Rugby

Leinster hit 60 in demolition job away to Benetton

Leo Cullen’s side notch nine tries in total but Harry Byrne was forced off through injury

Jimmy O’Brien meaks a break during Leinster’s thumping win. Photograph: Luca Sighinolfi/Inpho

Sat Mar 5 2022 - 15:49

Benetton 17 Leinster 61

Leinster moved back to the summit of the United Rugby Championship table with a 44-point demolition of Benetton at Stadio Monigo on Saturday afternoon.

Jimmy O’Brien, Seán Cronin and James Tracy bagged two tries each as the Blues claimed maximum points in commanding fashion to leapfrog interprovincial rivals Ulster in the URC standings.

The visitors were camped inside the opposition ‘22’ from the very early moments of the contest and - after going close on several occasions - they eventually broke the deadlock with Max Deegan’s one-handed finish in the sixth-minute.

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Ross Byrne comfortably supplied the extras to extend the Leinster lead and it seemed like only a matter of time until they added to their tally. Benetton initially responded well to this set-back, however, and former South African sevens international Rhyno Smith opened their account with a routine penalty on 12 minutes.

Strong defence from the Italians subsequently forced a couple of turnovers as Leinster looked to pounce, but their line was eventually breached for a second time just past the first-quarter mark.

Ross Byrne kicked a penalty to touch on the right flank and it was ultimately left for Cronin to touch down at the back of a line-out maul for his 44th Leinster try and the 52nd of his provincial career.

This looked set to open the floodgates and the Blues pushed forward to secure a bonus point before the opening period had elapsed. Jordan Larmour is desperate to force his way back into an Irish match day squad and served a reminder of his quality with a blistering run through a defensive gap for a superb five-pointer in the 28th-minute.

Leinster suffered a set-back when Harry Byrne was withdrawn through injury on the half-hour, but his older brother Ross ensured they didn’t lose any momentum in his absence. At the end of an elongated attack, the outhalf crossed over for a try that he converted himself.

This propelled Leo Cullen’s men into an unassailable 28-3 interval buffer and the gap between the teams increased just eight minutes after the restart. The eastern province’s set-piece has yielded a succession of tries throughout the current campaign and when Rhys Ruddock gathered another lineout with relative ease, it inevitably led to another try from the evergreen Cronin.

There seemed to be no end to this scoring sequence until Benetton lock Nicola Piantella gathered a loose ball just outside the ‘22’ and broke over the whitewash in spite of Larmour’s best efforts to halt his march.

Yet this was only a minor blip for Leinster and with an experienced bench to call upon, they reinforced their authority in consummate style. Matching Cronin’s haul from the same position, replacement hooker Tracy registered tries off set-piece moves in the 55th and 72nd minutes.

In between these efforts, fullback O’Brien - called up to the Ireland camp in advance of last weekend’s Test against Italy - grounded underneath the posts following an excellent offload by Ruddock.

Benetton did get through for a second try courtesy of flanker Lorenzo Cannone off Tracy’s lineout overthrow, but Leinster had the final say with a last-minute effort from O’Brien that he also converted.

SCORERS – Leinster: R Byrne try, 7 cons, J O'Brien 2 tries, 1 con, S Cronin, J Tracy 2 tries each, M Deegan, J Larmour try each. Benetton: N Piantella, L Cannone try each, R Smith pen, con.

LEINSTER: J O'Brien; J Larmour, J Osborne, H Byrne, T O'Brien; R Byrne, L McGrath; P Dooley, S Cronin, T Clarkson; R Molony, J McCarthy; R Ruddock, S Penny, M Deegan.

Replacements: D Kearney for H Byrne (30 mins); J Tracy for Cronin, E Byrne for Dooley, M Ala'alatoa for Clarkson (all 52); D Leavy for Penny (56); Penny for Ruddock (58-61); C Foley for McGrath, R O'Loughlin for Larmour (both 63); D Toner for R Byrne (74).

BENETTON: A Coetzee; L Sperandio, J Riera, F Drago, R Smith; T Albornoz, A Garbisi; F Zani, C Els, N Tetaz; N Piantella, C Wegner; M Meggiato, L Cannone, T Halafihi.

Replacements: M Drudi for Zani (h-t); A Steyn for Halafihi (42 mins); C Traore for Tetaz (46); T Baravelle for Els, M Zanon for Riera (both 49), A Izekor for Piantella (54 ); L Petrozzi for Garbisi (59); T Bell for Wegner (61).

Referee: B Whitehouse (Wales).