Leinster hold off Ulster fightback in URC thriller
Leinster survived a stirring second-half comeback from Ulster to win a thrilling Irish derby in Belfast and move above their rivals in the United Rugby Championship standings. The visitors dominated the first half and led 15-0 through James Culhane and Jimmy O'Brien tries. Robbie Henshaw and Sam Prendergast secured Leinster's bonus point and extended the advantage to 29-0 after 55 minutes to set Leo Cullen's side on course for a dominant win.
But Ulster came roaring back with three tries from the Ward brothers - one from Bryn and two from Zac - to rock Leinster, who were reduced to 14 men when Max Deegan's yellow card for a high hit on Werner Kok was upgraded to a 20-minute red. Despite that surge of momentum, Ulster were unable to find two late scores as Leinster held on for a big late-season win. The result means Leinster replace Ulster in third place in the table with three rounds of regular-season games remaining before the play-offs.
Prendergast scored 14 point on his return to the Leinster line-up Despite making 12 changes from last week's Champions Cup quarter-final win over Sale, Leinster dominated the first half, refusing to allow their hosts attacking momentum as they built a comfortable lead. Early injuries to Angus Bell and James Hume set the tone for Ulster in the first half before Culhane crossed to cap a sustained spell of Leinster pressure. Prendergast converted and then stretched the away side's lead with a penalty.
Ulster were unable to capitalise on the few opportunities they created in the first half, with Jude Postlethwaite's momentum-shifting jackal penalty failing to yield a first try for the home side. Ulster's woes deepened when Leinster won a penalty advantage off a scrum and quickly worked the ball to Hugo Keenan, who played in O'Brien to cross in the corner and ensure a 15-point gap at the break. Zac Ward scored a quickfire second-half double for Ulster Needing to land some early shots in the second half, Ulster instead fell further behind when Henshaw darted through under the posts after strong carries from Culhane and Prendergast.
With Harry Sheridan - who replaced Cormac Izuchukwu at half-time - sin-binned as a result of Ulster's rising penalty count, Leinster looked to have put the game to bed when Prendergast capped an impressive return to the line-up with the bonus-point score. Prendergast, who lost the Ireland fly-half jersey during the Six Nations, was left out of Leinster's matchday squads for the Champions Cup wins over Edinburgh and Sale, but made a significant impression on his return to the line-up in Belfast. However, Ulster decided to make a game of it, and after replacement forward Bryn Ward got the hosts on the board, Zac Ward crossed twice in the space of three minutes to give the home crowd real hope of an unlikely comeback.