Munster v Ulster

It will be all shoulders to the pump on both sides of the coin tonight as Ulster welcome Munster to Belfast for a crucial United Rugby Championship ...

Try Ulster He then won the race to the ball. Try Ulster

John Cooney has given Ulster the lead over Munster in their United Rugby Championship quarter-final with the easiest try score.

Ulster had threatened Munster through the phases and had a penalty advantage working off a maul before referee Jaco Peyper blew his whistle. The Ulster talisman is making his 100th appearance for the province and was gifted the easiest of scores under the sun in Belfast. John Cooney gave Ulster the lead over Munster in their United Rugby Championship quarter-final with the easiest of scores.

Ulster scored five tries as they outclassed Munster in their United Rugby Championship quarter-final, winning 36-17 at the Kingspan Stadium.

Peyper needed to rule out a knock on and did so as Joey Carbery converted and the sides were level in the 19th minute. Follow Leinster v Glasgow (Saturday 3.15pm) via our live blog on rte.ie/sport or on the RTÉ News app. Eventually a spell of pressure close to the line told and Earls finished spectacularly in the corner. But Munster grabbed something of a foothold and a spell of pressure close to the line led to Jean Kleyn diving onto a loose ball under the posts. Instead of everyone getting set to defend, a few Munster forwards got involved in an off the ball scuffle with their counterparts and by the time they turned around James Hume, excellent throughout, had tapped quickly and passed to John Cooney, who, on the occasion of his 100th appearance for the province, dotted down. The mistakes began with a Peter O’Mahony knock on from the opening kick and that lack of focus soon infected the rest of the team, who had wanted to put right some wrongs from their final regular-season loss to Leinster.

They'll hope that Leinster beat Glasgow, because if the Scots claim the title then there'll be no Champions Cup rugby at Thomond Park next year. It's unlikely ...

It was a brilliant score and reflected Ulster’s superiority with ball in hand. Ulster punished them with yet more slick interplay. Ulster, meanwhile, will find out today if they’re off to face Edinburgh or the Stormers next week. A campaign that at times promised much, ended with a whimper. They’ll hope that Leinster beat Glasgow, because if the Scots claim the title then there’ll be no Champions Cup rugby at Thomond Park next year. So, another year passes without a trophy and three-quarters of the coaching ticket and a chunk of the squad head for the exits with nothing tangible to show for their time in red.

Munster fans will hope Graham Rowntree can lead that revival but it could be a long road back.

Keith Earls is the only one in the current Munster dressing room who knows what a Heineken Champions Cup medal looks like. They now face a trip to either the Stormers or Edinburgh in the semi-finals but if James Hume can set the bar for the level of performance required, they can have a right crack at it. The appalling basic mistakes which littered this performance in Belfast should set the bottom line from which to build. Cooney has filled the gap left by the departure of Ruan Pienaar and is keeping off the challenge of Nathan Doak for that starting nine slot with Ulster. Appropriate then that Jean Kleyn should crown that with a try in this one. Only Declan Kidney has been in charge of more games for Munster. But of course he delivered the Heineken Cup twice and a league crown.

IT'S the final straight in the United Rugby Championship with the eighth remaining clubs three wins from the title and on Friday at the Kingspan Stadium, ...

To have that noise behind us is something that we really enjoy doing, getting the crowd behind us. “We want to be getting knock-out games at home and give that for our supporters. “It’s going to be the same this weekend. “At the same time, it gives you extra time to prepare. Every team that comes here recognises how great it is to play here. They’re right up there in terms of their maul as well.

Ulster won 36-17 over Munster in the quarter-finals of the URC this evening.

The next move got them off their feet – a set-piece play off a line out, Alan O’Connor collecting Rob Herring’s throw before he sat back and watched the magic unfold. For Ulster, it was a great one. Their maul defence was exceptional; their defence in general as good as it has been at any stage of the season. From there, they shifted up a gear; referee Jaco Payper awarding them a penalty after Munster collapsed the maul. So, 7-7, and the Munster attacks kept coming. As their youngsters delivered and Munster’s veterans aged, it was like watching the future go to conflict with the past.