RUGBY: BRITISH & IRISH CUP QUARTER-FINAL
Strong Kildare showing can’t stop Leinster A exiting B&I Cup
LEINSTER ‘A’……………………………………. 39
LONDON WELSH………………………………. 45
By Daire Walsh
THERE was heartbreak for the strong Kildare contingent in the Leinster ‘A’ side on Saturday evening, when a stoppage-time try from Josh Drauniniu helped London Welsh to secure a dramatic victory in an enthralling British & Irish Cup quarter-final encounter at Donnybrook.
Naas native Billy Dardis and Adam Byrne of Kill (fresh from his recent stint with the Blues’ first-team squad) joined Cian Kelleher in the home team’s back-three, while Athy’s Joey Carbery was selected at half-back alongside Nick McCarthy. Jeremy Loughman and Tadhg Beirne (from Eadestown) also featured at loosehead prop and second-row respectively, as Leinster ‘A’ aimed to reach the last-four of the competition for the fifth consecutive season.
Carbery helped himself to 14 points over the course of the action, and Leinster coach Hugh Hogan was pleased with the fly-half’s contribution on the night – even though he was understandably disappointed with the final result.
“Yeah, some of our attack stuff was definitely good. We’d obviously prepped for this game quite hard, and tried to identify areas where we could exploit London Welsh, and some of those came off reasonably well,” Hogan remarked.
“Some of it was more down to phase play, and Joey had a good game at 10. Our downfall potentially was not always getting enough width on our D line, and defending that maul. But again, Welsh moved the ball really well.”
“You have to give them credit. Our guys, they played their heart out, and I’m certainly proud of them. The character we showed was excellent, but unfortunately it wasn’t good enough tonight.”
In addition to a brace of opening period tries from Beirne, the pacey Adam Byrne crossed the London Welsh whitewash after the restart, and Hogan reserved special praise for their performances in the game.
“Straight away those guys bring a leadership into the group. We’ve a lot of Academy players playing in this ‘A’ side at the moment. To have a guy coming down with senior experience, there’s leadership and composure on the field, which is excellent.”
“I think you saw Adam tonight continuing that great form that he showed with the seniors. He was excellent under the high ball, really strong through contact. Tadhg was immense for us. He ran our line-out really well, worked his socks off.”
“Those are actually two of the guys that are really disappointed as well, because they want to do well for the side. It’s not just about wearing the senior jersey [Beirne has made four appearances in this season’s Guinness Pro12]. They want to do well for Leinster the club. They’re disappointed.”
The two-time champions had made a bright start to the proceedings with a seventh-minute try from lock Beirne, and Carbery was on hand to secure the bonuses from a right-hand angle. However, Welsh were determined to leave their own mark on the action, and thanks to converted five-pointers by Kieran Murphy and Drauniniu, they had developed a 14-7 cushion by the end of the first-quarter.
Leinster had been served notice of Welsh’s ability by this point, but following a 23rd-minute penalty try, parity had been restored to the tie once more. Indeed, the Peadar Timmins-led home team moved back into the ascendancy with a second touchdown from Beirne eight minutes prior to the interval – before a Ryan Hodson try from the final attack of the opening period ensured that the sides were level (21-21) heading into the second period.
This left the sides delicately balanced upon the resumption, but courtesy of a 43rd-minute Carbery penalty, Leinster held a slender advantage. James Lewis did touch down for the visitors, but in addition to a well-taken Byrne try, five points from the boot of Carbery helped the home team to create some daylight moving into the final-quarter.
Welsh regained the initiative with a second try from flanker Hodson, but when hooker Bryan Byrne responded with a score two minutes from the end of normal time, a narrow Leinster ‘A’ triumph was on the card.
Yet, Drauniniu had the final say, as he finished off a multi-phase attack on the left-flank to claim the spoils for Welsh.
LEINSTER A: Billy Dardis; Adam Byrne, Colm O’Shea, Tom Daly, Cian Kelleher; Joey Carbery, Nick McCarthy; Jeremy Loughman, Bryan Byrne, Michael Bent (Oisin Heffernan 50); Tadhg Beirne, David O’Connor; Peadar Timmins CAPTAIN, David Aspil, Tony Ryan.
Replacements: Oisin Heffernan for Bent (50), Charlie Rock for McCarthy, Ciaran Ruddock for O’Connor, Mick McGrath for Dardis (all 58), Bent for Loughman (66).
LONDON WELSH: Chris Elder; James Lewis, Guy Armitage, Seb Jewell, Josh Drauniniu; Joe Carlisle, Rob Lewis; Nathan Trevett, Harry Allen, Jack Gilding; Matt Corker, Ben West; Will Skuse, Ryan Hodson, Kieran Murphy.
Replacements: Nathan Morris for Allen, Josh Davies for Lewis (both 54), Darryl Marfo for Trevett (58), Trevett for Skuse (66-70), Ben Pienaar for Skuse (70), Ben Cooper for Gilding (75), Olly Barkley for Jewell (78).