While the Munster men's team (with two defeats from earlier in the season) had to surrender their title to Ulster, the depth of Cork hospitality in staging the first senior interprovincial tournament for both men and women warmly compensated for the chilling winds at Harlequin Park over the weekend.

The championship came to a stirring climax yesterday when Munster, with a deftly-taken hat-trick by youthful international John Jermyn, held Leinster to a 3-3 draw, and that result enabled Ulster to regain the trophy for the first time since 1996.

Leinster, who had lost 3-2 to Ulster on Saturday, played to their utmost ability in quest of a decisive win, but Munster defiantly kept taking the lead through Jermyn from short corners in the 18th, 33rd and 62nd minutes. It was 2-1 at half-time with Graham Shaw slotting home Leinster's first reply and John Goulding getting a snick to make it 2-2.

It was then nip and tuck all the way until Jermyn completed his hat-trick to virtually seal Leinster's fate, with a last-minute short corner equaliser by the bustling Gordon Elliott coming too late to alter the overall outcome.

Ulster, though they had gone under 1-0 to Munster on Friday, performed sharply and clinically on Saturday to poach the points from Leinster.