LEINSTER RUGBY 41-17 ULSTER RUGBY
Daire Walsh
Dan Sheehan grabbed a second half hat-trick from the bench in front of 18,442 fans at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday night as Leinster moved nine points clear at the summit of the BKT United Rugby Championship table with a commanding bonus-point triumph over Ulster.
Introduced in the 47th minute, Sheehan produced an all-action display to ensure Leo Cullen’s men secured their 14th win from 15 in the URC with minimal fuss.
There was a good mixture of youth and experience within the Leinster side for this game as Diarmuid Mangan was named alongside Joe McCarthy eight days after making his European debut in a convincing victory over Glasgow Warriors at the same venue.
While Leinster came into this game on the back of emphatic Investec Champions Cup knockout triumphs against Harlequins and Glasgow, Ulster had also played some good rugby in recent weeks.
The visitors enjoyed good spells of possession during the early exchanges in Ballsbridge and when out-half Jack Murphy was presented with a close-range opportunity at goal on nine minutes, he convincingly knocked the ball between the posts.
Leinster were coming under pressure in the opening moments of the contest, but they gradually grew in stature as the minutes passed by.
After marking his European start in the win over Glasgow with an impressive try, Tommy O’Brien was also eager to leave his mark on this game. Having evaded a tackle from Jacob Stockdale off an elongated attack just shy of the first-quarter mark, he proceeded to chip the ball over the head of the retreating Nathan Doak before regathering possession in time to dot down beyond the whitewash.
Soon after, tighthead prop Thomas Clarkson rounded off an extended attacking spell inside the Ulster 22 with a powerful finish over the whitewash from close-range. Ciarán Frawley added the conversion to make it 12-3 in the 28th minute.
Ulster came roaring back into contention in a frantic end to the opening period. From an attack that started with Nathan Doak claiming his own box kick, John Cooney released Cormac Izuchukwu through a defensive gap to burst over the Leinster tryline, with Murphy adding the extras.
Leinster ultimately brought a 19-10 cushion into the interval when referee Gianluca Gnecchi awarded a penalty try following consultation with TMO Stefano Penne. David McCann was yellow carded for his role in the offence and Leinster went into the break with a nine-point lead.
The home side were aiming to take advantage of their temporary numerical advantage when the play resumed and their fourth try duly arrived when Garry Ringrose capitalised on excellent approach work from Jamie Osborne and Scott Penny to touch down in the right-corner on 42 minutes.
With the bonus point secured, Leinster were in pole position to secure a maximum haul from this fixture.
The 51st minute sin-binning of Diarmuid Mangan did open the door for Ulster to forge a potential fightback. Yet, with the Irish international front row of Andrew Porter, Sheehan and Tadhg Furlong being introduced off the bench along with RG Snyman, Leinster made light of their temporary numerical deficiency.
Sheehan came into this encounter with an astounding haul of nine tries in just eight appearances for province and country in 2025 and following a delicate kick to the right-flank by Player of the Match Tommy O’Brien, the hooker was left with a simple finish in the corner on 58 minutes.
The Dublin native’s return from an anterior cruciate ligament sustained on Ireland’s tour of South Africa last summer has been a huge plus for Leinster in recent months and he doubled his tally for the night inside the final quarter.
Ulster finally disrupted this second period scoring blitz from Leinster with a converted try from replacement Matthew Dalton, but it seemed inevitable the hosts would finish the action with a flourish.
Capitalising on some fine work in attack from Fintan Gunne, Sheehan raced over the line to complete his hat-trick in the 78th minute.
LEINSTER: Jamie Osborne; Tommy O’Brien, Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw, Jimmy O’Brien, Ciaran Frawley, Luke McGrath; Jack Boyle, Gus McCarthy, Thomas Clarkson; Joe McCarthy, Diarmuid Mangan; Alex Soroka, Scott Penny, James Culhane.
Replacements: Dan Sheehan for G McCarthy, Andrew Porter for Boyle, Tadhg Furlong for Clarkson, all 47 mins; RG Snyman for J McCarthy, 53 mins; Fintan Gunne for McGrath, 59 mins; Sam Prendergast for Henshaw, Liam Turner for T O’Brien, both 62 mins; Max Deegan for Snyman, 71 mins.
Scorers: Dan Sheehan 3 tries, Tommy O’Brien, Thomas Clarkson, Garry Ringrose try each; Penalty Try and conversion; Ciaran Frawley con, Sam Prendergast con.
ULSTER: Michael Lowry; Zac Ward, Jude Postlethwaite, Stuart McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale; Jack Murphy, Nathan Doak; Andrew Warwick, Rob Herring, Tom O’Toole; Alan O’Connor, Cormac Izuchukwu; James McNabney, Nick Timoney, David McCann.
Replacements: Wilhelm De Klerk for Moore, 16 mins; John Cooney for Lowry, 21 mins; Callum Reid for Warwick, 39 mins; Tom Stewart for Herring, 40 mins; Kieran Treadwell for O’Connor, 47 mins; Matthew Dalton for Izuchukwu, 48 mins; Scott Wilson for O’Toole, 57 mins; Matty Rea for McNabney, Tom O’Toole for Reid, both 62 mins.
Scorers: Cormac Izuchukwu, Matthew Dalton try each; Jack Murphy pen, 2 cons.
Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR).
Player of the Match: Tommy O’Brien.