Leinster power past Ulster to set up Bulls semi-final in Pretoria

Leinster 43 Ulster 20

Leinster will depart for the highveld of Pretoria on Sunday morning and next Saturday will face the Bulls in the semi-final of the United Rugby Championship, a game that’s likely to have a 3pm kickoff.

The final scoreline flatters Leo Cullen’s side a tad. They were full value for their win but only played in fits and starts against an Ulster side that showed character, courage and no little ambition once they stopped kicking possession away.

The visitors caused problems with their lineout maul and also when they got the ball to the edges, but they couldn’t keep the ball for long enough and nor were they robust enough in defence when Leinster managed to hold possession through half a dozen phases or more.

Joe McCarthy had a brilliant game for Leinster, ably supported by Robbie Henshaw and Jamison Gibson-Park. Josh van der Flier embraced a trojan workload, Ryan Baird made some big plays as did Jamie Osborne, while Caelan Doris’ footwork in contact prised open the Ulster defence.

Ulster too had some excellent performers, Rob Herring, Stu McCloskey, Nick Timoney, Matty Rea, Harry Sheridan, and John Cooney were indefatigable while providing numerous moments of quality; Cormac Izuchukwu and Jacob Stockdale were excellent before injury took them out prematurely. A word for Greg Jones who worked his socks off, while Ethan McIlroy had a significant impact.

The visitors were underpowered though at times with their injury crux at secondrow and resembled a cruiserweight taking on a heavyweight. They didn’t shirk the collisions; they just couldn’t win enough of them.

The first half was a staccato affair, occasional enterprise undermined by an overindulgence in the kicking game and a plethora of errors. The game was played at a frenetic pace but at the cost of cohesion and continuity at times, the overall quality fitful.

There was a ferocity to the collisions which partially explained some of the handling mistakes but not all, and that physical attrition unfortunately cost Ulster one of their brightest players in Izuchukwu, who had started superbly but didn’t return following a Head Injury Assessment (HIA).

Leinster produced the two best moments of rugby clarity both of which led to tries, the first for Robbie Henshaw after a Jamie Osborne break, the second when James Lowe showed his power and timing in taking Ross Byrne’s inside pass and accelerating through a couple of tackles and riding Harry Sheridan’s covering effort to dot down. Ross Byrne kicked two conversions and a penalty.

Ulster had a chance to make inroads into the 17-0 lead just before half-time, winning three penalties and kicking to the corner on each occasion. The second should have led to a penalty try, the otherwise excellent Caelan Doris breaking his bind and impeding the progression of a maul that was headed over the line.

It was unfathomable that it didn’t receive the double sanction of penalty try and a yellow card. Ryan Baird’s lineout steal completed Leinster’s escape, the turnover signalling the end of the opening 40 minutes.

Ulster were also left to rue an earlier opportunity when number eight Timoney was held up over the line thanks to Joe McCarthy’s muscular intervention and earlier when James Ryan thwarted Cooney’s offload when a try seemed a possibility.

Cooney kicked a penalty on 42 minutes to reduce the deficit before Lowe grabbed his second try, Byrne again the architect with a cross-kick this time. The winger showed lovely footballing skills to nudge the ball past Moore on the half volley and then dabbed it forward again before pouncing on the loose ball to touch down.

To their credit Ulster, despite losing the lively Jacob Stockdale to injury, stuck back with their first try through Dave McCann. Billy Burns kicked to the corner after the home side had infringed at a ruck, and on penalty advantage from the lineout maul, Cooney switched back smartly to the short side where McCann was unmarked.

Stung, Leinster responded by forcing their way into the Ulster 22, but Byrne’s diagonal grubber kick was arguably not the best option and suffered further through the execution, overcooked.

The game lost some of its structure and kick focus and was all the better for it as both teams played with more width and tempo. Stu McCloskey and Timoney brought an intelligent direction to Ulster’s patterns as the home side were forced to scramble in defence, but they did so effectively, and it led to their next try on 62 minutes.

Jordan Larmour was the beneficiary from the slick handling and direct running of his teammates. Tries then materialised like the old adage about buses coming in threes. Ulster struck back thanks to some fine work by the lively Ethan McIlroy, including a neat chip, which Moore regathered to score.

Leinster took it as an affront, their response unequivocal as the industrious Josh van der Flier finished off the hard work of his teammates to run over unopposed. At this stage with both benches on the pitch and a 36-15 lead the outcome was decided but replacement Ross Molony, who joins Bath in the summer, got to sign off in style with a try, converted by Sam Prendergast.

The young outhalf, to the delight of his teammates, showed his footballing skills with a lovely flick with the outside of his boot that ended up in the hands of Max Deegan. It was fitting, though, that Ulster managed one final riposte on the scoreboard when Michael Lowry outpaced Ciarán Frawley to the try line.

Scoring sequence – 20: Henshaw try, Byrne conversion, 7-0; 30: Byrne penalty, 10-0; 33: Lowe try, Byrne conversion, 17-0. Halftime: 17-0. 42: Cooney penalty, 17-3; 45: Lowe try, 22-3; 49: McCann try, 22-8; 62: Larmour try, Byrne conversion, 29-8; 64: Moore try, Cooney conversion, 29-15; 67: van der Flier try, Byrne conversion, 36-15; 75: Molony try, Prendergast conversion, 43-15; 80: Lowry try, 43-20.

Leinster: Jimmy O’Brien; Jordan Larmour, Robbie Henshaw, Jamie Osborne, James Lowe; Ross Byrne, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong; Joe McCarthy, James Ryan (capt); Ryan Baird, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris. 

Replacements: Michael Ala’alatoa for Furlong (42 mins), Rónan Kelleher for Sheehan (52 mins), Luke McGrath for Gibson-Park (62 mins), Ross Molony for Ryan (62 mins), Ciarán Frawley for Lowe (62 mins), Cian Healy for Porter (65 mins), Sam Prendergast for Byrne (68 mins), Max Deegan for Doris (70 mins).

Ulster: Stewart Moore; Mike Lowry, Will Addison, Stuart McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale; Billy Burns, John Cooney; Eric O’Sullivan, Rob Herring (capt), Tom O’Toole; Harry Sheridan, Cormac Izuchukwu; Matty Rea, David McCann, Nick Timoney.

Replacements: Greg Jones for Izuchukwu (HIA) (17 mins), Ethan McIlroy for Stockdale (47 mins), Andy Warwick for O’Sullivan (50 mins), Nathan Doak for Burns (57 mins), Dave Ewers for Rea (62 mins), Jude Postlethwaite for Addison (62 mins), Scott Wilson for O’Toole (67 mins) Tom Stewart for Herring (67 mins).

Referee: A Brace (Ireland)