Munster took the lead for the first time in the 80th minute of the match as Ben Healy’s try broke the home fans’ hearts right at the death. The end of both halves were mirror images of each other: Munster attacked so close to the Ulster try line, with the away side finally breaking through with the last play of the game.
Ulster led throughout the tightly-contested affair, thanks to some excellent wing play and kicking from John Cooney. Rob Balocone’s expertly finished try gave his side a two-score cushion in the second half which looked to have confirmed a third win in a row against Munster.
The first half was largely played between the two 10-metre lines as both sides lacked a little creativity, often resorting to the boot after a number of slow phases.
Ulster went ahead after a quarter of an hour thanks to the boot of scrumhalf Cooney, who duly added two more penalties to stretch the home side’s lead to nine before the break. Cooney’s boot was the difference between the two sides in the first period. His box-kicking was on point and he was faultless from the tee all evening.
A cagey first half was interrupted 10 minutes from time due to a worrying injury suffered by Ulster tighthead Marty Moore. Having been reintroduced to the Ireland A squad in November, it was a horrible blow for the 31-year-old.
The injury break allowed Munster to regroup and from then on the visitors were finally able to assert some dominance. A lovely break by centre Antoine Frisch took his team into the Ulster 22 and from there, it was a question of how long the home side could hang on and repel their rivals' carries.
The northern Irish province were dogged and physical in defence of their line, with captain Iain Henderson and Greg Jones particularly dominant in collision. Despite the loss of hooker Tom Stewart to the sin bin, Ulster eventually won a penalty on their own try line, ending a spell of almost 10 minutes under the cosh.
Munster started the second half on the front foot as Paddy Patterson broke through the Ulster defence with a sniping run to record the first try of the night.
Balocoune – making his first start since October – and Jacob Stockdale were eye-catching on the ball all game and were good outlets for the home side in a game of fine margins.
It was Balocoune’s try that looked to have sunk Munster. After a couple of go-forward phases, Stuart McCloskey’s long, arcing pass put the Irish winger in space and he made no mistake in scoring his second try of the season.
It was not to be for Ulster, however, as replacement flyhalf Healy’s try gave Graham Rowntree’s side a big win on New Year’s Day, taking them up to ninth in the URC league table.