The culminating match of Ulster’s season was marked by an eruption of applause from the audience at Kingspan Stadium following the final whistle. A dramatic 23-21 victory over Leinster was the highlight of the match, thanks to John Cooney’s penalty scored in the 79th minute. The crowd’s chants and the team’s strategic burning of time led up to the moment when Nathan Doak declared the game over, triggering a massive cheer.
This adrenaline-packed, dynamic derby was filled with twists and turns that held spectators on edge throughout the night. The 23-21 triumph crowned a unique double victory over Leinster for Ulster, echoing their 22-21 win in January at the RDS.
Richie Murphy’s reinvigorated squad effectively secured a spot in the URC playoffs and, most likely, an automatic pass to the Champions Cup next season. Ulster sits comfortably on bonus points, requiring only one more point to confirm their place in the cup. However, as the elated fans dispersed into the night, the upcoming duel at Thomond Park sits just two weeks away.
A win for Munster will validate their top spot and leading nomination in the playoffs following Leinster’s fifth loss in the URC season. This positions them just ahead of Glasgow based on their points difference. Although the possibility of a home quarter-final at Aviva is still high, the likelihood of semi-final and final at Croke Park seems to be dwindling. Leinster may soon regret their choice to pass up a potential penalty goal for an unprofitable lineout maul in the 68th minute. This gave Ulster the chance they needed to secure a notable victory with Cooney’s decisive strike.
Leinster can take some comfort in the standout performance from Hugo Keenan, whose comeback game featured sharp moves. Together with James Ryan and other likely members for the Champions Cup final line-up, they appeared to emerge from the high-energy match without injury. Nevertheless, the demises of Charlie Ngatai and the unfortunate Tommy O’Brien meant that the skilled scrum-half Cormac Foley was obliged to spend over half the match on the wing.
The outcome of other matches throughout the weekend had largely been in Ulster’s favour, aside from the Lions’ victory over Glasgow. Their closely ranked competitors in the league table, specifically Benetton, Connacht, and Edinburgh all lost as well. Given these circimstances, any win would secure Ulster a top eight position and guarantee them a URC quarter-final spot and a probable pass to the next season’s Champions Cup. A comprehensive victory inclusive of a bonus point would solidify their place in the latter.
A maximum turnout of spectators swarmed the stadium under the crystal-clear skies and a mild 15 degree temperature at kick start. The sight of Leinster as their final home front contenders of the season pumped up the Ulster players. They launched their attack with ferocity, led by the dynamic duo of Will Addison and Ethan McIlroy, with Michael Lowry posing a constant threat on the right-wing.
Lowry’s two attempts at scoring a try were rightly dismissed after video replay consults. After Addison consolidated his clean break with a sharp kick pass, Lowry caught the ball, was hit by Keenan, but managed to recover and try for a dive over. Unfortunately, Andrea Piardi correctly deduced that Lowry was still on his knees when he regained control of the ball.
Lowry seemed on track to score again courtesy of McIlroy’s extensive lob pass but was intercepted by the O’Briens, Tommy, and Jimmy. A imposed penalty resulted in a corner, where Rob Herring successfully made a throw to Alan O’Connor, scoring a try upon review, despite a hint of a knock-on. This made the score 7-0 in favour of Ulster.
Despite not contributing much prior, Leinster made their move when Will Connors intercepted a kick from Billy Burns, collected the ball, and passed it onto Ngatai. Ngatai skillfully evaded Burns’s late attempt at a tackle, managing to score for his side.
Anticipating to rejuvenate their lead, Ulster saw McIlroy skillfully outwit Leinster’s defense, setting Addison loose with the ball. Even though Addison had David McCann and Lowry on his flank, Keenan directed him inwards, took him down and maintained a grip over him at the line.
Despite losing Ngatai due to an apparent shoulder injury and Tommy O’Brien possibly straining a hamstring, causing Foley to switch to the wing, Leinster held fast. A notable effort from Byrne, Jack Conan, and Ryan during a halfway scrum resulted in Keenan receiving an inside pass from Byrne. Keenan’s quick thinking and agility allowed him to recover from Cooney’s tackle, swivel and pass to Foley who, with one hand, ran off to make a score. Ulster, instead of a promising lead of two or three points, was suddenly behind 14-7. However, penalties stemming from issues with Connors and Ryan at the breakdown reduced the deficit to a single point.
