Leinster 24-12 Ulster: Reigning Pro14 champions regain control of Conference A

Robbie Henshaw powered over in the second half as Leinster flexed their muscles

Leinster reaffirmed their position as favourites to retain their Pro14 crown as a ruthless second-half performance ended Ulster's unbeaten league run.

Sean Cronin, Robbie Henshaw and James Tracy all scored tries after the break, following Dave Kearney's first-half effort.

John Cooney kicked all 12 of the visitors' points.

Ulster remain top of Conference A but are now only five points ahead of Leinster, who have two games in hand.

Having been able to fulfil all their fixtures to date, Ulster's Pro14 season will now pause until late February.

Leinster's attentions shift to securing a European quarter-final berth before they meet Scarlets in one of their two games in hand at the end of the month.

Full-strength sides give no quarter in first 40

Despite crucial European fixtures to come against Northampton and Montpellier in the next two weeks, assuming the competition continues, Leinster fielded their strongest available side to match Ulster, whose European aspirations are realistically over for the season.

What unfolded at the RDS was an immensely physical contest amid freezing conditions, with neither side dominating for prolonged spells in the opening 40 minutes.

Ulster's nine first-half points came from the reliable boot of Cooney, while Johnny Sexton missed a penalty and a conversion to allow the visitors to lead at the break.

In between Cooney's first two kicks Leinster enjoyed their best spell of the half, causing problems for Ulster's usually reliable lineout and working their way to within a metre of the tryline.

There was little between the sides in a keenly contested first half

When Jamison Gibson-Park whipped the ball out to the wing, Kearney displayed immense finishing prowess to drop low and dive over despite the attention of two Ulster defenders.

For their part, Ulster carried to good effect, with usual suspects Stuart McCloskey and Marcell Coetzee leading the charge - while Jordi Murphy was the pick of the bunch at the breakdown against his former side.

Coetzee's sin-binning on 30 minutes for a high tackle did not signal a backs-to-the-wall mission for the visitors before the break; instead, they increased their lead through another Cooney penalty.

Leinster's star-power comes to the fore

Where Ulster may have been most pleased after a satisfactory first half was the success with which they nullified Leinster's vast array of attacking threats.

With a full XV of Test internationals on show, it seemed inevitable Leinster would enjoy a purple patch at some stage, and upon the restart the hosts did not take long to take their performance up a gear.

Hugo Keenan and Jordan Larmour, on his first appearance since early October, began weaving through gaps to allow their side to eat up yards against a scrambling defence.

Cronin crashed over from a maul on 44 minutes before Henshaw stepped inside a challenge to expertly finish and put his side in firm control with just under half an hour remaining.

As the game wore on, securing a losing bonus-point became the more attainable goal for Ulster, and they did move back within the seven-point margin courtesy of Cooney's fourth penalty.

However the last word was afforded to Leinster, whose final try through substitute hooker Tracy triggered a two-point swing, ensuring their fate is now firmly in their own hands as they chase a fourth straight Pro14 title.

Leinster: Keenan; Larmour, R Byrne, Henshaw, Kearney; Sexton (capt), Gibson-Park; Healy, Cronin, Porter; Fardy, Ryan; Ruddock, Van der Flier, Doris.

Replacements: Tracy, E Byrne, Bent, Molony, Conan, L McGrath, H Byrne, J O'Brien.

Ulster: Lowry; Faddes, Hume, McCloskey, McIlroy; Burns, Cooney; Warwick, Herring, Moore, O'Connor, Carter (capt.); Jones, Murphy, Coetzee.

Replacements: Andrew, O'Sullivan, O'Toole, Treadwell, Timoney, Shanahan, Madigan, Moxham.