Catching up on his beloved Ulster’s fortunes since Christmas, Kristian Ross begins looking at the match in Limerick…
Ulster Rugby's unbeaten RaboPRO12 record came to an end as a second string side were soundly beaten by Munster at Thomond Park in Limerick.
Ulster who were looking to rest key players were up against it from the off, Ian Keatley sending over the games first penalty kick to give the men in the red the early lead following an infringement in the scrum.
It took Ulster near on thirteen minutes to register their first chance of the match, Munster adjudged to be offside, but Niall O'Connor snatched at his kick as Munster held their advantage.
In a game that was being dominated by the wet weather, Ulster finally levelled when Damien Varley was penalised for coming into an offside position, to allow the man who signed from Connacht the previous season to get Ulster on terms.
Ulster looked on to press, but a broken field saw Munster almost register the first score, and a scrum on the 5m line which was awarded did result in a penalty try, which then allowed Ian Keatley to extend the lead to 10-3, and it got even worse for Ulster as Paul Marshall was binned for stamping.
As half time was called Ulster knew only a mammoth effort would get them back into the match, and when Conor Murray fed the ball to Simon Zebo, a gigantic gap opened to allow the Irish international to easily run in the score, grounding the ball in the easiest position for Keatley to add the extras.
And things unravelled even more when slow build up from Munster saw Peter O'Mahony ground the ball for a third Munster try and Keatley converted once more to make it an ominous 24-3.
Thomond Park saw good Munster resistance as Ulster tried to get their first try of the game, looking more and more unlikely, the clock winding down in a mundane twenty plus minutes that saw no team score any points.
But at last Ulster did make the breakthrough, Ali Birch scoring his first try for the province in what proved to be a very good performance by him. And the last points of the year were scored by a familiar Ravens face, young Stuart Olding curling a sublime kick to add the two points for the Ulstermen. Finishing 2012 defeated but still top of the PRO12.
I'm Kristian. 18. And my mind is filled with rugby shaped thoughts. Supporting Ulster Rugby, Newcastle Falcons and of course the mighty Ireland. Tommy Bowe is the MAN !!!! SUFTUM.
