URC: Leinster 42 Cardiff 24
Six tries, two debuts – for Ivan Soroka and Oliver Coffey – and a performance that got better in the middle third of the match, either side of half-time, kept a crowd of 17,951 entertained. Cardiff deserved their four-try bonus point, not least for the enterprise they showed in attack.
Two recent additions to the Ireland senior squad Diarmuid Mangan and Hugh Cooney were outstanding. Mangan produced a towering 40-minutes in all facets of the game, getting Leinster over the gain-line and winning turnovers before being replaced by RG Snyman. Cooney beat the first tackler time and again, a constant threat, his footwork a delight.
Charlie Tector was a deserving man-of-the-match, the inside centre strong and forthright in possession as he demonstrated how well he has adjusted to his new midfield home. Leinster grew into the game, as did several players like Jimmy O’Brien, Tommy O’Brien, Andrew Osborne and Alex Soroka, who all enjoyed eye-catching moments.
Is Ireland’s production line of talent beginning to falter?
Brian Deeney, Jack Boyle, John McKee, Will Connors and Max Deegan were consistent in their industry and impact. Leinster started and finished the first half brightly but in between managed to perish at their own hand when it came to not tagging on more points. The post-interval renaissance mitigates most of the criticism.
Leinster took the lead in orthodox fashion, Byrne kicked a penalty to the corner, Deegan claimed the throw, the maul rumbled forward with the assistance of a few extra bodies from the backline, sundered the defence with hooker John McKee credited with the try. Byrne kicked a fine conversion, but the home side had barely time to draw breath before Cardiff snatched a try of their own.
Tector’s cross-kick lacked precision – to be fair everything else he had done to that point in the game was first class and continued at that level subsequently – and the visitors made the most of the largesse. Callum Sheedy put Cameron Winnett through a gap, the upshot of which was an unencumbered run down the touchline for left wing Harri Millard.
There followed a sequence on 27 minutes that summed up Leinster’s imprecision. Instead of clearing at the first opportunity, the home side set up a ruck, Luke McGrath’s was a little high, so Byrne having stepped inside the first chaser passed to Jimmy O’Brien to do the clearing duties but the fullback sliced his kick.
Leinster conceded a penalty off an ensuing ruck and from that launch pad, Cardiff scored their second try, a muscular effort from Thomas Young, which Sheedy improved upon to give the visitors a 12-7 lead just shy of the half-hour.
Questionable option-taking afflicted the home side as they looked to chase down the visitors, simple hands would have yielded a try rather than a long cut-out pass at one point and then McKee’s decision to break off a maul, that in fairness was disintegrating, saw him held up over the line.
Another mix-up saw Leinster cough up possession in the shadow of the Cardiff posts and the home side was indebted to Tommy O’Brien’s brilliant tackle to prevent the visitors, try scorer Millard, from going the length of the pitch. Deegan forced a penalty turnover at a ruck and from there, in first half injury time, the home side struck.
Tector did superbly to break through the defensive seam on a lineout thrown over the back and from that platform the ball was moved wide into Jimmy O’Brien’s ambit. McGrath’s decision to work the short side from a ruck half of dozen metres from the line saw him link with Jack Boyle for a try. Byrne was unerring once again with the tricky conversion.
Whatever the chat was in the Leinster dressingroom it had the desired effect on the resumption. Jimmy O’Brien pinballed his way through the defence, released Cooney and even though the centre was grounded a metre short of the Cardiff line, the visitors transgressed at the ruck. Alex Mann received a yellow card and from the tap penalty, Deegan barged over.
Leo Cullen’ side nabbed the bonus-point try soon after, McGrath sharp to spot a gap after his forwards had pummelled Cardiff around the fringes. Two minutes later Leinster had another, a nice training ground move, Osborne appearing in midfield to release Tector, who showed strength and pace to negotiate the 25 metres to the line.
Tommy O’Brien saved another try with a thunderous tackle but to their credit Cardiff continued to pursue their free-flowing patterns and were rewarded with a bonus point with a brace of tries, a second for Millard and another from replacement scrumhalf Ellis Bevan.
Wholesale changes doesn’t fully explain how Leinster lost their shape and cohesion; a once impregnable buffer on the scoreboard looked a lot skinnier at 35-24. Rob Russell, returning from injury, snuck over in the corner, Byrne’s touchline conversion, a continuation of his brilliance off the tee.
SCORING SEQUENCE – 14 mins: McKee try, Byrne con 7-0; 17: Millard try 7-5; 29: Young try, Sheedy con 7-12; 40+1: Boyle try, Byrne con 14-12; Half-time 14-12; 42: Deegan try, Byrne con 21-12; 50: McGrath try, Byrne con 28-12; 53: Tector try, Byrne con 35-12; 57: Millard try 35-17; 69: Bevan try, De Beer con 35-24; 75: Russell try, Byrne con 42-24.
LEINSTER: J O’Brien; T O’Brien, H Cooney, C Tector, A Osborne; R Byrne, L McGrath; J Boyle, J McKee, R Slimani; D Mangan, B Deeny; A Soroka, W Connors, M Deegan.
Replacements: RG Snyman for Mangan (half-time); S Smyth for McKee (57 mins); R Russell for T O’Brien (60); S Penny for Connors (62); I Soroka for Boyle; R McGuire for Slimani; O Coffey for McGrath (all 68 mins); L Turner for Cooney (77).
CARDIFF: C Winnett; G Hamer-Webb, R Lee-Lo, R Jennings, H Millard; C Sheedy, J Mulder; D Southworth, L Belcher, R Litterick; J McNally, R Thornton; B Donnell, T Young, A Lawrence.
Replacements: A Mann for McNally (HIA, 32 mins); T de Beer for Winnett (half-time-50); R Barratt for Southworth; W Davies-King for Litterick (both 52); Southworth for Barratt (60); E Bevan for Mulder; R Grace for Millard; S Davies for Donnell (all 62); E Daniel for Belcher (64); T de Beer for Sheedy (69).
Yellow card: A Mann (41 mins).
Referee: A Piardi (Italy).
