Leinster 50 Borders 13: The Friday night Donnybrook experience returned in style last night. A healthy crowd of 3,500, buoyed by the province's rejuvenation under Declan Kidney, would have gone away well sated, Leinster garnishing the occasion with half a dozen tries by their three outside backs. Made to order.
The highlights were plentiful, not least a hat-trick by the fast-improving - fast being the operative word - Gary Brown and a brace by the other winger James Norton. Even so, it was the try-scoring full return of Denis Hickie that confirmed the good impressions of his comeback as a replacement the week before. The old gas remains, and his free running from full back sent a buzz throughout the ground.
The above three would be the first to appreciate the deft handling inside them of a classy midfield double act in Felipe Contepomi and Christian Warner. Ultimately Leinster just had far too much skill and imagination for the Borders - and to think Leinster's missing frontliners include Brian O'Driscoll, Shane Horgan, Gordon D'Arcy and Girvan Dempsey. Is there an embarrassment of riches like this in Europe?
Kidney himself will be the first to appreciate the increasing superiority of their foot soldiers, including the ever-willing Victor Costello, when a spirited Borders raced into a 13-3 lead, and the workrate across the pitch. It continued until Leinster broke free nearing the hour, Eric Miller and the Trojan Leo Cullen double-tackling a ball carrier before David Blaney stayed on his feet to earn a turnover penalty.
The Borders didn't actually play badly. A good deal more cohesive at the outset than a reshuffled Leinster, they belied their formguide of nine successive defeats in this competition and looked well-drilled if relatively lightweight.
O'Meara having missed a penalty for the first time in the campaign at the seventh attempt, a failure to find touch with a defensive penalty proved costly as the Borders captain was mauled over the line from Scott Gray's take.
Centre Charlie Hore, who had sent the first tremors of doubt through home ranks by breaching Leinster's midfield defence, tagged on a couple more penalties either side of one by O'Meara, who then missed a straight one from 30 metres.
However, that had followed their first sustained continuity of the half, and Costello's yardage haul was beginning to give Leinster a platform, from which they cut loose nearing the half-hour.
Recycling and going wide off Costello's rumble, Warner - whose unflustered, clever decision-making tends to make those around him look good - saw Borders winger Nikki Walker shooting up 'outside-in', delayed his pass, and ran laterally to link with Hickie, whose sprint and offload released Brown for a cracking good try.
Within ten minutes the alert and brave des Dillon pounced on loose Borders ruck ball on half-way. From the recycle Hickie started dancing, two outrageous sidesteps leaving opponents grasping before he went wide and linked with James Norton. Warnock read the return pass but couldn't hold it, Hickie pouncing for the score.
Contepomi took over the kicking duties to land the conversion and another penalty after another breathtaking passage of pyjama rugby, which was probably a bit too loose for Declan Kidney's liking, and make it 21-13 at the break with a penalty.
In a change of tack, Guy Easterby probed the blind side in the prelude to another penalty by the Puma before Brown made good yardage up one flank in the build-up to Norton muscling over on the other after a clever cross-kick by Contepomi.
The passes were now sticking, and Leinster cut loose with a stunning double whammy nearing the hour. Again there seemed nothing on until Hickie's sensational 50-metre diagonal run from deep. Brown had the wit to change lines inside - in truth Hickie didn't leave him much choice - and the converted full-back's Campese-like pass over the shoulder allowed Brown to step inside the final tackle. Try of the night most nights.
Brown's hat-trick followed within two minutes after strong running by Emmet Byrne and deft handwork by Contepomi and Hickie. The wave of replacements and an eagerness to get hands on the ball saw Leinster lose some shape before Warner was again the intelligent link with Aidan McCullen in releasing Norton for his second.
It was almost inevitable that O'Meara's touchline conversion would bring up Leinster's half-century. It was that kind of night.
SCORING SEQUENCE: 8 mins: Thomson try, Hore con 0-7; 13: Hore pen 0-10; 16: O'Meara pen 3-10; 19: Hore pen 3-13; 25: O'Meara pen 6-13; 28: Brown try 11-13; 38: Hickie try, Contepomi con 18-13; 40 (+4 mins): Contepomi pen 21-13 (half-time 21-13); 43: Contepomi pen 24-13; 46: Norton try 29-13; 56: Brown try, Contepomi con 36-13; 58: Brown try, Contepomi con 43-13; 80: Norton try, O'Meara con 50-13.
LEINSTER: D Hickie; J Norton, C Warner, F Contepomi, G Brown; B O'Meara, G Easterby; E Byrne, D Blaney, R Nebbett, L Cullen (capt), D Dillon, E Miller, V Costello, C Potts. Replacements: S Byrne for Blaney, B Gissing for Dillon (both 54 mins); P Coyle for E Byrne, K Lewis for Hickie (both 60 mins); B Burke for Contepomi (73 mins); A McCullen for Cullen (75 mins).
BORDERS: S Moffat; N Walker, C MacRae, C Hore, A Turnbull; A Warnock, J Weston; P Thomson (capt), S Scott, B Douglas, S MacLeod, M Blair, A Rennick, W McEntee, S Gray. Replacements: R Ford for Scott, C Stewart for Blair, I Farley for Gray (all 47 mins), G Cross for Douglas, K Brown for Weston (both 60 mins), G Morton for Turnbull (69 mins).
Referee: Phil Fear (WRU)
