Leinster dig deep to extend lead at the URC summit
Leinster moved four points clear at the summit of the United Rugby Championship with a hard-earned victory over a stubborn Emirates Lions side at the RDS last night.
Dave Kearney, Michael Ala’alatoa and Scott Penny were amongst the tries and with the ever-dependable Ross Byrne adding six points off the kicking tee, the Blues established themselves as the competition’s pace-setters without necessarily firing on all cylinders. Jaco Kriel broke through for a late try, but it wasn’t enough to secure a losing bonus point for the Lions.
Following a brace of missed penalty opportunities from Lions fly-half Jordan Hendrikse, Jamie Osborne and Max O’Reilly combined to release Dave Kearney for a smart finish in the left-corner of seven minutes.
This try – converted from the touchline by Ross Byrne – was the Louth man’s first competitive effort since grabbing a hat-trick against Zebre in March of last year.
Despite this early setback, the Johannesburg visitors eventually opened their account when Hendrikse split the uprights at the third time of asking on 13 minutes. The fly-half also knocked over a close-range penalty at the tail end of the half to leave Leinster just one point in front (7-6) at the interval.
Leinster were always expected to push on after the resumption, however, and tighthead prop Ala’alatoa reinforced their authority with a powerful finish over the line on 48 minutes.
Irish international Dan Leavy made his latest comeback from injury in this game and made way for Penny following Ross Byrne’s conversion to this five-pointer. He made an immediate impact on the proceedings, getting on the end of a line-out move to crash over for his third try in as many games.
This moved Leinster a step closer towards a bonus-point success, but a fourth try never materialised. Indeed – although they ultimately went away empty-handed – Lions flanker Kriel capitalised on a defensive lapse in the closing minutes to claim a late consolation score for the visitors.