RUGBY
Young guns help Leinster to first Europe win of the season
By Daire Walsh
IAN Madigan contributed 20 points from the kicking tee at the RDS on Saturday evening, when Leinster finally secured their first victory of this season’s European Rugby Champions Cup against Mike Ford’s Bath.
With a final pool encounter away to Wasps taking place this coming Saturday, the prospect of a winless campaign in Europe’s top-tier competition was looming large for Leo Cullen in his maiden term as Leinster head coach.
However, although there would have been a temptation to select an experienced starting line-up for their third and final home game of the group, there was a youthful look to the Blues’ side for the visit of the Aviva Premiership outfit to the Ballsbridge venue.
Luke McGrath, Tadhg Furlong, Josh van der Flier and Kildare’s James Tracy featured alongside Academy stars Garry Ringrose, Peter Dooley and Ross Molony. Because Bath were still in contention for a place in the knock-out stages, it was anticipated that Leinster might have a tough night on their home patch.
Yet, Leinster managed to dictate the terms of the play during the opening period, and four penalties from the accurate Madigan meant that the hosts had developed a 12-3 interval buffer.
Indeed, Leinster’s chances of success received a further boost after the restart, as the Bordeaux-bound Madigan extended his team’s lead to 12 points.
A try just shy of the hour mark from the effective Leroy Houston breathed fresh life into the Bath challenge, but Leinster responded with a try of their own from replacement Sean Cronin just three minutes later.
This placed the tie beyond the reach of Bath, and with Madigan adding an additional five points, they recorded their fourth consecutive triumph – in all competitions – with 14 points to spare (25-11).
It was also a positive weekend for the Leinster ‘A’ side, who safely booked their place in the quarter-finals of the British & Irish Cup with a 49-24 pool win over Moseley of the English Championship. There was a strong Kildare contingent in the match-day squad for the fifth game of their current campaign, with Billy Dardis, Adam Byrne, Jeremy Loughman and Tadhg Beirne all featuring from the start at Billesley Common.
Kill native Byrne got his name on the scoresheet during the opening period, and courtesy of further tries from Dan Leavy (two), Bryan Byrne and David O’Connor, the visitors held a commanding 35-7 cushion at the mid-way point.
Moseley did showcase a commendable fighting spirit upon the resumption, but following well-worked five-pointers by Oisin Heffernan and Steve Crosbie, Leinster ‘A’ eased over the line.
The past weekend of action was also a memorable one for Naas RFC, who moved up to second place in Division 2A of the Ulster Bank League with a comprehensive 38-0 away success against Galway Corinthians.
With six games remaining in the third-tier, this is a massive boost towards the promotion prospects of the Forenaughts, and courtesy of another hard-earned win over Dungannon (on a scoreline of 31-14), MU Barnhall have climbed up to sixth in Division 2B.