Leinster - 26 Ulster - 15: This result may be a catalyst for what is to come under the reign of Declan Kidney. Leinster are not supposed to win the tough away fixtures, especially with their second-string, and nobody had scalped Ulster in Belfast for 21 consecutive matches.
Just ask the likes of Leicester and Stade Francais.
On Saturday, Kidney's team - his influence is already plain to see - grinded out a valuable victory by making full use of the near gale-force conditions.
Kidney deflected the plaudits afterwards, instead giving credit to the coaching his players received coming up the line: "It was a day when even level one coaching course will tell you when you are playing against the wind you play the touchlines and when playing with the wind you play it down the middle.
"We got the first bit right but we didn't have enough ball in the second half to go down the middle. What came out of them was the experience they have learned from all the different coaches down through the years.
"It's the occasion that you need to enjoy. Like, Ravenhill is a great venue to play in. You can either be frightened and intimidated by it or really look forward to it. I suppose the biggest thing for me was the players seemed to look forward to playing there."
They even took plenty of risks. None more so than electing to play into the wind after winning the toss. This should have backfired but Ulster's alleged outhalf in waiting Paddy Wallace spurned three kickable penalties, one from in front of the posts, to ensure they went in level, 10-10, at the interval.
Leinster made it that far thanks to two tries engineered by the pack. The first coming after six minutes when Ben Gissing barged over after an offensive lineout and peel off a rolling maul. The second was in first-half injury time thanks to the ingenuity of David Quinlan. Ulster finally put a stop to a succession of drives but when the ball went left Quinlan dragged in the cover before releasing Christian Warner with a flick pass behind his back.
Outhalf Dave McAllister missed both conversions but the signs were positive. In the second half his boot dictated the contest. If the former Terenure College schoolboy improves his distribution the number 10 conundrum may have a domestic solution.
Although, the imminent arrival of Kiwi David Holwell may not allow such a development process.
Their were other notable performances from Leinster with Shane Jennings proving a nuisance at the breakdown and Quinlan twice almost severing Jonny Bell from the mid-rift down. For Ulster, Matt Musthcin picked up the man-of-the-match award, Andy Ward was a constant presence while winger Tommy Bowe showed glimpses of class.
Between the visitors tries Ulster dominated. A clever reverse box kick from Neil Doak allowed winger Andrew Maxwell to get over on the blindside after 11 minutes. Wallace looked set for a productive afternoon by adding the conversion to an earlier penalty.
Instead, he started missing the target. It proved costly as Des Dillon was sitting in the bin for killing ball repeatedly.
Right after the break Leinster began to make use of the wind. McAllister put a delicate chip into the corner but Ulster won the lineout and cleared. Back they came with McAllister adding two difficult penalties, one from inside his own half, to make it 16-10. New comers to the old ground were wondering what all this talk of the Ravenhill roar was about.
Leinster could have secured the game on the hour when John McWeeney intercepted an Ulster attack to send Jennings scampering down the right tramline. With the cover closing he showed good presence of mind to send James Norton over but it was disallowed due to a foot in touch.
This finally prompted an Ulster response. Maxwell broke and sent Bryn Cunningham over in the corner as Mark McCall's side began playing decent ball in hand rugby. Wallace missed the pressure conversion to leave a point between them but the crowd had found their voice.
It was at this point that Leinster's new steel became apparent. The defence held firm. Brian O'Riordan replaced McAllister as Brian O'Meara was charged with closing out the contest from standoff. He did so in remarkable fashion with a monstrous penalty, also inside his own half, on 80 minutes.
O'Riordan emptied Ravenhill in injury time with a try that denied even a bonus point for McCall on his competitive home debut as coach. Ulster have a chance at redemption against Connacht next week, while Leinster are nicely primed for the visit of Munster on Saturday.
SCORING SEQUENCE: 6 mins: B Gissing try, 5-0; 9: P Wallace penalty, 5-3; 12: A Maxwell try, 5-8; Wallace conversion, 5-10; 40: C Warner try, 10-10. Half time. 50: D McAllister penalty, 13-10; 54: McAllister penalty, 16-10; 64: B Cunningham try, 16-15; 80: B O'Meara penalty, 19-15; 85: B O'Riordan try, 24-15; O'Meara conversion, 26-15.
LEINSTER: J Norton; J McWeeney, C Warner, D Quinlan, G Brown; D McAllister, B O'Meara; E Byrne, G Hickie, P Coyle; L Cullen (capt), B Gissing; A McCullen, S Jennings, D Dillon. Replacements: K Lewis for McWeeney (19-26 mins), A O'Donnell for P Coyle (60), V Costello for Dillon (67), B O'Riordan for McAllister (70), D Blaney for Hickie (73), C Potts for Jennings (77).
ULSTER: B Cunningham; T Bowe, J Bell, P Steinmetz, A Maxwell; P Wallace, N Doak; S Best, P Shields, R Moore; M Mustchin, R Frost; A Ward, N Best, R Wilson. Replacements: R McCormack for S Best (43), M McCullough for Frost (half time), R McCormack for R Moore (64), C Feather for Wilson (73), S Young for Cunningham (75), S Mallon for Bell (83).
Referee: N Williams (WRU).
CelticLeague
P W D L F A Tr B Pts
The Ospreys 2 2 0 0 57 23 6 1 9
Connacht 2 1 1 0 58 42 7 1 7
Leinster 2 1 1 0 35 24 3 0 6
Cardiff Blues 2 1 1 0 27 17 2 0 6
Llanelli Scarl 2 1 0 1 32 38 4 1 5
Ulster 2 1 0 1 32 42 3 0 4
Glasgow 2 1 0 1 25 38 3 0 4
Munster 2 0 1 1 44 61 6 1 3
Edinburgh 1 0 0 1 16 17 1 1 1
Borders 2 0 0 2 22 36 3 1 1
The Dragons 1 0 0 1 8 18 1 0 0
