ULSTER HAD THEIR moments. There was one stage in the first half when ‘Stand Up for the Ulster Men’ boomed around the Aviva Stadium as the travelling fans felt belief flow through them.
Dan McFarland’s men made a good start to the game and scored the opening points. James Hume’s first-half try was excellent, with Jacob Stockdale brilliantly winning back his own garryowen before Billy Burns cross-kicked to Hume.
There was also a characteristic maul try in the second half finished by Rob Herring. But the good moments were too few against a Leinster team that seemed capable of producing those moments whenever they needed them.
Tries, breakdown turnovers, muscular defensive sets, clever kicking – Leinster have so many strengths. Another of them is just how little opportunity they give their opponents.
“They’re smart, aren’t they?” said disappointed Ulster head coach McFarland last night after his side’s 30-15 defeat in the Champions Cup round of 16.
“How many lineout opportunities did we get in that game? I mean to really go after them. I think we had one in the first half and we had a malfunction. We had two in the second half, won a penalty and scored a try. We needed more.
“But if they pressurise you and you also add on to that penalties you could have avoided, we’re not going to get those opportunities. That was really the story of it. We gave everything we had but just not quite good enough.”
McFarland gave Leinster full credit for how they “showed their class” in the rain at the Aviva Stadium but he did wonder what might have been had Hume and replacement back row Harry Sheridan not been shown second-half yellow cards.
“I thought both were harsh, to be honest,” said McFarland. “James’ came a full 15 minutes after the initial warning. Harry’s, I haven’t looked at the video, but it probably is a penalty.
“That stopped our momentum and our ability to get momentum in that second half. It was tough enough.”
McFarland said he was proud of how his team fronted up physically and praised his wider squad for their excellent preparation for the Leinster game.
He was frustrated with their discipline – Ulster conceded 15 penalties – as his team allowed Leinster into their territory too often.
This Champions Cup exit means Ulster are left with full focus on the URC. They have already secured a home play-off with two regular season games remaining at home against the Dragons and Edinburgh.
McFarland’s men will look to bounce back from this disappointment and could even meet Leinster again in the URC knock-outs.
“We’ve been getting better as the season goes on, we played a top Leinster team there, extremely competitive,” said McFarland.
“We know what we’re good at. Tt’s clear today some of the things we can get right going forward because we’re going to be facing great teams going forward. We’ll take a breath and look forward to that.”
