RUGBY
Leinster move into third spot in Pro12
By Daire Walsh
LEINSTER moved up to third in the Guinness Pro12 table, following their hard-earned 16-13 victory against Cardiff Blues at Cardiff Arms Park on Saturday evening.
With five games played so far in the 2016/17 campaign, Leo Cullen’s side trail league pace-setters Ulster by just three points, and are only point adrift of second-place Munster – who they face at the Aviva Stadium this coming Saturday.
There was a strong Kildare presence in the Leinster match-day squad for this encounter, with Fergus McFadden and James Tracy handed starts in the back-three and the front-row respectively.
Naas’ Jamie Heaslip was included amongst the replacements, and he was joined there by Joey Carbery – who is becoming a more prominent member of the first-team squad with each passing week.
With nine full internationals in the starting line-up, a big performance was expected from Leinster. However, it proved to be a tough opening period for the visiting team, as Cardiff out-half Gareth Anscombe exerted a major influence on the proceedings.
Jonathan Sexton had opened the scoring with a successful penalty, but he was unable to prevent Leinster from staring into a 13-3 deficit during the interval. They already suffered a defeat on their travels to 2014/15 winners Glasgow Warriors, and with a crunch game against their biggest rivals on the horizon, Cullen was aiming to avoid another reversal.
A further Sexton three-pointer settled Leinster after the restart, though, and thanks to a converted try from Rhys Ruddock on 50 minutes, they suddenly found themselves on level terms with the Welsh region.
This set-up a tantalising conclusion to the tie, but when Cardiff flanker Josh Navidi was caught in an offside position close to the posts, Sexton’s third penalty of the night ensured that Leinster claimed the spoils.
Sexton completed the full 80 minutes in the Welsh capital (for the first time this term), but Joey Carbery nevertheless made his fifth appearance of the season as a 70th-minute replacement for McFadden. The Athy youngster has played as a full-back on a number of occasions at club and schools level, and his versatility may prove to be useful as Leinster prepare to challenge on two fronts.
Meanwhile, in Division 1B of the Ulster Bank League, Naas produced a strong effort against Buccaneers at Forenaughts on Saturday, before succumbing to a 24-16 loss. Young Connacht out-half Conor McKeon had helped Buccaneers to establish an early 12-0 cushion, but his former provincial team-mate Fionn Carr crossed over to reduce Naas’ arrears.
Five points from the boot of Peter Osborne meant that the hosts trailed by just two points (12-10) at the break, and a six-point haul from the reliable place-kicker upon the resumption moved the south Kildare club into the ascendancy.
Yet, a strong finish paid dividends for Buccaneers, and with three games played in the second-tier, Naas currently lie in seventh-place with a total of five points.