Frustration for Cullen as Leinster slip out of pole position

Leo Cullen admitted frustration was the overwhelming emotion as Leinster let an eight-point lead slip against Ulster in their URC derby on Saturday night.

The 23-21 defeat means Leinster are third in the table and unable to improve on that position unless Munster and Bulls both fail to win their last games.

The visitors conceded first but led from the 29th minute until the 79th when John Cooney landed a long-distance penalty.

Depending on how other results go they are unlikely to host a potential semi-final or final.

"Frustrating I think, I thought there was a lot of good effort in the game," said the head coach (below).

"We had a plenty of chances, we were ahead right until the very end so, listen, there's probably good learning in how we manage some of that last 20 minutes.

"We had plenty of opportunities, we had them in the far corner, the maul is going forward well and we give away the penalty.

"We had some other opportunities as well, anyway it's just a frustrating game.

"You couldn't fault the effort, the effort was great,

"It was great to get ourselves in a good position, but we need to be better in terms of how we execute certain things."

Leading by a point after Jacob Stockdale's intercept try and Cooney’s conversion, Leinster, with James Ryan captaining the side on his return from a bicep injury, turned down a shot at goal in favour of a kick to the corner, from which Ulster turned over the ball.

"[It’s the] feel of the game. The players were out there," he said of the decision.

"I don't mind that much, maybe if it's a knockout game it's different because you can go for a four-try bonus point, there's other factors at play today versus a final.

"I don't mind that, everyone judges on the outcome sometimes, but when you're in