LEINSTER CONTINUE THEIR recent rich form with their seventh consecutive win, this time away to Ulster in the United Rugby Championship when they had Jordan Larmour to think for some quicksilver skills and steps.
It didn’t go all their own way but Ulster were so tame that they couldn’t reverse the flow once Leinster eased into the second half.
13 penalties conceded in the first half told a tale, eight of them by Leinster. Defences were on top, sort of, but the lack of cohesion from both was striking.
While Ulster’s metrics showed that they had the better of things, they still were only three ahead at the break.
As the half wore on, a series of Aidan Morgan kicks to the corner for a lineout proved fruitless and the challenge for head coach Richie Murphy was how to reshape the home sides’ cutting edge. With John Cooney popping up as an unlikely replacement for Ben Moxham on the wing, the absentee list was really showing.
In the fifth minute the first stirring of the crowd came when scrum-half Nathan Doak produced a dribbling kick that Mike Lowry went haring after, only for Jordan Larmour to cover back and wriggle his way clear.
However the ball almost instantly came back into Ulster hands and some rapid passing through Werner Kok and James McNadney set Ben Carson scampering along the touchline and he went over for the first try. Tricky and tight though the conversion might have been, Doak proved capable.
Ben Carson scoring the first try. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO
Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO
You could hardly call Ross Byrne something of a forgotten fly-half of Irish rugby, but when you have the options available to Andy Farrell right now, it’s easy to overlook some solid performers. His restarts were gaining serious territory with his ability to spiral kicks into the air, holding up even while enjoying the breeze.
His two missed conversions, albeit in the swirling showers of the second half, were copy book blots, however.
Leinster opened their account on ten minutes. A five-metre scrum picked up at the base by Luke McGrath and the former St Michael’s College star went under the posts, Byrne converting.
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Soon after, a head on head clash between Aidan Morgan and Brian Deeny occurred in midfield. Every slow-motion replay on the big screens drew ooohs and aaahs from a crowd held in grim fascination. It was difficult to see how Deeny could have gotten out of the road.
However, referee Eoghan Cross reviewed the replays over and over and made the decision to issue Deeny with a yellow.
Not that Ulster made use of it. The only further scores came from two converted penalties by Doak, and Byrne also kicking a penalty himself.
Just back from ‘Boks duty, Leinster were wanting their pound of flesh from RG Snyman and when he came on early in the second half, he looked in the mood.
A sustained period of pressure on Ulster’s five metre line and closer brought him into the fray as he went gain-line hunting.
A couple of these occasions left the Ulster defence and, preoccupied with the thought of facing Snyman again, scrum-half McGrath spun a ball out to Jordan Larmour instead and a sidestep later he was going under the posts, Byrne converting to take the lead for the first time on 49 minutes.
It got a bit try-happy then. Ben Carson picked up his second of the evening with a little spin and half jink to buy enough space in the midst of defensive carnage on 55 minutes, with Doak adding the two points.
Five minutes later that man Larmour was at it again with some slick handling to let full-back Jimmy O’Brien cross the line.
Laszlo Geczo / INPHO
Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO
However, Byrne took a little too much care of the kick and the onrushing Ulster players might have put him off as he miscued his conversion and sent wide. It left two in it. Always a chance.
Until there’s not. On 73 minutes as Leinster burrowed their way through in the corner, James Culhane touched down. Another Byrne miss from the tee. No odds. Seven points up at this stage. Enough. Always enough.
Scorers for Ulster
Tries: Ben Carson (5, 55)
Conversions: Nathan Doak (6, 55)
Penalties: Doak (13, 30)
Scorers for Leinster
Tries: Luke McGrath (10), Jordan Larmour (49), Jimmy O’Brien (55), James Culhane (72)
Conversions: Ross Byrne (10, 49)
Penalties: Byrne (17)
Ulster
Stewart Moore, Werner Kok (Ben Moxham ’14 [John Cooney ‘37]), Ben Carson, Jude Postlethwaite, Michael Lowry, Aidan Morgan (James Humphries ’66), Nathan Doak; Eric O’Sullivan (Andy Warwick ’53), James McCormick (Tom Stewart ’47), Scott Wilson (Corrie Barrett ’53), Alan O’Connor (C), Kieran Treadwell (Harry Sheridan ’67), James McNabney, Nick Timoney, David McCann.
Leinster
Jimmy O’Brien, Jordan Larmour, Liam Turner, Charlie Tector (Harry Byrne ’71), Andrew Osborne, Ross Byrne, Luke McGrath (Fintan Gunne ’59); Jack Boyle (Michael Milne ’15 – 25, permanent sub ‘66), John McKee (Lee Barron ’47), Rabah Slimani (Rory McGuire ’71), Diarmuid Mangan (James Culhane ‘68, Brian Deeny (RG Snyman ’47), Max Deegan (James Culhane ’37), Will Connors (Scott Penny ’25), Jack Conan
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Leinster earn another bonus point win with grinding victory over Ulster
Ulster 20
Leinster 27
LEINSTER CONTINUE THEIR recent rich form with their seventh consecutive win, this time away to Ulster in the United Rugby Championship when they had Jordan Larmour to think for some quicksilver skills and steps.
