Tom O’Toole went from hero to villain as Ulster fell to a five defeat in succession.
O’Toole had given Ulster a perfect start when he burrowed his way over a 5th-minute try, but his evening was brought to an end in the 31st minute when referee Ben Whitehouse had adjudged his cleanout on Munster’s Alex Nankivell to be dangerous.
Nankivell was in a poaching position and while O’Toole’s challenge was more clumsy than dangerous, the match officials still deemed it to be worthy of a red card much to the surprise of the home support.
For Munster though, they had Tom Farrell to thank for delivering a precious win.
The in-form centre has been having an outstanding season and his three tries fired the southern province to a much-needed victory.
His final try came right at the death when Ulster thought they had done enough to clinch a much-needed win when James McNabney went over in the 76th minute.
Ulster started on the front foot and put Munster under the cosh from the first minute. And they were rewarded for their early endeavours when prop O’Toole crashed over for the game’s opening try in the 8th minute.
Munster continually were being penalised at the breakdown and Ulster punished them for their poor discipline with a deserving try when after some measured multi-phase build-up play, O’Toole touched down under the posts.
John Cooney added the extras for a 7-0 lead as Ulster showed no hangover from their two recent European defeats.
Munster did respond positively but their accuracy in the attacking third was to let them down.
Ulster too allowed sloppiness into their play and it all led to a rather tough watch for the sparsely populated stands at Kingspan Stadium.
Further inaccuracy from Ulster allowed Munster back into the tie just short of the half-hour mark.
Aidan Morgan missed touch with a clearance and Munster punished him in the best possible way.
Working the ball from right to left, centre Tom Farrell used all his strength to get over the line despite the best efforts of Werner Kok and Jude Postlethwaite.
Jack Crowley was off target with the conversion meaning Ulster led 7-5 as half-time approached.
Just one minute after conceding that try came O’Toole’s red card which forced Richie Murphy into another reshuffle.
Rory Telfer was the unlucky player to be withdrawn to allow Scott Wilson on at tight-head.
It was harsh on Telfer who only entered the fray 9 minutes earlier for the injured Zac Ward.
Winger Ward was forced off with an ankle injury and the Ulster injury jinx was to strike again before the break when Stuart McCloskey hobbled off a minute before the break.
McCloskey was replaced by Jack Murphy who came on for his debut and his first course of action was to kick the ball out for halftime.
Ulster still had their two-point lead, but with a Munster having a player advantage, Ulster were already looking at an uphill battle in the second half.
Ulster resistance stood strong until the 52nd minute when Farrell went in for his and Munster’s second try.
This time the centre popped up on the right wing to touchdown in the corner after being released by full-back Mike Haley.
After falling behind, Ulster rallied and set up camp in the Munster 22m-line.
Constant Ulster pressure brought about numerous Munster penalties and referee Whitehouse’s patience eventually broke and Rory Scannell was brandished with a yellow card.
It only took Ulster a matter of minutes to take advantage and after only being introduced minutes earlier, Harry Sheridan stormed over from close range to fire his side back into the lead.
The lead unfortunately didn’t last long as a minute later Munster winger left Cooney in his wake to slide in for Munster’s third try and restore the visitors' three-point advantage.
But any questions over Ulster’s character were put to the back burner as the home side stormed back to take the lead through McNabney, and when Cooney added the conversion, it looked like Ulster were returning to winning ways.
But the last word was left to Player of the Match Farrell who claimed a hattrick with the last play of the game and sealed a win that sees them leapfrog Ulster in the URC rankings.
