Leinster 52 Ediburgh 6:THE LEINSTER coaching staff and players will find holes in this performance, partly because that's what they're paid to do. But given the welcome reprieve of a pleasantly dry evening on a wet but pristine RDS track, Leinster were at their rampant, imperious best in retuning many an old favour to their Scottish bugbears.
To the delight of a near 15,000 crowd, the champions are up and running in some style.
Nor was this a six-try romp from the kick-off. They worked their way into the game, kicking for territory and gradually earning field position before cutting loose with a high-tempo game, looking to offload and explore space.
Luke Fitzgerald, 21 today, will have felt the heat of unprecedented competition for places following Isa Nacewa's arrival, and he availed of his first start to score a hat-trick of tries.
With Nacewa replacing Jonathan Sexton after barely half an hour at outhalf, and Shane Horgan coming in for Rob Kearney at the break, it was an extraordinary expression of Leinster's backline riches.
Coincidental or not, Nacewa's arrival was the catalyst. Added to his running power, great hands and strength is real vision. Pound for pound, he's already starting to look a prime piece of business by Michael Cheika.
One of the blips will be how to counter the ill-conceived dictat from the IRB for referees to punish attacking ruckers for going to ground. Leinster also need to brush up on their restarts and will no doubt remind themselves that Edinburgh will scarcely be so clueless in five weeks' time at Murrayfield on opening Euro weekend.
Felipe Contepomi and Chris Paterson having exchanged an opening brace of penalties, to general surprise, Cheika replaced Sexton with Nacewa after 31 minutes. The outhalf had been examined by the doctor, seemingly for a bang on the head, but clearly didn't want to leave. He was later said to have suffered "a bump".
In any event, from Nacewa's first touch, Leinster scored one of their trademark setpiece tries. Via quick off-the-top ball from Malcolm O'Kelly, Chris Whitaker fed Nacewa, who, running onto the gain line, fed Contepomi. From his hard, flat skip pass, Kearney, on the wrap-around, hit the line hard and found Fitzgerald, who finished off expertly in the corner.
It would have graced any rugby occasion this weekend, from Brisbane to Dublin.
Most of Edinburgh's tactical kicking had been lamentable and when Fitzgerald returned another aimless punt down his throat and chased, Hugo Southwell let the ball bounce high before then hurrying his kick. Too late. Fitzgerald not only completed the charge-down but also held on to the ball to score, Contepomi converting to make it 20-6 at the break.
"Happy birthday," serenaded some of the RDS crowd in Fitzgerald's honour.
The Puma landed another couple of penalties soon after the resumption, the second awarded by Mr Hayes against the Edinburgh loosehead Alan Jacobsen as the Leinster scrum trundled forward with the ball at Heaslip's feet and three backs lined up to each side. Eh, advantage?
Leinster were really starting to express themselves, and Fitzgerald countered off another clearance kick by moving the ball infield to Horgan, who looped around Contepomi to take the deftest of disguised little offloads.
Horgan linked with Contepomi again, and though the ball went to ground when Allister Hogg tackled Jennings before he gathered the pass, Fitzgerald pounced for his hat-trick.
Two of the forward replacements then combined to bring up the 40 and the bonus point with a move straight off the training ground. John Fogarty located Devon Toner and, suspended in mid-air, the rapidly improving young lock showed why he has the hands of a grade-eight pianist with a lovely pass inside for Fogarty to gallop through a yawning gap. Forwards coach Jonno Gibbes will have enjoyed that one.
Leinster kept trying things, and amidst it all Nacewa didn't so much tackle Nick de Luca as almost empty his insides. From a break by Chris Keane, Nacewa laid on the fifth try for Jennings.
Edinburgh's attempts at catch-up brought them little respite, one loose offload going to ground for Keane to gather, turn and scamper in by the corner flag not so much untouched as unaccompanied.
Contepomi, having hit the post with a virtually straight conversion to the fifth try, finished it all off with a customary swagger when landing his ninth kick out of 11 for a 22-point haul.
SCORING SEQUENCE:6 mins: Paterson pen 0-3; 12: Contepomi pen 3-3; 18: Contepomi pen 6-3; 23: Paterson pen 6-6; 33: Fitzgerald try, Contepomi con 13-6; 37: Fitzgerald try, Contepomi con 20-6 (half-time 20-6); 45: Contepomi pen 23-6; 50: Contepomi pen 26-6; 57: Fitzgerald try, Contepomi con 33-6; 61: Fogarty try, Contepomi con 40-6; 74: Jennings try 45-6; 80: Keane try, Contepomi con 52-6.
LEINSTER:G Dempsey; L Fitzgerald, B O'Driscoll, F Contepomi, R Kearney; J Sexton, C Whitaker (capt); R McCormack, B Jackman, S Wright; T Hogan, M O'Kelly; C Jowitt, S Jennings, J Heaslip. Replacements: I Nacewa for Sexton (31 mins), D Toner for Hogan (36 mins), S Horgan for Dempsey (half-time), J Fogarty for Jackman (58 mins), C Healy for Wright, C Keane for Whitaker (both 67 mins), S O'Brien for Heaslip (75 mins).
EDINBURGH:H Southwell; C Paterson, M Robertson, C MacRae, N De Luca, M Robertson; P Godman, M Blair (capt); A Jacobsen, R Ford, G Cross; C Hamilton, B Gissing; M Mustchin, A Hogg, S Newlands. Replacements: D Blair for Godman, A Turnbull for Paterson (both 46 mins), S Turnbull for Gising (60 mins), A Kelly for Ford (64 mins).
Referee:Tim Hayes (WRU).
