RUGBY
Kildare influence growing as Leinster maintain top spot in Pro12
By Daire Walsh
LEINSTER produced a stunning performance against Scarlets at the RDS on Saturday night to remain at the summit of the Guinness PRO12 table.
For the second week in succession, Leinster lined out with an all-Kildare back-three of Joey Carbery (playing his first game since signing full senior terms with the province), Adam Byrne and Fergus McFadden, while Eadestown’s Tadhg Beirne featured alongside Tom Price in the Scarlets second-row.
Beirne has gradually become a key figure for the in-form Scarlets since his summer move from Leinster, and thanks to a close-range penalty by fly-half Dan Jones, his current side opened the scoring with just over three minutes gone on the clock.
However, the Blues entered this contest on the back of a free-flowing display against Newport Gwent Dragons last Friday week, and when he picked up possession at the back of an attacking scrum, scrum-half Luke McGrath crossed over the opposition whitewash.
Ross Byrne was on hand to comfortably supply the bonuses to this score, but following another successful Jones place-kick in the 17th-minute, Scarlets cut the Leinster lead down to the bare minimum (7-6). Leinster were playing with plenty of confidence, though, and McGrath claimed his second try of the evening on 21 minutes – after a charge down on Jones’ attempted clearance at the start. Ross Byrne couldn’t add to his tally from his second bonus kick of the game, however, and an expertly-struck Jones three-pointer meant that Scarlets were only three points in arrears (12-9) at the midway point.
This placed Leinster on a high alert when the play resumed, but it proved to be a clinical second-half showing by the hosts. McFadden superbly gathered a 48th-minute cross-field kick from Ross Byrne, and Rhys Ruddock eventually powered over for his side’s third touchdown of the tie.
This score helped to open the floodgates, and when the ball was worked towards the right-flank, Carbery was there to cross over for the home team’s bonus-point score.
The Athy man has made an impressive return from injury, and via an excellent pass by the marauding Adam Byrne 14 minutes into the half, he claimed his eighth try of the season with a short dash over the line.
Leinster were now in a rampant mood, and after a strong carry towards the line, Adam Byrne subsequently set-up his namesake – Ed Byrne (who only recently returned from a 28-month absence) – for their sixth try of an increasingly one-sided affair.
Leo Cullen’s outfit certainly eased off in the final-quarter, but thanks to a stoppage-time try by Jamison Gibson-Park, they ultimately registered a 45-9 success.
Meanwhile, Craig Ronaldson was a late replacement for Connacht at the Sportsgrounds on Friday, as Pat Lam’s westerners secured a fourth consecutive PRO12 victory at the expense of Zebre. Ronaldson deputised for Tiernan O’Halloran with nine minutes remaining, and his conversion to a Lewis Stevenson try sealed a 33-3 triumph.