Ulster lose European thriller to Leinster

Reigning European champions Leinster won their pulsating Champions Cup encounter against Ulster 21-18 on Saturday.

But the boys in blue were made to work all the way by their inter-provincial rivals.

Ulster were backed by a massive support in Dublin – with pockets of white flags among the blue Leinster crowd.

Ulster used that fire to fuel a brilliant start. They controlled the ball in the opening stages and took a deserved lead off a Leinster mistake.

Garry Ringrose’s attempted kick was blocked by captain Rory Best and Kieran Treadwell scooped up the ball to score and send Ulster into a 7-0 lead.

Leinster responded through Ross Byrne’s score in the corner. The men in blue camped on the Ulster line and Byrne dived over but missed the conversion to leave Ulster ahead by two.

After fifteen minutes, Ulster were dealt a huge blow with skipper Best departing with an ankle injury. Best tried to continue after receiving medical attention, but left the Aviva field visibly emotional.

Byrne missed a kickable Leinster penalty minutes later but John Cooney made the most of his penalty chance to add three points to the away side.

Michael Lowry thought he was in for a wonderful score for Ulster but referee Romain Poite spotted an infringement by the away side earlier in the play.

Leinster drew back within two points after a Byrne penalty on the half-hour mark.

A brilliant cover tackle by Robert Baloucoune saved a certain try before the break as Dave Kearney looked set to score. However, Leinster were playing a penalty advantage which Byrne converted to give the home side an 11-10 lead.

Cooney gave Ulster a half-time lead with a simple penalty and, after 40 minutes, Ulster were believing a win in Dublin was possible.

The away side were left reeling shortly after the break as Jacob Stockdale almost scored a magnificent solo try, but incredibly lost control as he went to place the ball down.

Leinster looked to reply but were stopped inside Ulster's 22 with a brilliant turnover from Cooney.

But the men in blue weren't to be denied - with Adam Byrne crossing the try line on 54 minutes. An initial break from Jack Conan set up the flying winger to give Leinster an 18-13 lead.

Ulster looked on the ropes but kept swinging as the game entered the final quarter. Some relentless pressure earned a penalty which they elected to kick.

Some excellent phases opened the door for Luke Marshall to score. Playing his first game in ten months, the Ballymena man barreled over the line to bring Ulster level with 15 minutes to play.

But Ross Byrne kicked the winning penalty with ten minutes to play to break Ulster hearts.

Ulster gave the European champions their very best shot and came up agonisingly short.