The large crowd were treated to an entertaining game with little to choose between the sides until Ulster sealed victory with stunning score in the final minutes.

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Ulster started strongly and dominated for long periods of the first half with the Ulster pack giving the larger Leinster pack a torrid time up front. Ulster thought they had scored after 20 minutes when influential captain Stephen Douglas crashed over but the referee was unsighted and no score was awarded. Ulster continued to pressurise and were rewarded with a Harry McAleese penalty a few moments later. Ulster deservedly extended their lead after 25 minutes when a well executed back move saw Jamie Smith cut through the Leinster defence and link with fullback Tommy Seymour who drew the cover and timed a perfect inside pass to wing Stuart Lester who scored near the corner. The conversion was missed and Ulster led 8-0.

Ulster suffered a setback after 30 minutes when they lost their dynamic skipper Stephen Douglas with a broken nose. However, Ulster continued to press but found a well organised Leinster defence hard to break and the half finished with Ulster still leading 8-0.

The second half saw the Leinster backs, whom Ulster had kept totally bottled up in the first period, come more into the game which continued to be played at great pace. Ulster found themselves under pressure for periods but some tremendous defensive work saw Leinster unable to reduce the arrears. Ulster’s cause was not helped by the loss of centre Will Stewart with an ankle injury after 55 minutes. Leinster eventually got on the scoreboard with 12 minutes remaining when prop Ian Leonard forced his way over after a succession of rucks close to the Ulster line. The conversion was missed but the score spurred Ulster back to life and some great interplay between forwards and backs saw Ulster go close on 2 occasions before the end. However the game was not over and deep in injury time, Leinster were awarded a penalty far out on the Ulster 22 metre line which they decided to run. Some great defensive work by Michael Entwhistle and David Johnston secured a turnover which Ulster moved at pace from inside their own 22 with Jamie Smith beating two Leinster backs to break away and take play into the Leinster 22 where he fed the impressive Chris Cochrane who duly scored the try that secured victory. Tommy Seymour converted to leave Ulster victorious by 15-5.

Afterwards Manager John McKibbin was full of praise for the character and commitment shown by the Ulster team. “I am extremely proud of all the players who gave 101% through out the game. It was a hard physical game that could have gone either way and we stood up to the challenge superbly. Coaches Terry McMaster and Gary Longwell also deserve considerable praise for developing the team and game plan. We knew exactly how we wanted to play this game and did so until the latter stages when injuries and tiredness meant that we had our full compliment of substitutes used with 10 minutes to go. Even then we maintained our structure and kept going, giving nothing away and the late try was a fitting reward for the efforts and commitment shown by all the players. To single individuals out would not be fair as this was a tremendous team effort from everyone on the side.”

Ulster play their second game against Connacht this Saturday at Shaws Bridge with a 2.30pm kick-off.

Ulster Team
15: Tommy Seymour, 14: Stuart Lester (Andy Moore 75 min), 13: Jamie Smith, 12: William Stewart (Will Martin 60 min), 11: Chris Cochrane, 10: Harry McAleese, 9: Michael Wilson, 1: Paul Karayiannis, 2: Stephen Douglas (Connor Browne 27 min), 3: Mathew Nelson (David Halliday 65 min), 4: Patrick McGowan, 5: James Sandford (Neil Alcorn 65 min), 6: Alistair Birch (David Bradford 50 min), 7: Michael Entwhistle, 8: James Elliott (David Johnston 50 min)