For 50 minutes Ulster were second best as Leinster, without ever playing to their full potential, were able to dominate, helped by their pack and superiority in the set piece.

Ulster's defence kept them in the game but when Irish centre Gordon D'Arcy went over to give Leinster a 13-0 lead a fourth consecutive defeat looked assured.

Enter David Humphreys. Once again the 36-year-old was Ulster's saviour, making the break for Andrew Trimble's try and scoring 11 points with the boot, including an injury time penalty.

Lock Ryan Caldwell was pleased with the result and how the side fought back from the brink of defeat.

"The whole squad was given a boost by the return of a number of influential players. It took us a while to get back into it," he said.

"We came back into it well in the second half because at half time we knew what we needed to do.

"We're not 100% satisfied with the result but it's a starting block. They had a star-studded side with class in every position but I think we played the right game against them. They are a very hard team to beat but we probably should have won the match.

"The draw is not ideal but the improvement in performance has lifted our self belief and hopefully we can get back to winning ways."

Ulster travel to Glasgow this week looking for their first away win of the season following defeats at Edinburgh, the Dragons and Llanelli.

Glasgow boast an unbeaten home record so Ulster will have their work cut out, but Caldwell feels the side must get a victory to build momentum going into the Heineken Cup which starts next week.

"It's back to the drawing board to get set up for Glasgow and hopefully get a win and then into Gloucester which is a big one for us," he said.

The Ulster lineout must improve if they are to go and beat Glasgow as they lost too much ball on their own throw, meaning they were unable to establish an attacking platform in the game. Another worrying aspect for Ulster as Europe dawns is a lack of tries.

In the five league games Ulster have only crossed the white line once in each of them and are currently the lowest points scorers in the competition with 62 points. Glasgow have already claimed home victories over Connacht and Leinster, while last weekend they held Munster to an 11-11 draw.

Glasgow won the last meeting between the sides at Ravenhill last May.