RUGBY
Leinster round off record breaking season in style
By Daire Walsh
IN defeating the Scarlets 40-32 at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, Leinster made history on two counts.
As well as moving to the top of the Celtic League (Guinness PRO14) roll of honour with five titles, they also secured a first-ever League and European double for the province.
There was Kildare interest on both sides in the south Dublin venue, with James Tracy (Kill) and Joey Carbery (Athy) included amongst the replacements for Leinster. Ahead of his impending departure to Munster, Eadestown’s Tadhg Beirne was eager to claim his second consecutive PRO14 crown.
His sparkling form for Scarlets earned him a call-up to Ireland’s squad for this summer’s Tour of Australia, where he will be joined by the aforementioned Carbery. While he was largely expected to stick with the team that ousted Racing 92 in the Champions Cup decider, Leo Cullen did spring a couple of surprises for this season finale.
Although James Lowe’s selection on the left-wing was anticipated because of Robbie Henshaw’s absence – Isa Nacewa lined out in midfield alongside Garry Ringrose – Dan Leavy was the sole survivor in the back-row from their European success.
Rhys Ruddock and Jack Conan were offered a chance to impress in the Ballsbridge cauldron, deputising for Scott Fardy and Jordi Murphy respectively. This was Murphy’s final appearance in a Leinster jersey before his summer transfer to Ulster, and it also proved to be a bittersweet moment for Nacewa.
Following his withdrawal at half-time against Munster, Nacewa was passed fit to start in his last game as a professional player. Unfortunately, just like Brian O’Driscoll on his swansong four years earlier, the Auckland native was forced off inside the opening-quarter.
A brace of penalties at either end by Sexton and Leigh Halfpenny kept matters on a knife edge, before an unlikely figure crossed the Scarlets whitewash on the half-hour mark.
Devin Toner touched down at the end of a powerful maul for his first Leinster try since September 2012 which, coincidentally, was also against the Scarlets. A Johnny McNicholl try kept the Welsh men in touch, only for James Lowe’s magnificent team score on the stroke of half-time to provide Leinster with a 21-11 buffer.
It got even better for the Blues after the break, as Sean Cronin became the first player in the league’s history to score tries in three separate finals. This was followed by a wonder score from the explosive Jordan Larmour – who sprinted over after executing an audacious one-handed pick-up.
With a 22-point cushion (33-11) now at their disposal, Leinster introduced Tracy and Carbery for the closing-quarter of a most memorable 2017/18 campaign. Another McNicholl five-pointer pegged them back slightly, but Carbery and Luke McGrath combined brilliantly to put Jack Conan through underneath the posts.
Carbery coolly slotted the ensuing conversion between the posts, and even though Werner Kruger and McNicholl (completing his hat-trick) made the final scoreline more respectable for Scarlets, this was another triumph for Leinster to savour.