IN THE WAKE of Ulster’s 13 point loss to Leinster this afternoon, captain Rory Best said that his side’s failure to take their chances in the first half ultimately cost them the game.

Ulster were the better team for large swathes of the opening period but failed to cross the whitewash, instead going in three points and a man down at the break.

This, Best told the BBC, was the most disappointing aspect of his team’s performance.

“When it comes down to the top teams in this league you have to be clinical and I don’t think we were clinical, especially in the first half. We were very happy with how we played in that first half but to go in 9-6 down and down to 14 men was disappointing for us.

“We battled well. We showed a lot more ambition with ball in hand than we have for the past six of seven weeks which is pleasing but ultimately we came down here expecting to win this game, we haven’t so it’s disappointing but there are definitely a lot more positives than negatives.”

Adding insult to injury, the result means Leinster leapfrog Ulster into fourth spot in the Guinness Pro12 table despite Neil Doak’s men hoping to move up to third following Munster’s loss to Connacht on New Year’s Day.

“We see in this league that anyone can beat anyone at any particular time,” said Best.

“The results over the weekend gave us an opportunity to really cement ourselves in [the top four] but we haven’t taken that. Results wise, it is disappointing.”

Ulster’s next game will see them travel to take on Italian side Treviso on Sunday week.

That Madigan magic and more talking points from Leinster’s win over Ulster

This cheeky Madigan try has Leinster in control against Ulster