Leinster 36-12 Stormers

Daire Walsh reports from the Aviva Stadium 

THE FIT-AGAIN Dan Sheehan bagged tries in either half at the Aviva Stadium this evening as Leinster cemented their status as United Rugby Championship pace-setters with a commanding bonus-point triumph over DHL Stormers.

Playing for the first time since injuring his anterior cruciate ligament last July on Ireland’s tour of South Africa, Sheehan showed few ill-effects of his long lay-off as he crossed in the 40th and 62nd minutes.

Andrew Osborne (two) and Jordie Barrett were also amongst the tries as Leinster shook off the absence of a plethora of internationals to claim their 10th consecutive victory of the URC campaign.

Returning to the starting line-up for the first time since the league victory against Connacht last month, Ross Byrne edged Leinster into the ascendancy by comfortably knocking over a fourth-minute penalty.

The hosts were aiming to make it 14 wins from 14 across all competitions and before the clock had even reached 12 minutes, they had opened up a 10-point lead over their Cape Town counterparts.

While his older brother Jamie is currently amongst the province’s contingent at Ireland’s pre-Six Nations training camp in Portugal, Osborne was afforded a chance to impress in the Leinster back three. After the play was switched towards the right flank off an extended move, All Blacks star Barrett released the Kildare man for a smooth finish in the corner.

A touchline conversion from Byrne further established Leinster’s authority, but a Stormers side containing a host of players who have been capped by South Africa at Test level eventually came to life in the 21st minute.

After being camped inside the Leinster 22, the visitors moved the ball across the field where Ben Loader – like Osborne before him – was ideally placed to dot down on the right wing.

In the wake of a successful bonus strike from Springbok star Manie Libbok reducing their advantage to three points, Leinster suffered a double blow when Liam Turner and Luke McGrath were both withdrawn because of injury – the latter being stretchered off the pitch after receiving lengthy treatment on the pitch.

However, thanks to a brace of returning performers, it nevertheless proved to be a bright end to the opening period for Leinster.

Despite being named in the Ireland squad for the Six Nations, James Lowe and Sheehan were named in the Blues’ starting line-up to offer them some much-needed game time after extended spells on the sidelines. After he was put through by Lowe at the end of a fast-paced attack, Sheehan broke free for his 37th provincial try.

A wayward conversion by Byrne meant Leinster brought a 15-7 cushion into the second half and with Stormers also being forced to replace JD Schickerling and Libbok prior to the interval, the momentum was undoubtedly with Leo Cullen’s men on the resumption.

It was a largely scrappy third quarter with Leinster finding it difficult to break down a stubborn Stormers defence, but their persistence finally paid off in the form of a third try on 58 minutes.

Having played a significant part in Osborne and Sheehan’s tries in the first half, Barrett added his own name to the scoresheet by touching down to the left of the posts via a neat pass through the hands of flanker Scott Penny.

This put Leinster within reach of a bonus point and after Sheehan gathered a delicate kick towards the left wing from Lowe at the beginning of the final quarter, the hooker made no mistake with another clinical finish over the line.

In the wake of scoring his second try of the game, Sheehan made way for John McKee and was greeted with a warm reception from the 18,892-strong crowd at Irish Rugby HQ.

While the TMO ruled out what would have been a popular try for Lowe moments after Leinster pulled 22 points clear, Osborne joined Sheehan in recording a brace of five-pointers on the stroke of 70 minutes – the former Ireland U20s international intercepting a loose ball out of defence before crossing over.

The Stormers did add a second try in the closing moments when No 8 Evan Roos supplied the finishing touches to a line-out maul, but it served as a mere consolation for the travelling South African outfit.

Leinster scorers:

• Tries – Dan Sheehan 2, Andrew Osborne 2, Jordie Barrett
• Conversions – Ross Byrne [4/5]
• Penalties – Ross Byrne [1/1]

DHL Stormers scorers:

• Tries – Ben Loader, Evan Roos
• Conversions – Manie Libbok [1/1], Warrick Gelant [0/1]

LEINSTER: Henry McErlean (Will Connors ’64); Andrew Osborne, Liam Turner (Charlie Tector ’29), Jordie Barrett, James Lowe; Ross Byrne, Luke McGrath (Cormac Foley ’39) (Brian Deeny ’76)); Jack Boyle (Paddy McCarthy ’61), Dan Sheehan (John McKee ’63), Rabah Slimani (Rory McGuire ’70); RG Snyman, Brian Deeny (Diarmuid Mangan ’55); Alex Soroka (James Culhane ’60), Scott Penny, Max Deegan.

DHL STORMERS: Warrick Gelant; Ben Loader, Ruhan Nel, Jonathan Roche, Leolin Zas; Manie Libbok (Wandisile Simelane ’39), Paul De Wet (Herschel Jantjies ’63); Ali Vermaak (Sti Sithole ’63), Joseph Dweba (Andre-Hugo Venter ’53), Neethling Fouche (Brok Harris ’63); JD Schickerling (Salmaan Moerat ’30), Ruben Van Heerden; Deon Fourie (Paul De Villiers ’63), Ben-Jason Dixon (Marcel Theunissen ’64), Evan Roos.

Referee: Eoghan Cross (IRFU).