Ross Byrne steers Leinster edge past Ulster in tight 21-18 encounter

Leinster 21-18 Ulster, Aviva Stadium
Scorecard

Ross Byrne went on to kick 16 points as Leinster edged out Ulster 21-18 in their Heineken Champions Cup semi-final encounter at Aviva Stadium on Saturday.

Leinster will now line-up against Toulouse in the semi-final that will be played at Aviva Stadium in Dublin on 21st April.

The opening try of the game came in the 6th minute when Rory Best charged down a kick from Garry Ringrose and fed to Kieran Treadwell as he dotted down. John Cooney added the conversion to take the visitors to seven points but Leinster responded back immediately through an unconverted try from Byrne that came in the 11th minute.

Bryne, who failed to add the extras also missed out on a penalty and Cooney's three-pointer in the 22nd minute meant the scoreline became 5-10.

Bryne made amends with back to back penalties in the 31st and 35th minute but Cooney seized the lead for Ulster heading into the break with his second penalty kick that came in the 39th minute.

After a quiet start to the second half, the momentum swung towards Leinster when Jack Conan breached Ulster's defence that allowed Adam Bryne to dot down in the 54th minute making the scoreline 18-13 but the visitors managed to level the scores by the 64th minute when Luke Marshall crossed whitewash.

With all the three results possible, Byrne with his 72nd minute penalty kick proved enough to take Leinster over the line as they progress to the semi-final.