Leinster seal derby win
Leinster moved a step closer to a Magners League play-off spot with a hard-fought 34-26 win over Ulster.
By Jamie Casey
Last Updated: 17/04/11 12:27am
Leinster moved a step closer to a Magners League play-off spot with a hard-fought 34-26 win over Ulster.
Four tries in the opening 36 minutes awarded Leinster the fastest bonus point of the current league campaign as they steamed ahead of their provincial rivals.
Richardt Strauss, Luke Fitzgerald, Shane Horgan (two) and Heinke van der Merwe were the try scorers for the hosts, who have moved above Ulster into second place.
Ulster refused to lie down, though, with tries from Pedrie Wannenburg and Craig Gilroy, both of which Ruan Pienaar converted.
Leinster got off to a dream start when Strauss touched down after just 69 seconds but Jonathan Sexton put his conversion attempt narrowly to the left.
Ulster gathered themselves for a swift response and they earned a penalty on the 10-metre line which Ian Humphreys knocked over with an assured strike.
Leinster took control again, though, with Sexton sending Isa Nacewa through a gap on the left and he passed for Fitzgerald to ghost over in the corner.
This time Sexton pushed the conversion to the right and wide but the hosts were oozing confidence and they had their third try on the board by the 13th minute.
The forwards pummelled away before Fergus McFadden's looping pass gave Horgan enough time and space to barge over in the right corner. Sexton converted for a 17-3 advantage.
Best phase
Ulster's best attacking phase could have led to a try and a yellow card for Leinster flanker Shane Jennings, but they had to settle for a close range kick from Humphreys.
Ulster again built through the phases, bringing D'Arcy and Andrew Trimble into play out wide, and Humphrey's third successful penalty punished Stan Wright for a binding offence.
Sexton sent over a penalty in response and the bonus point score came a minute later as Van der Merwe touched down by the posts, but Sexton's conversion was cancelled out by a huge penalty from Pienaar.
Upon the restart, D'Arcy and Pienaar were both caught out when Horgan attacked down the right, collecting his own chip before breezing over for an instinctive 44th minute try.
Sexton made no mistake for a 34-12 scoreline, sparking a series of changes as both sides began to look jaded.
One of Ulster's replacements, Willie Faloon, helped Wannenburg force his way over for a try that the visitors' efforts perhaps merited, and Pienaar converted.
Ulster never gave up, though, as Gilroy fended off a challenge from Jennings to grab his eighth league try in a well taken score.
Once more, Pienaar converted but Leinster's forwards sealed off any threat of a comeback with some good work around the fringes.
The defeat dents Ulster's semi-final ambitions, but they remain third in the table with just two rounds remaining.
