Ulster struck by Blue backlash as Leinster hit four and flourish
NORMAL service resumed at the RDS last night as Leinster ground down Ulster with a ruthless second-half display.
The Blues have never lost two home games in a row in this competition and, after a disjoined opening 40 minutes, they hit their stride in the second half, blowing away Ulster with their trademark mix of pace and physicality.
Hugo Keenan was imperious at full-back. Forget about the Jacob Stockdale or Jordan Larmour debate. We were watching Ireland’s No15 here. Larmour — making his first appearance in 16 weeks — looked razor- sharp as well. James Ryan and Caelan Doris were colossal as usual. When you have operators like that in your ranks, you have a serious team on your hands. Leinster are some way off their best but they were still a class apart here, putting an end to Ulster’s unbeaten run.
In the wake of last Saturday’s 35-24 home loss to Connacht, Leo Cullen rang the changes with 13 changes to his starting line-up.
The presence of Johnny Sexton and Ross Byrne on the same team sheet was an interesting move. Stuart Lancaster loves having dual playmakers on the field and it would be fascinating to see how Leinster’s generals operated in tandem.
A backlash was expected after that loss to Connacht, their first in 26 Pro14 games and their first home loss to an Irish opponent in six years to boot. One home loss in the league was something of an aberration for this season, a second consecutive defeat at their fortress would be unthinkable.
Ulster, meanwhile, arrived in buoyant form on the back of ten straight league wins and a tenpoint lead in Conference A ahead of Leinster. The Blues currently have two games in hand which would explain that gulf in points to a degree. Still, Leinster were keen to make up some lost ground on their provincial rivals.
It was positively Baltic before kick-off, but there was no shortage of heat i n the opening exchanges. Ulster set the tone after nine minutes when Cian Healy was blasted back in a double tackle from Andy Warwick and Alan O’Connor. The visitors would need more of that for the rest of the evening.
John Cooney’s 15th- minute penalty was just rewards for a strong start from Ulster.
Larmour was making his first appearance in three months having recovered from a dislocated shoulder. The Leinster wing warmed to the task with an excellent aerial before Tom O’Toole — on as a blood replacement for Marty Moore — smashed him into touch with a huge tackle. Welcome back to rugby, Jordan.
Sexton would shank a penalty effort from 40 metres but Leinster were beginning to find their groove. Byrne broke the line during one raid, with the forwards duly pummelling the Ulster line. Dave Kearney applied the finish in the corner thanks to a smart pass from Jamison Gibson-Park.
Ulster’s discipline was beginning to get away from them with penalties and infringements beginning to rack up. Marcell Coetzee copped a yellow card for a high shot on Sean Cronin.
Usually, Leinster would make their numerical superiority count but Ryan was penalised f or infringing in a rolling Ulster lineout maul and Cooney stepped up to make it 6-5.
Dan McFarland would have been thrilled to see his side go into the half-time break with a 9-5 lead thanks to another Cooney penalty after Andrew Porter was pinged for hands in the ruck. There wouldn’t have been any sense of panic in Leinster’s ranks… yet. They were clearly the dominant side out there, but Cullen’s troops were getting little reward for all of their efforts.
There was nothing competitive about the second half, however. Within minutes, the Leinster pack had mauled Cronin over the line. There was a sense that Ulster were holding on a bit. They were under the pump and the hosts were moving up the gears as Keenan, Larmour and Robbie Henshaw became more prominent. It was Henshaw who ducked and weaved his way to the tryline after more incessant pressure. In a flash, it was 17-9 in Leinster’s favour.
It was all one-way traffic after that. Ulster were being breached seemingly at will. When they finally got some rare territory and a penalty advantage, Cooney pointed straight at the posts. A losing bonus point wouldn’t be a disaster f or Ulster in t he circumstances.
Leinster had other ideas. Their lineout had been patchy for the most of the night but their maul had been brutally effective. The forwards managed to put it all together again as replacement hooker James Tracy dotted down after another concerted drive. Five points in the bag and the campaign back on track.
Ulster remain in the driving seat in Conference A but they can see Leinster in the rearview mirror, and the defending champions are gaining ground, fast. LEINSTER: H Keenan; J Larmour, R Byrne, R Henshaw, D Kearney (J O’Brien 80); J Sexton (capt), J Gibson-Park (L McGrath 61); C Healy (E Byrne 56), S Cronin (J Tracy 56), A Porter (M Bent 66); S Fardy (R Molony 66), J Ryan; R Ruddock (J Conan 62), J van der Flier, C Doris. ULSTER: M Lowry; M Faddes (B Moxham 51), J Hume, S McCloskey, E McIlroy; B Burns (I Madigan 64), J Cooney; A Warwick (E O’Sullivan 51), R Herring (J Andrew 62), M Moore (T O’Toole 6); A O’Connor, S Carter (capt) (K Treadwell 51); G Jones (N Timoney 48), J Murphy, M Coetzee. Yellow card: Coetzee.
Referee: A Brace (Ireland)
‘Presence of both Sexton and Byrne on the team was interesting’