Leinster rallied their scrum and started finding rhythm in their phased game, using a direct approach with the help of Max Deegan, Conan, Ryan and Rónan Kelleher. All helped in moving the ball forward, finally leading to Cian Healy and Max Deegan driving Michael Ala’alatoa over the line. As Leinster pressed on with another phased assault, an alarming silence fell across the field. Surprisingly, Jacob Stockdale of Ulster read Byrne’s skip pass perfectly, intercepting just outside the Ulster 22 to run a 75-metre unopposed try, converted successfully by Cooney.
Despite the rising pressure, Leinster turned down a likely three point opportunity, choosing to risk it all for a fourth try. This brought a crucial development when John Mckee’s charge towards the line got thwarted and when he failed to pass to Luke McGrath. Tom Stewart found the opportunity to secure a penalty.
Afterwards, in the mid-pitch area, a flurry of exchanges between Stuart McCloskey and Ulster led to an impenetrable deadlock, facing the blue wall. This encounter continued until Thomas Clarkson got reprimanded for not rolling out of the tackle area when he perhaps couldn’t, given Stewart’s grip.
The ritualistic chanting of his name echoed through the stadium before Cooney stepped up, taking the penalty two metres within the Leinster half. His confident stride away from the spot hinted at success, which was subsequently confirmed by the triumphant roar from the crowd as the ball flew over the bar comfortably.
The breakdown of the scoring followed such stages: Herring managed a goal along with Cooney’s conversion in the 14th minute, making the score 7-0. At 23 minutes, Ngatai surprised with a try, supported by Byrne’s conversion, balancing the scoreline – 7-7. Shortly after, at 27 minutes, Foley achieved a try, backed up with Byrne’s conversion, leading to a 7-14 scoreline. Cooney’s 33-minute penalty brought the game to 10-14, with the halftime whistle clinching the score at the same. Post half, Cooney’s penalty at 44 minutes scored 13-14 but a rapid turn of events in the 53rd minute, Ala’alatoa’s try and Byrne’s conversion, pushed the scoreboard to 13-21. Stockdale’s try at the 58th minute and Cooney’s conversion paved a close 20-21. The game pivoted dramatically with Cooney’s 79th-minute penalty making the scoreboard display 23-21.
The Ulster team consisted of key figures like Ethan McIlroy, Mike Lowry, Will Addison, Stuart McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale, Billy Burns, John Cooney, Eric O’Sullivan, Rob Herring, Tom O’Toole, Kieran Treadwell, Alan O’Connor (captain), Cormac Izuchukwu, David McCann, and Nick Timoney. Changes were made throughout the match with players like Tom Stewart for Herring (45 mins) and Andy Warwick for O’Sullivan, Stewart Moore for McIlroy (both 55 mins), Matty Rea for Izuchukwu (62 mins), Scott Wilson for O’Toole (65 mins), Harry Sheridan for Treadwell (69 mins) and nathan Doak for Burns, Jude Postlethwaite for McCloskey (both 74 mins).
Meanwhile, Leinster’s team featured Hugo Keenan, Tommy O’Brien, Jimmy O’Brien, Charlie Ngatai, Rob Russell, Harry Byrne, Cormac Foley, Cian Healy, Rónan Kelleher, Michael Ala’alatoa, James Ryan (captain), Brian Deeny, Max Deegan, Will Connors and Jack Conan. Leinster made similar substitutions through the duration of the match with players like Ben Brownlee for Ngatai (26 mins), Luke McGrath for T O’Brien (37 mins), Ross Molony for Deeny (54 mins), John McKee for Kelleher, Michael Milne for Healy, Thomas Clarkson for Ala’alatoa (all 61 mins), Scott Penny for Connors (66 mins) and Sam Prendergast for Byrne (74 mins)
The match official is Andrea Piardi from the Italian Rugby Federation (FIR).