Leinster move 12 points clear after bonus-point win over Dragons
Harry Byrne amassed 16 points at the RDS on Saturday evening as Leinster moved 12 points clear of defending champions DHL Stormers at the summit of the United Rugby Championship table with a convincing triumph over Dragons.
In the absence of his older brother Ross and Jonathan Sexton, Byrne immediately seized upon an ideal opportunity to impress with a fourth-minute try that he routinely converted.
Yet despite being able to call upon four members of Andy Farrell’s international set-up during a fallow week for the Six Nations – Jimmy O’Brien, Jordan Larmour, Jamie Osborne and Michael Milne – the anticipated Leinster onslaught was taking its time to materialise.
Nevertheless, the Blues reinforced their authority when Luke McGrath intercepted a mistimed pass in midfield by Will Reed for a breakaway try on 26 minutes.
Leinster did suffer a set-back when McGrath’s scrum-half counterpart Rhodri Williams crossed over at the opposite end, only for additional tries from player of the match Rhys Ruddock and Byrne (his second) helped them to establish a 26-7 interval buffer.
Although he faces stiff competition as he bids to force his way back into Ireland’s match day 23, Larmour offered up a timely reminder of his capabilities with an outstanding finish in the left-corner seven minutes after the restart.
Dragons had introduced former Munster back JJ Hanrahan off the bench moments earlier and while the game was effectively over as a genuine contest, the Kerry native did leave his mark on the proceedings inside the final-quarter.
While the large Leinster contingent amongst the 12,441 attendance were calling for a forward pass, referee Mike Adamson adjudged the ball had knocked off the Kerry native’s head before he sprinted over the whitewash just past the hour mark.
Before this score, Cullen had opted to introduce no fewer than six replacements at the same time – including the fit-again Jason Jenkins and senior debutant Jack Boyle. Rob Russell was another player to make a cameo appearance and he dotted down in advance of Charlie Tector’s maiden try in professional club rugby as Leinster made it 14 consecutive wins in this season’s URC.
Tries – H Byrne (2), L McGrath, R Ruddock, J Larmour, R Russell, C Tector. Cons – H Byrne (3), C Tector.
Tries – R Williams, JJ Hanrahan. Cons – W Reed (2).
J O’Brien; J Larmour, L Turner, J Osborne, D Kearney; H Byrne, L McGrath; M Milne, J McKee, M Ala’alatoa; R Molony, B Deeny; R Ruddock, S Penny, M Deegan.
L Barron for McKee, J Boyle for Milne, T Clarkson for Ala’alatoa, J Jenkins for Molony, N McCarthy for McGrath, R Russell for Larmour (all 55), W Connors for Penny (62), C Tector for Byrne (71).
A O’Brien; S Tomkinson, S Hughes, J Dixon, A Hewitt; W Reed, R Williams; R Jones, B Coghlan, L Fairbrother; M Screech, B Carter; B Fry, T Basham, R Moriarty.
J Benjamin for Coghlan (9-21), J Williams for Dixon (h-t), JJ Hanrahan for Tomkinson (46), A Seiuli for Jones (54), S Lonsdale for Fry (55), C Coleman for Fairbrother (58), Benjamin for Coghlan (65), L Jones for R Williams (66), R Woodman for Moriarty (71).
M Adamson (SRU).