RUGBY
Profitable festive period for Leinster
By Daire Walsh
THE festive period proved to be a fruitful for Leinster, who tightened their grip on the play-off spots in the Guinness PRO14 with interprovincial victories over Munster and Connacht.
With 10 wins under their belt thus far (from just 12 games), the Blues are currently just two points adrift of defending champions Scarlets in Conference B – and a massive 14 points clear of fourth-placed Edinburgh.
They were on the receiving end of a 17-29 reversal to Munster when they made the journey to Thomond Park on St Stephen’s Day 2016, and after Leo Cullen opted for wholesale changes on their return to Limerick 12 months on, they were expected to struggle against Johann van Graan’s in-form outfit.
Yet, their starting line-up was still littered with international stars, including Kill’s James Tracy. He was joined in the front-row by Jack McGrath and Michael Bent, while recent recruit James Lowe was making just his second appearance for the province on the left-wing.
A try from Dan Leavy – as well as eight points from the boot of deputising fly-half Ross Byrne – helped Leinster to settle into a 13-0 advantage early on, before Munster fired back with a try from Lions scrum-half Conor Murray. However, after a penalty on 20 minutes allowed Leinster to re-establish their grip on the game, a converted Robbie Henshaw score handed them a commanding 27-5 interval cushion.
They appeared to be on their way to a seasonal double over their biggest rivals but, determined to make up a lacklustre first-half display, Munster responded in spectacular style after the restart. Ian Keatley and Andrew Conway both crossed over to reduce the deficit to eight points, and this placed Leinster on high alert for the remaining minutes of the contest.
A stunning solo try by rising star Jordan Larmour eventually gave them the breathing space they needed, and even though Conway claimed his second try at the opposite end, Leinster prevailed on a winning scoreline of 34-24.
This sent out a serious statement of intent ahead of Connacht’s visit to the RDS on New Year’s Day, when Suncroft’s Fergus McFadden was restored to the right-wing. A Max Deegan try – supplemented by a brace of Jonathan Sexton penalties – gave Leinster an 11-3 lead on the half-hour mark, before Connacht enjoyed a whirlwind ending to the opening period.
A Finlay Bealham was converted by Jack Carty, and this gave the Westerners a slender advantage (13-11) at the midway point. Leinster weren’t aiming to maintain their impeccable home league record, though, and a Luke McGrath five-pointer restored their eight-point stranglehold at the end of the third-quarter.
However, they couldn’t quite kill off the challenge of Connacht, and an unconverted Matt Healy finish set-up a nerve-wracking ending to the opening game of 2018 for both sides. Kieran Keane’s visitors created all of 28 attacking phases during a lengthy period of stoppage-time, but a magnificent defensive display ultimately secured a narrow 21-18 success for Leinster.