It was not so much Leinster's prowess in attack but fortitude in defence which earned the recapture of the under-21 interprovincial hockey title, after a four-year lapse, at Serpentine Avenue yesterday.

Leinster, having beaten Munster 5-3, compared to Ulster's 4-2 defeat of the southern province, needed no more than a draw to take the laurels but they found themselves under severe pressure in the opening half of the deciding match.

Chris Jackson, Ulster's senior international, led the assault with strong midfield support but a particularly valuable clearance by Chris Beere, allied to sharp saves by Glen Bailey from Jackson and Julian Lewis, left the game scoreless at the interval.

Then, after Beere had halted Jackson in full flight at the start of the second half, the Leinster captain Alan Bothwell delivered a long clearance into the Ulster circle to poach what proved to be his side's only short corner. Instead of his feared drag flick, Stephen Butler opted for a switch to steer the ball home.

That was in the 40th minute and, three minutes later, the issue was virtually decided when a probe by Graham Shaw produced a rebound off the post for Justin Sherriff to put away one of his easier goals.

Ulster still made a fight of it but the Leinster back four stood their ground defiantly, with Ross Harris making a crucial save on the line, and when the circle was breached, Bailey admirably kept out shots from Gary McKee, Gareth Cuddy and Philip Morrow. On Saturday, Leinster were pegged back to 3-3 by Munster at one stage. The tournament's youngest player, Karl Burns, sent Mark Black clear to set up an opening equaliser by Adam Daunt-Sheehan and then the swashbuckling Colin Hanna struck twice, just before the interval and early in the second half, to leave the home side somewhat taken aback.

However, Leinster's international attackers, with Shaw and Gary Ringwood moving especially forcefully, continued to engineer a sufficient volume of short corners to outscore their opponents. The marksmen were the quick-pouncing Simon Kershaw (2, off the pads), Butler (one direct hit and a penalty stroke) and Sherriff, who also hit the upright twice.

Ultimately, disadvantaged Munster were left to sustain three defeats as they went under yesterday, 3-2, to the Combined Universities, for whom Mark Irwin bagged a late winner and Shane Davey foiled John Ahern of salvaging a point.