Burns inspires Ulster to famous victory over Leinster

Ulster's revival continued with a rare win over BKT URC leaders Leinster at the RDS.

It was just the team’s third victory at the venue in 22 games and there will have been none sweeter.

Arriving on the back of morale-boosting wins over Racing 92 and Connacht, Dan McFarland’s men were full value for their narrow win, with Leinster, having made 14 changes to the side that defeated Munster last time out, left to rue too many defensive lapses.

First-half tries from Nick Timoney [2] and Jacob Stockdale, and seven points from the boot of John Cooney were enough to get the visitors past the post and tries from Cian Healy, Rob Russell and Dan Sheehan were not enough for the league leaders, who remain two points ahead in the standings.

We may have to reassess what type of game we expect in difficult conditions after a thrilling 80 minutes served up by the two teams in front of 16,248 in Dublin 4.

The rain never relented from hours before kick-off but the slippery surface at the windswept ground didn’t dictate proceedings.

Ulster, through the guile of player of the match Billy Burns, and Leinster, mostly using the power of their forwards, delivered five tries in a high-octane first half.

Leo Cullen's side, who had to deal with two late cry-offs ahead of kick-off with captain James Ryan and Jimmy O'Brien replaced by Joe McCarthy and Ciarán Frawley, targetted Robert Baloucoune early with the high ball but despite a couple of spills it was Ulster who adapted better and hit during their first foray into the hosts’ territory.

After a clean line-out, Burns chipped over the top and Timoney latched on. From just outside the 22 he had a race against Frawley but the flanker’s momentum saw him slide over for the first try in the fifth minute. Cooney