RUGBY OPINION
Leinster far from convincing despite win
By Daire Walsh
WITH the RBS Six Nations placed on the back burner, it was the four Irish provinces who took centre stage last weekend.
It was a case of mission accomplished for Leinster in the RDS on Friday evening when they enjoyed a 29-8 bonus point victory over Zebre, but despite what the final scoreline might suggest, it was a far from convincing performance by the defending champions.
The build-up to the match had been lightened by referee Nigel Owens’ trouble in securing a flight into Dublin for the contest, although Aer Lingus eventually ensured that he arrived in time.
Since Friday’s encounter, Zebre have been thrown into turmoil by the resignations of head coach Andrea Cavinato and director Roberto Manghi following an incident between the two team a week beforehand.
However, this wasn’t in evidence during the opening period of their visit to Ballsbridge, and thanks to a try by full-back Hendrik Daniller, the Italians led 8-3 at the break.
This increased the pressure on Leinster, who needed a victory in order to return to the league’s top-four. Yet, they had an abundance of reserve experience in the form of Sean Cronin, Cian Healy, Dave Kearney and Isaac Boss, and thanks to tries from Dominic Ryan, Jimmy Gopperth and Luke Fitzgerald, the Blues made sure of their victory heading into the closing stages.
It looked like a bonus point was going to elude them as the final whistle approached, but courtesy of a stoppage-time Cronin five-pointer, they finished with the maximum points on offer and moved into fourth position – just one place and one point behind old rivals Munster.
Kildare natives Fergus McFadden and Marty Moore featured on the night, while there was also local interest in the Ireland U18 Club outfit that faced Italy in Ashbourne on Saturday afternoon.
Peter Howard of Cill Dara RFC lined out in the Irish back-three as they began The Three Union Festival (which also includes fixtures against France and England) with a 19-13 reversal.
On the domestic front, there was heartbreak for Naas in Division 2A of the Ulster Bank League, when they were denied a fourth straight league triumph by a resilient City of Derry side in Forenaughts on Saturday. Naas’ excellent form looked set to continue when five Peter Osborne penalties gave them a 15-3 interval advantage, but following an earlier touchdown by Josh Lewis, their northern counterparts emerged victorious with a late try by David Graham.
This was certainly a set-back for Naas, although with just four games remaining, they currently find themselves 16 points clear of bottom side Dungannon in 10th place. Northside rivals NUIM Barnhall are three places above them, having suffered a 40-10 home defeat to division pace-setters Old Wesley.
Finally, Newbridge RFC’s Provincial Towns Cup campaign came to an end on Sunday, when Skerries had 16 points to spare (23-7) in their second round clash. However, there was better news for Naas in the Provincial Towns Plate on the same day, as they received a walkover from Boyne and will now progress to the next phase of the competition.