The 28-17 win means Ulster will play either Leinster or Glasgow in the RaboDirect PRO12 play-off final but more important for Wales were the injuries suffered to some of their key men.Â
All three players are scheduled to tour Japan this summer and their loss would concern head coach McBryde. Fellow national squad members Liam Williams, Aaron Shingler and Aled Davies also came off with injuries.Â
Combined with the result, the number of injuries meant it was a disappointing end to the Scarlets’ season.
First half scores from Tommy Bowe and Robbie Diack had given Ulster a comfortable lead with an Owen Williams penalty the reply for the Scarlets.
Ruan Pienaar had kicked the rest of the points and prop Tom Court added a third score right at the start of the second half.
Owens’ injury was just one of a number that interrupted the rest of the game and although replacements Gareth Davies and Sione Timani replied with a try apiece, Ulster held on to end the Scarlets’ season.
Before play even got underway, the Scarlets were dealt a blow when Priestland, who was due to start his first game in five months, pulled out in the warm up.
Despite his absence, Simon Easterby’s side started well. A superb run by Andy Fenby earned a penalty and Priestland’s replacement Owen Williams converted the chance for an early 3-0 lead.
Pienaar levelled things up from the restart but there were plenty of positive signs for the Scarlets as they continued to test the Ulster defence. Owen Williams had a chance to put his side back into the lead but saw a long range penalty strike a post and after an entertaining first 20 minutes, it remained 3-3.
In front of a raucous Ravenhill crowd, Ulster had struggled to assert the home dominance they have enjoyed on a regular basis this season. But when full back Jared Payne made a superb break from inside his own half, they began to get on top.
Payne’s break nearly set up a score for Bowe but after Liam Williams and Andrew Trimble were yellow carded after a flair-up, the Irish winger was not to be denied a second time.
Both sides may have had 14 but it was Ulster who had the territory and following some sustained pressure, Bowe stepped inside a tackle from Lions teammate George North to score in the corner. Pienaar converted for a 10-3 lead.
After a solid start, the score was another disappointment for the Scarlets and with Scott Williams joining Priestland on the side lines with a shoulder problem, things were beginning to get worse.
Pienaar surprisingly put a penalty effort wide after Jonathan Davies was penalised for off side but the second score soon arrived, Diack going over following a huge drive off the top of a lineout. The conversion from Pienaar was wide but the South African scrum half kicked a second penalty with the last kick of the half for a 18-3 interval lead.
Things soon got better. Court powered over from close range minutes into the second half and with the effortless Pienaar converting, the game looked up at 25-3.
Owens was then the latest Scarlet to leave the field, the Wales hooker stretchered off with a worrying looking injury. It was physical stuff, George Earle the next man to be replaced with what looked like concussion following a blow to the head.
The injuries forced Easterby to introduce most of his replacements earlier than he would perhaps have wanted and that, combined with the injury delays, hindered the flow of the game. Things may have been going against them but the Scarlets persevered admirably, Gareth Davies crossing for the Scarlets with Owen Williams converting.
The score gave the Scarlets real belief and although Pienaar kicked his third penalty, Timani added a second try in the final minute.
Williams converted but sadly for the Scarlets it was Ulster who went through to the final. Â
