MUNSTER ULSTER

A LARGELY second-string Ulster made Munster pay for an error-strewn display and claimed the final league points of the season in what was effectively a dead rubber at Thomond Park.

Munster fielded most of their big guns and would have expected an easier passage. But the visitors and they tore into the men in red from the off.

The home side were anxious to give Rob Penney the perfect send-off on his last home outing, but the exchanges throughout lacked the intensity of a fixture with something tangible at stake.

And with Glasgow running riot over Zebre at Scotstoun, it was hard to place the clash in anything other than the ‘phoney war’ category, as both sides had an eye on the PRO 12 semi-finals.

But try telling that to giant Ulster No 8 Nick Williams, whose season may well be over as he was carried off 34 minutes in with a nasty-looking injury.

The sides turned off level at 10-10 after an evenly contested first half.

Scrum halves Duncan Williams and Michael Heaney both crossed for tries.

Williams took advantage of some clever inter-passing between James Downey and James Coghlan to run in from 30 metres after 14 minutes, while Heaney made and finished his own effort two minutes later. Ian Keatley and James McKinney each added a penalty and conversion.

Ulster edged in front with a fine McKinney penalty after 47 minutes, but Munster hit back immediately and Sean Dougall took advantage to touch down as Ulster struggled to cope with a kick through by Keatley. The number 10 continued an excellent kicking game by adding the conversion points.

McKinney made it a one-point game with another penalty after 52 minutes.

But with both benches being cleared, the game became bogged down in a succession of errors on a damp night, to the frustration of the 16,436 attendance.

McKinney made it 17-19 to the visitors with a 64th-minute penalty, while Munster were left ruing a decision to turn down a kick at goal in favour of a scrum in the visitors’ 22 as Ulster resisted to the end. MUNSTER: F Jones; G van der Heever, C Laulala, J Downey, S Zebo; I Keatley, D Williams; D Kilcoyne, D Varley, J Ryan; D Foley, P O’Connell; P Butler, S Dougall, J Coughlan. Reps: J Cronin for Kilcoyne 60, T O’Donnell for Coughlan 53, C Murray for Williams 59, JJ Hanrahan for Keatley 50, K Earls for Zebo 53, B Holland for D Foley 77. Scorers – Tries: Williams Cons: Keatley 2 Pens: Keatley. ULSTER: C Gilroy; D McIlwaine, M Allen, S McCluskey, R Scholes; J McKinney, M Heaney; C Black, R Herring, A Warwick; L Stevenson, D Tuohy; M McComish, S Doyle, N Williams. Reps: K McCall for Herring 74, A Macklin for Warwick 58, N McComb for Tuohy 53, C Joyce for Williams 34, D Shanahan for Heaney 74. Scorers – Try: Heaney Con: McKinney. Pens: McKinney 4. Referee: N Owens (WRU).