RUGBY
Leinster grind out hard fought win over Exeter Chiefs
By Daire Walsh
THEY didn’t have it all their own way at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday afternoon, but Leinster eventually saw off the challenge of Exeter Chiefs to leave their Champions Cup fate in their own hands.
After coming away empty-handed from their meeting at Sandy Park just six days earlier, it was anticipated that Exeter would produce a massive response on their visit to Dublin. The English Premiership champions certainly showed their mettle during an event-filled first half, but thanks to some reliable place-kicking from Isa Nacewa, Leinster eventually turned the tie around.
Following their impressive performance against Exeter on away soil, it was no surprise that Leo Cullen resisted the temptation to make drastic changes to his starting line-up. Josh van der Flier did replace the injured Rhys Ruddock in the back-row, and this lead to the promotion of Dan Leavy to the replacements bench.
He was joined there by Kill’s James Tracy, while Fergus McFadden was retained in the back-three alongside Rob Kearney and Nacewa. Leinster had a relatively clean bill of health aside from Ruddock, but the opening minutes of the contest on Saturday proved to be a troublesome on the injury front.
Jonathan Sexton was withdrawn for a Head Injury Assessment (HIA) in the fourth-minute of the action, and his replacement Ross Byrne was forced off for a similar reason just three minutes later. Byrne eventually returned to the field of play, but Sexton would be consigned to the bench for the remainder of the contest.
Nacewa stepped up to the kicking tee in his absence, but courtesy of tries from Sam Skinner and Luke Cowan-Dickie – as well as seven points via the boot of Gareth Steenson – the visitors had developed a strong platform.
Leinster had also lost Cian Healy and Scott Fardy to yellow-cards during different stages of the opening period, before a third Nacewa penalty deep into stoppage-time reduced their deficit to 17-9. Nacewa’s ability as a goal kicker is always a vital option in the absence of Sexton, and though Leinster struggled to break down Exeter on the resumption, another brace of penalties by the one-time Fiji international cut the gap to two points.
Yet, it was Luke McGrath’s converted try on 65 minutes that moved them into the ascendancy for the very first time, and the Blues ultimately held out to record their fourth consecutive European victory – and move five points clear at the summit of Pool Three.
Meanwhile, there was disappointment for the Leinster Women’s side at Thomond Park on the same day, as they were narrowly defeated by Munster in a Women’s Interprovincial Series decider. Previous wins against Ulster and Connacht had placed Adam Griggs’ outfit in pole position for back-to-back championship titles, and former Cill Dara star Aine Donnelly once again featured with three of her current team-mates (Old Belvedere) in the starting side.
However, courtesy of an 11-5 success in a tightly-contested affair, Munster pipped to the front of the table on score difference.