Cullen believes Osborne is ‘one for the future’ for his Leinster side
Following lengthy absences for both players, Leinster head coach Leo Cullen was pleased to be able to welcome Ross Byrne and Jamie Osborne back into the fold for his side’s United Rugby Championship victory against Benetton at the RDS on Saturday.
Whereas Byrne had been sidelined after hurting his arm in the early moments of their URC clash with Munster at the Aviva Stadium on November 25, a shoulder injury sustained in another interprovincial showdown away to Connacht a week later had also kept Osborne out of action. Yet with 19 of their squad currently involved with the Ireland set-up, the fit-again pair helped Leinster to claim a convincing bonus point triumph over Marco Bortolami’s Italian visitors at the weekend.
Byrne slotted over four conversions before making way for Sam Prendergast on the stroke of 70 minutes, while Osborne produced a player of the match display as the eastern province retained their spot at the summit of the URC table.
“Those guys, they’ve missed a good chunk. It’s a big block of games that they ended up missing. It’s great to have the two of them back, because even though Jamie is incredibly young, he has a lot of experience for us now,” Cullen acknowledged after Saturday’s game.
“He’s definitely one for the future for us, for sure. His big left boot gets us out of trouble at different stages during the game. It’s very positive to get the two of them through the game.
“It’s not just what you see in the 80 minutes, it is how Ross runs the week. It’s obviously the bit that you don’t see, but he’s very good in terms of the control of the group. I thought he was excellent, so it was great to have him back.”
Benetton had come into this game just two points adrift of Leinster in the league standings and immediately threw down the gauntlet with a try from winger Ignacio Mendy less than two minutes into the play.
This was an early set-back for the Blues, but converted tries from Scott Penny and Luke McGrath ensured they had turned the table on Benetton by the end of the opening quarter.
While Jacob Umaga (nephew of former All Blacks international Tana Umaga) did knock over a routine penalty, Osborne effortlessly released his centre partner Liam Turner for a try on 34 minutes. Yet with another Mendy try being followed up by Umaga’s long-distance place-kick, Leinster’s interval lead stood at just three points (21-18).
However, the hosts reinforced their authority on the resumption when Jason Jenkins crossed the whitewash for a bonus score and a maiden try in the blue of Leinster for replacement scrum-half Ben Murphy placed the outcome beyond doubt in the 65th minute.
Cullen’s men had fully blown off the cobwebs after not playing a competitive fixture since January 20 and with Brian Deeny also touching down in advance of Penny grabbing his second of the afternoon in the closing moments of the contest, they cruised towards a 29-point success.
Tries – S Penny (2), L McGrath, L Turner, J Jenkins, B Murphy. B Deeny. Cons – R Byrne (4), S Prendergast (2).
Tries – I Mendy (2). Pens – J Umaga (2). Cons – J Umaga.
: H McErlean; T O’Brien, L Turner, J Osborne, R Russell; R Byrne, L McGrath; J Boyle, L Barron, T Clarkson; R Molony, J Jenkins; W Connors, S Penny, M Deegan.
: J McKee for Barron, E Byrne for Boyle, M Ala’alatoa for Clarkson (all 47), B Brownlee for O’Brien (49), R Ruddock for Connors, B Murphy for McGrath (both 59), B Deeny for Jenkins (66), S Prendergast for R Byrne (70).
: J Umaga; I Mendy, M Fekitoa, M Zanon, O Ratave; T Albornoz, A Uren; T Gallo, S Maile, T Pasquali; G Koegelenberg, E Snyman; G Pettinelli, T Halafihi, H Time-Stowers.
: G Nicotera for Maile, A Izekor for Pettinelli (both 47), F Alongi for Pasquali, R Favretto for Time-Stowers (both 51), A Garbisi for Uren (55), L Marin for Albornoz (64), F Drago for Zanon (70), F Zani for Gallo (73).
: H Davidson (SRU).