ULSTER’S LITTLE OF SUNSHINE

Try from debut boy gives home side win over Blues at Kingspan

Ulster 14 Leinster 13

range effort dropped short.

Chances were at a premium in the first quarter and when both sides did create any, the good work was undone by a handling error.

Ulster’s first opportunity to score came on 24 minutes. Johnny Mcphillips turned the Leinster defence with a well weighted kick, fullback Michael Lowry caught the ball in the visitors’ 22, and the forwards worked it through a ball on his wing and made a couple of phases to edge jinking run across the pitch closer to the line – but into the Ulster 22. He fed Byrne Joe Tomane won a and the outside-half fired the turnover at the ruck, ball to the wing for full-back allowing Byrne to Jimmy O’brien to go over in the clear to touch. corner for an unconverted try. Leinster Ulster responded almost finally broke immediately. the deadlock on Lowry started the move with 29 minutes. a probing counter-attack and offloaded to scrum-half Fergus Dave Shanahan,who was Mcfadden, propelled over the line with the who help of a couple of forwards had earlier escaped after initially seeing his a sanction progress halted. Mcphillips for an added the conversion. altercation Leinster regained the lead as with Sean Byrne slotted over a penalty following Reidy, got the an Ulster infringement at the line-out. The visitors went into the break with a 13-7 lead following a try from the final play of the first half, when Mcfadden slid in for an unconverted score following good work by Byrne and Noel Reid.

Leinster had lock Oisin Dowling yellow carded on 52 minutes for an infringement on his own line and Ulster made their numerical advantage count eight minutes later when flanker Rea marked his debut with a try, bursting over from close range despite the attention of two defenders.

Full-back Peter Nelson landed the conversion, which proved to be the decisive score.