Conan leads the way for Leinster
MAN of the match Jack Conan believes Leinster will need to show a big improvement next weekend if they are to see off Leicester Tigers in the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup.
Leinster didn’t hit top gear but, even in the absence of injured fly-half Johnny Sexton, they still had more than enough to win by double scores against their Irish rivals in front of a full house at Aviva Stadium.
“Ulster are a quality side, lads we know pretty well, but we were disappointed with how we started, we gave them easy access,” said Ireland No.8 Conan.
“I thought we were galvanised but a little bit sloppy, so a lot to improve on for next week. We know Leicester will form a different challenge. Obviously
having played them last year, we know they are a big lump of a side and a different challenge altogether.”
A Ryan Baird try off a lineout maul at the end of the opening quarter was
the key score of the firsthalf and helped Leinster lead 16-8 at the interval, with Ross Byrne converting and adding three penalties.
A superb crosskick from Billy Burns put James Hume in for an Ulster try 13 minutes from the interval.
But they lost Hume to a yellow card on 52 minutes for persistent team infringements and Leinster made the extra man pay with scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park exploiting space through the middle after a sustained bout of pressure.
Byrne’s conversion pushed the lead out to 23-8 after 54 minutes, but the Ulster response was good in a game where both sides struggled in the wet conditions.
Ulster managed to build a few phases off a lineout maul and hooker
Rob Herring supplied the finish, with John Cooney converting to make it 23-15 going into the final quarter.
But that was as close as they got. The Leinster pack exerted their dominance and dominated possession after that and just didn’t allow Ulster get a foothold.
Ulster defended valiantly but the pressure eventually told and loosehead Andrew Porter got over the line to wrap up the win 17 minutes from time following a tapped penalty, with any hope of a revival disappearing when Ulster’s replacement lock Harry Sheridan was sin-binned for a high tackle on Byrne.
“I was proud of the way we approached the game but some of the bits and pieces around our discipline cost us and we didn’t match up to them. They deserved their win, fair play to them,” said Ulster coach Dan McFarland.