class and quality, which the Leinster No10 can bring to the party. Byrne missed the conversion, but the visitors were up and running.
Ulster then hit back with a brilliant effort. Livewire scrum-half Dave Shanahan made inroads when he ran a smart support line off a marauding Darren Cave. From the next ruck, Michael Lowry hit the line before offloading to Shanahan, who muscled his way over with the assistance of his pack. Jonny McPhillips landed the touchline conversion to make it 7-5. All of a sudden, we had a game on our hands.
Byrne’s first successful kick of the day nudged Leinster into the lead towards the break. There was still time for one more attack with McFadden – who was impressive throughout – crashing over in the corner thanks to another brilliant pass from Byrne.
Ulster piled on the pressure with Josh Murphy sent to the sin bin for persistent infringing and, after 15 minutes of relentless pressure, replacement flanker Marcus Rea – on debut – rumbled his way over the whitewash as the hosts regained the lead, and with it the win.