RUGBY
Fit again Sexton pulls the strings as Leinster crush Zebre
By Daire Walsh
LEINSTER maintained their push for a play-off spot in the Guinness PRO12 on Friday night, as they comfortably overcame the challenge of a struggling Zebre in front of a 10,821-strong crowd at the RDS.
While the Blues were short of some star names ahead of this Friday’s European Rugby Champions Cup encounter with Montpellier, Leo Cullen was able to call on the services of Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw, Cian Healy, Sean O’Brien and the fit-again Jonathan Sexton.
Naas’ Jamie Heaslip was included amongst the replacements (and made his 11th ever substitute appearance at provincial level), and there were also opportunities for the Kill duo of Adam Byrne and James Tracy to once again impress in the starting line-up.
The form guide suggested that the hosts were hot favourites to claim a bonus-point win from this game, and they broke the deadlock with just five minutes gone on the clock. A fine attacking move was finished off on the right-flank by O’Brien, and thanks to a superb Sexton conversion, Leinster had already created some daylight in the game.
Zebre did respond with a penalty from Edoardo Padovani on 15 minutes, before a second Blues try arrived through lock Hayden Triggs. Padovani was once again on target for the visitors from the kicking tee, but thanks to additional touchdowns by Luke McGrath and Cian Healy, Leinster had wrapped up their bonus point on the half-hour mark.
A confident Sexton had supplemented both of these scores with two-point salvos, and there was enough time for Leinster to get a fifth try in the opening period. McGrath was the instigator of a number of attacks for the home team, and he set-up the in-form Rory O’Loughlin for a try in first-half stoppage-time.
A fifth bonus strike from Sexton ensured that Leinster brought an insurmountable 35-6 cushion into the interval, and after taking their foot off the gas for much of the second-half of the previous weekend’s meeting with Ulster, there was a desire from the Blues to maintain their momentum after the restart.
Indeed, after some patient play in the Zebre ’22’, excellent approach work by McGrath and Sexton (via a well-organised line-out maul) enabled Ringrose to cross over for his sixth try in a Leinster shirt.
In the aftermath of this score, Tracy departed the field of play along with his front-row partners Healy and Michael Bent, and just past the hour, Heaslip took the place of recent international debutant Dan Leavy in the back-row.
Old Belvedere clubman O’Loughlin recorded two tries in the victory against Ulster, and courtesy of five-pointers in the 69th and 72nd minutes, he secured his maiden hat-trick in professional rugby. Their Italian counterparts were trying to limit the damage inflicted upon on them as the final whistle approached, but simple finishes by Ringrose and Heaslip (his 38th for Leinster) in the closing stages meant that Leinster ultimately emerged with a thoroughly-deserved 70-6 triumph.