Leinster opened up a six-point lead at the top of the RaboDirect PRO12 with a bonus point 42-13 win over Irish rivals Ulster on Saturday night. Three tries in each half were more than enough to see off Brian McLaughlin’s weakened side as they rested a number of big name players like Stephen Ferris and Ruan Pienaar with one eye on Friday’s upcoming clash with defending champions Munster at Ravenhill. Tries from Fionn Carr, Sean Cronin and Leo Auva'a, who was named man of the match, put Leinster 21-6 up at half-time but Ulster replied with a try from debutant winger Chris Cochrane in the 48th minute. However, Leinster's dominance in the latter stages was rewarded with three more tries in the form of a penalty try and further touchdowns from Ian Madigan and Jamie Hagan. Fergus McFadden converted all six tries for Joe Schmidt’s men who profited from Ospreys’ defeat to Scarlets to stretch their lead at the top of the table. Ulster started brightly but soon found themselves overpowered by the waves of Leinster attacks and Carr went over for the first try of the game after being fed by Madigan. And with Irish fly-half Jonny Sexton rested Madigan made the most of his chance to shine, laying on the second try as well for Cronin. And despite two penalties from Ulster’s James McKinney, Leinster effectively sealed the win when Auva’a barrelled over from a scrum on the stroke of half-time. Cochrane was the first to cross after the interval to reduce Ulster’s arrears to 21-13 when McKinney also converted. But in the final quarter Leinster reasserted themselves and made sure of the bonus point in the 67th minute with a penalty try after Ulster continually infringed at scrum-time on their try-line. But that wasn’t the end of the scoring for the Dubliners as Madigan then ghosted over himself to dot down under the posts, McFadden again converting. And with only a minute of normal time remaining prop Hagan barged his way over from close range to add a touch of gloss to the scoreline.
