Time and time again David Humphries took good ball and passed it inside to strike runners to get nobbled. Keith Gleeson then slowed down the ball, which Ulster insisted they should run from every position conceivable. And that is to run against a Leinster team renowned for its counter runners with Darcy, Contepomi just itching to get their hands on the ball. Suffice to say during the opening exchanges Ulster won a few good balls and eventually Leinster tired of this little game with O'Kelly saying that's it I'm off up the pitch for a gallop, as he intercepted from yet another very predictable Humphries pass. The pack put in some ferocious work and looked to be able to fracture the Leinster 8 at will but any decent possession the fought and won was frittered away needlessly. This was the pattern of the evening, let Leinster off the hook and sooner or later you are going to pay. It was 73 minutes before we saw some decent turn the screw tactics from Ulster as Humphries having taken his lead from Cunningham a few minutes earlier used the now famous boot to spiral Ulster deep into the Leinster 22. It was also no coincidence that a penalty was awarded from the pressure exerted on this situation.

It was Leinster who put the first points on the board, 6 to be exact with Contepomi kicking 2 well struck penalties after Ulster had given Leinster a reprieve by running unrunnable ball and a forced pass or two for the sake of it resulted in the visitors dashing into an early lead. The intent for Ulster was to run, run and then run it again. Whether this was a touch of arrogance or a challenge to Leinster it seemed to pay off after 26 minutes when Andrew Trimble showed Gordon Darcy a clean pair of heel on the outside before being stooped by the valiant Dempsey with good fast clean ball moving wide through half the Ulster side for Tommy Bowe to score in the opposite corner. Humphries converted and Ulster were in front Ulster 7 Leinster 6. Soon after Ulster went back up the pitch again exerting pressure on a dithering pack that were beginning to reel with Ulster cranking up the heat forcing the penalty to make it Ulster 10 Leinster 6. This was the high point of the game. If ever there was a time to put the sword to good use it was now. And it looked as if it might happen but Leinster kicked a penalty after Neil Best had come from deep to take the kick off but it rebounded of his face for Ulster to transgress and Leinster came back with another well struck Contepomi penalty. But Ulster had not finished for the half as the pack were rampant while the back were playing with enterprise stretching Leinster wide and looking for the gaps that were surely being created on the back of some sterling work in the forwards. The pressure soon told with another Humphries penalty to leave the score at half time Ulster 13 : Leinster 9 but there was disquiet that Ulster were being too adventurous and that there ought to be more emphasis of Ulster putting the sword to Leinster and really having a go at their reeling pack of forwards that were really under the cosh. Kick to the corners and rip the jugular right from out of the Leinster Lion and then run from a position of strength. There is too much talent in this Leinster team to think you can run them amok without doing the hard work first. Forwards win games and backs decide by how many. Only in this case it was the Ulster backs that were doing too much of the play making.

This was a lesson that was to be rammed home from the kick off in the second in no uncertain terms. It was now Leinster that were doing the running down the channel between Humphries and the inside centre but this time the likes of O'Kelly were off loading to deadly effect to strike runners and creating the space for the like of Darcy and Dempsey to take it on causing untold problems that Ulster were never really able to answer. A Contepomi penalty and a marvelous break out from a series of forced passes led to Darcy scoring. The upper hand was now very much with the visitors and Dempsey went over in the 54th minute to leave the score Ulster 13 Leinster 21. The home side did managed to put a couple of penalties to get to within a couple of points but were further punished by a Contepomi penalty to further stretch the Leinster lead and make the game safe at Ulster 19 Leinster 24. But it was never as close as the points would suggest.