It didn’t go all their own way but Ulster were so tame that they couldn’t reverse the flow once Leinster eased into the second half.
13 penalties conceded in the first half told a tale, eight of them by Leinster. Defences were on top, sort of, but the lack of cohesion from both was striking.
While Ulster’s metrics showed that they had the better of things, they still were only three ahead at the break.
As the half wore on, a series of Aidan Morgan kicks to the corner for a lineout proved fruitless and the challenge for head coach Richie Murphy was how to reshape the home sides’ cutting edge. With John Cooney popping up as an unlikely replacement for Ben Moxham on the wing, the absentee list was really showing.
In the fifth minute the first stirring of the crowd came when scrum-half Nathan Doak produced a dribbling kick that Mike Lowry went haring after, only for Jordan Larmour to cover back and wriggle his way clear.
However the ball almost instantly came back into Ulster hands and some rapid passing through Werner Kok and James McNadney set Ben Carson scampering along the touchline and he went over for the first try. Tricky and tight though the conversion might have been, Doak proved capable.
You could hardly call Ross Byrne something of a forgotten fly-half of Irish rugby, but when you have the options available to Andy Farrell right now, it’s easy to overlook some solid performers. His restarts were gaining serious territory with his ability to spiral kicks into the air, holding up even while enjoying the breeze.
His two missed conversions, albeit in the swirling showers of the second half, were copy book blots, however.
Leinster opened their account on ten minutes. A five-metre scrum picked up at the base by Luke McGrath and the former St Michael’s College star went under the posts, Byrne converting.
Soon after, a head on head clash between Aidan Morgan and Brian Deeny occurred in midfield. Every slow-motion replay on the big screens drew ooohs and aaahs from a crowd held in grim fascination. It was difficult to see how Deeny could have gotten out of the road.
However, referee Eoghan Cross reviewed the replays over and over and made the decision to issue Deeny with a yellow.
Not that Ulster made use of it. The only further scores came from two converted penalties by Doak, and Byrne also kicking a penalty himself.
Just back from ‘Boks duty, Leinster were wanting their pound of flesh from RG Snyman and when he came on early in the second half, he looked in the mood.
A sustained period of pressure on Ulster’s five metre line and closer brought him into the fray as he went gain-line hunting.
A couple of these occasions left the Ulster defence and, preoccupied with the thought of facing Snyman again, scrum-half McGrath spun a ball out to Jordan Larmour instead and a sidestep later he was going under the posts, Byrne converting to take the lead for the first time on 49 minutes.
It got a bit try-happy then. Ben Carson picked up his second of the evening with a little spin and half jink to buy enough space in the midst of defensive carnage on 55 minutes, with Doak adding the two points.
Five minutes later that man Larmour was at it again with some slick handling to let full-back Jimmy O’Brien cross the line.
However, Byrne took a little too much care of the kick and the onrushing Ulster players might have put him off as he miscued his conversion and sent wide. It left two in it. Always a chance.
Until there’s not. On 73 minutes as Leinster burrowed their way through in the corner, James Culhane touched down. Another Byrne miss from the tee. No odds. Seven points up at this stage. Enough. Always enough.
Scorers for Ulster
Tries: Ben Carson (5, 55)
Conversions: Nathan Doak (6, 55)
Penalties: Doak (13, 30)
Scorers for Leinster
Tries: Luke McGrath (10), Jordan Larmour (49), Jimmy O’Brien (55), James Culhane (72)
Conversions: Ross Byrne (10, 49)
Penalties: Byrne (17)
Ulster
Stewart Moore, Werner Kok (Ben Moxham ’14 [John Cooney ‘37]), Ben Carson, Jude Postlethwaite, Michael Lowry, Aidan Morgan (James Humphries ’66), Nathan Doak; Eric O’Sullivan (Andy Warwick ’53), James McCormick (Tom Stewart ’47), Scott Wilson (Corrie Barrett ’53), Alan O’Connor (C), Kieran Treadwell (Harry Sheridan ’67), James McNabney, Nick Timoney, David McCann.
Leinster
Jimmy O’Brien, Jordan Larmour, Liam Turner, Charlie Tector (Harry Byrne ’71), Andrew Osborne, Ross Byrne, Luke McGrath (Fintan Gunne ’59); Jack Boyle (Michael Milne ’15 – 25, permanent sub ‘66), John McKee (Lee Barron ’47), Rabah Slimani (Rory McGuire ’71), Diarmuid Mangan (James Culhane ‘68, Brian Deeny (RG Snyman ’47), Max Deegan (James Culhane ’37), Will Connors (Scott Penny ’25), Jack Conan
Referee: Eoghan Cross.
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