RUGBY COLUMN – APRIL 17
By Daire Walsh
With a crunch Champions Cup semi-final encounter against Scarlets just seven days away, Leinster coach Leo Cullen was hoping for a stress-free performance against Benetton in the Guinness PRO14 at the RDS on Saturday.
However, the Wicklow man and his side got more than they bargained for, as they lost out to the Italian side for the very first time on home soil. Given how well Kieran Crowley’s men have performed in the revamped competition – 11 successes to date puts them a whopping 34 points clear of sixth-place Dragons – it was no surprise that they arrived in Dublin with the intention of coming away with a groundbreaking success.
In spite of this 15-17 reversal, Leinster remain in pole position in Conference B. They will also welcome back a number of international stars at the Aviva Stadium this Saturday, but none of this can detract from a monumental victory for the ever-improving Benetton.
Suncroft’s Fergus McFadden provided the greatest level of experience in the Leinster back-three – which also included rising Irish star Jordan Larmour and Barry Daly. Joey Carbery (Athy) was afforded a much-needed run-out at fly-half alongside Jamison Gibson-Park, while the Kill duo of James Tracy and Adam Byrne were named on a Leinster bench that was boosted by experienced figures like Michael Bent and Mick Kearney.
This game also gave Sean O’Brien an opportunity to stake his claim for a spot in the match day 23 on Saturday afternoon. It has been another frustrating, injury-affected campaign for the Tullow native, who was joined in the back-row by the Ulster-bound Jordi Murphy and Max Deegan.
The Blues had started the game as they meant to continue, with hooker Richardt Strauss (on his 154th appearance for the province) securing a deadlock-breaking try. This sixth-minute effort was converted by Carbery, but Benetton were not overly phased.
An unconverted Luca Bigi five-pointer – following a powerful maul by the away side – reduced the deficit to two points. It looked set to remain this way at the break, until Daly crossed over on the stroke of half-time.
This handed the hosts a 12-5 cushion at the midway point and they were expected to push on after the restart. However, it was the visitors who made the hard yards during a pulsating third-quarter. In addition to Federico Ruzza’s 49th-minute try, man of the match Tommaso Allan added a seven-point salvo to stun the Ballsbridge faithful into silence.
Tracy had been launched into the Leinster front-row by this point, and it was his fellow Kildare man – Carbery – who made it a two-point game once again with a successful place-kick prior to the hour mark.
Having emerged from a sticky period of play with the outcome still in the balance, a final-quarter onslaught by Leinster was hotly-anticipated. Benetton clearly didn’t read the script, though, as they held onto their slender advantage until the final whistle.