Leinster is set to journey towards Pretoria’s highveld on Sunday morning in preparation for their United Rugby Championship semi-final against the Bulls the following Saturday, with a probable kickoff at 3pm. The final match results may have been a bit flattering for Leo Cullen’s team. Their victory was well-deserved, albeit they only showcased their skills in intermittent bursts against an Ulster side that demonstrated bravery, determination and considerable ambition once they stopped squandering possession.
Ulster gave a good account of themselves, particularly through their lineout maul and getting the ball to the edges, however, maintaining possession for extended periods and maintaining a strong defence proved challenging when Leinster kept the ball for six or more phases. Notable performances from Leinster included Joe McCarthy’s incredible game, with Robbie Henshaw and Jamison Gibson-Park lending admirable support. Others included Josh van der Flier who tackled a Herculean workload, standout performances from Ryan Baird and Jamie Osborne, while Caelan Doris’ adept handling in contact penetrated Ulster’s defence.
Ulster had commendable players too, with Rob Herring, Stu McCloskey, Nick Timoney, Matty Rea, Harry Sheridan, and John Cooney all working tirelessly, providing several quality moments. Sadly, though, Cormac Izuchukwu and Jacob Stockdale were taken out prematurely due to injuries. Also deserving mention are Greg Jones who played excellently, and Ethan McIlroy who had a considerable impact.
Despite their best efforts, the visitors struggled at times with an injury problem at the second row, making it feel somewhat like a mismatched heavyweight and cruiserweight bout. They didn’t pull any punches, but unfortunately, they just couldn’t win enough of them.
Issues with the kicking strategy and numerous errors marred the first half, which was otherwise filled with sporadic moments of liveliness. The brisk pace was at the expense of game harmony and continuity, leading to sporadic quality. Physical clashes, understandably, resulted in a few handling blunders and sadly saw Izuchukwu, one of Ulster’s promising stars, exiting the field post Head Injury Assessment (HIA) after an impressive start.
Leinster landed two standout plays, both culminating in tries, during a rugby match. Robbie Henshaw was the beneficiary of the initial try following Jamie Osborne’s rupture through defences, while the second occurred once James Lowe received Ross Byrne’s pass, demonstrating both his impressive physical prowess and timing as he traversed multiple tackles and evaded Harry Sheridan’s defence effort to dot down. Byrne also contributed with two conversions and a penalty.
On the verge of half-time, Ulster had an opportunity to curtail Leinster’s 17-0 lead by capitalising on three awarded penalties, each time opting to kick to the corner. The second penalty held the potential for a penalty try, but Caelan Doris, despite his otherwise commendable performance, broke his bind thereby thwarting the maul’s attempt to traverse the try line.
The absence of a double sanction, consisting of a penalty shot and a yellow card, was puzzling. Ryan Baird successfully stole the lineout to orchestrate Leinster’s evasion, marking the end of the first 40 minutes.
Ulster also had reasons to bemoan an overlooked opportunity when Timoney, their number eight, was stopped from going beyond the try line courtesy of Joe McCarthy’s robust resistance. Earlier, James Ryan blocked Cooney’s offload at a moment which bore strong possibility for a try. However, Cooney did manage to kick a penalty after 42 minutes and reduced the trailing gap. Lowe then scored his second try, once again due to Byrne’s ingenious cross-kick. Demonstrating exquisite footballing skills, the winger nudged past Moore, deftly tapped the ball forward and ultimately claimed the loose ball for a touch down.
Ulster, undeterred and even after an injury-induced withdrawal of Jacob Stockdale, struck back with their first try, courtesy of Dave McCann. Billy Burns made a corner kick following a ruck infringement by their opponents, and with the subsequent lineout maul yielding a penalty advantage, a swift switch by Cooney to the short side left McCann unguarded.
Despite this setback, Leinster retaliated by making their way into the Ulster 22. However, Byrne’s grubber kick, a choice that perhaps wasn’t the best, was further marred by a poorly executed manoeuvre.
As the structure and kick focus of the match slightly waned, the game livened up, benefiting from the teams adopting a wider, more fast-paced approach. Ulster’s tactical approach saw admirable intellect courtesy of Stu McCloskey and Timoney, forcing the home side to scramble defensively, yet they performed effectively, paving the way for their subsequent try in the 62nd minute.
Jordan Larmour reaped rewards from the smooth moves and straight-on sprinting of his fellow players. As the old saying goes, buses arrive in threes, and tries indeed followed suit. Ulster’s retaliation was well-executed, thanks in large part to a sterling performance by Ethan McIlroy, who included a clever chip that allowed Moore to score.
Leinster took this as a deeply-felt challenge, with their rebuttal clear as daylight. Josh van der Flier, relentless in his work ethic, capitalised on his team’s strenuous efforts to charge past their opponents with no opposition. At this junction, with both sets of replacements in action and leading 36-15, the outcome was clear. Still, incoming Bath player Ross Molony got his chance to complete his tenure with a stylish flourish – a convert try by Sam Prendergast.
It was a proud moment for the novice flyhalf, who gave a fine demonstration of his footballing prowess with an exquisite flick of his boot that found its way to Max Deegan. Appropriate as it was, Ulster had the final word on the scoreboard when Michael Lowry sprinted past Ciarán Frawley to reach the try line.
Scoring progression – 20th: Henshaw’s try, Byrne’s conversion, 7-0; 30th: Byrne’s penalising, 10-0; 33rd: Lowe’s try, Byrne’s conversion, 17-0. Halfway mark: 17-0. 42nd: Cooney’s imposed penalty, 17-3; 45th: Lowe’s try, 22-3, and 49th: McCann’s conversion, 22-8; 62nd: Larmour’s try linked with Byrne’s conversion, 29-8; 64th: Moore’s try assisted by Cooney’s conversion, 29-15; 67th: van der Flier’s try along with Byrne’s conversion, 36-15; 75th: Molony’s try with Prendergast’s conversion, 43-15; Finale: Lowry’s try at the 80th, 43-20.
In Leinster, the team includes several players like Jimmy O’Brien, Jordan Larmour, Robbie Henshaw, Jamie Osborne, James Lowe, Ross Byrne and Jamison Gibson-Park. Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong, Joe McCarthy, James Ryan, Ryan Baird, Josh van der Flier, and Caelan Doris were present as well. Some substitutions were made, for instance, Michael Ala’alatoa came in for Furlong after 42 minutes, Rónan Kelleher replaced Sheehan at the 52-minute mark, while Luke McGrath and Ross Molony took over from Gibson-Park and Ryan respectively in the 62nd minute. Other substitutions included Ciarán Frawley, Cian Healy, Sam Prendergast and Max Deegan.
The Ulster team composed of Stewart Moore, Mike Lowry, Will Addison, Stuart McCloskey, and Jacob Stockdale alongside Billy Burns and John Cooney. The rest of the team included Eric O’Sullivan, Rob Herring, Tom O’Toole, Harry Sheridan, Cormac Izuchukwu, Matty Rea, David McCann, and Nick Timoney. Replacement changes involved Greg Jones who substituted Izuchukwu due to a HIA in the 17th minute. The later changes included Ethan McIlroy for Stockdale after 47 minutes, and Andy Warwick who replaced O’Sullivan after 50 minutes. Following these, Nathan Doak, Dave Ewers, Jude Postlethwaite and Scott Wilson along with Tom Stewart replaced Burns , Rea, Addison, O’Toole and Herring in various moments from the 57th to 67th minute.
The game was monitored by referee A Brace from Ireland.