Rousing themselves in the second period, Leinster surged back into the reckoning in their quest to retain the interprovincial title in Dublin in February by defeating Ulster 3-2 at Blaris yesterday.

Having lost 2-1 to Munster last weekend, the outlook seemed bleak for Leinster when they trailed 1-0 to Ulster after an uninspired first half. Chris Jackson created the channel for Mark Irwin to open the scoring for the home side in the 33rd minute, his shot having taken a nudge off a defender.

Leinster pressed strongly though after the interval and, spurred by the dismissal of his opposite number, Lee Tumilty, to the sinbin, Stephen Butler put away the equaliser from an incisive pass by Graham Shaw.

Then, after a searing thrust by Mark Raphael ought to have been rewarded by an Ulster reply, Leinster counter-attacked swiftly for Will Powderly to slice his way through to seize the lead.

Although Raphael succeeded in setting up Jonathan Quigley to deliver a shot which took two Leinster deflections en route to the goal-line to make it 2-2, man-of-the match Butler released John Goulding to sink the winner five minutes from the final hooter. An immaculate save by the Leinster captain Nigel Henderson, though, from Chris Barnes, was needed to copperfasten the victory.

A virtuoso goal by Leinster coach Colin Stewart ensured that Corinthians, with James Benson also to the fore, gained full points from their Leinster senior league game against Aer Lingus at Whitechurch Park on Saturday. The visitors - though without their captain David Bane (who dislocated a thumb on interprovincial duty against Munster the previous weekend ) - fought back from 3-0 arrears to reduce the deficit to 3-2 with strikes by Brian Grey and Derek O'Gorman. But, before the finish, Stewart zipped into open space and, darting wide to evade Shane Ellis, deftly lifted the ball into an empty net to make it 4-2.

Avoca, with dynamic goalkeeping by Stephen Kinsella, swept to their second win of the campaign in out-scoring Trinity 6-2 at Rathdown.

ULSTER: K Lunn; B Waring, D Smyth, E Lutton, (captain) , P Brown; M Raphael, L Tumilty, C Jackson; A Barbour, C Barnes, M Irwin. Sub: J Quigley.

LEINSTER: N Henderson, (captain), F de Rosa, A Bothwell, P Carley, B Groves; W Powderly, S Butler, A Browne; I Allen, J Goulding, G Shaw. Subs: D Donnelly, D Jenkins. Umpires: C Hutchinson, W McCully.