RUGBY
O’Brien steals the show on first Leinster start
By Daire Walsh
EADESTOWN’S Jimmy O’Brien marked his full Leinster debut in style at Rodney Parade on Saturday – grabbing a brace of tries in the Blues’ 59-10 victory against the Dragons in the Guinness PRO14.
The former Newbridge College student – who featured for Ireland during this summer’s Rugby Sevens World Cup in San Francisco – had made his competitive bow at home to Ospreys eight days earlier.
He enjoyed a 17-minute run-out in place of namesake Conor O’Brien on that occasion, before being chosen as his midfield partner for this Round 10 encounter in Newport. Like the Mullingar man, Jimmy has progressed to the senior squad after featuring prominently for the province’s ‘A’ side.
The Lilywhite contributed four tries in this year’s inaugural Celtic Cup competition – playing the full 80 minutes in Leinster’s final triumph over Scarlets ‘A’ at Llanelli. He was joined in the back line on Saturday by fellow Kildare native Adam Byrne, who also starred for the second string during the early weeks of the current campaign.
He has since returned to Leo Cullen’s first team squad and was making his fourth consecutive PRO14 appearance in the Welsh town. While the match day selection was another experimental one ahead of back-to-back Champions Cup meetings with Bath, the defending champions were able to call on the services of international stars Ross Byrne and Andrew Porter.
Given how comfortably they dispatched the challenge of a previously impressive Ospreys (they had 45 points to spare on the Swansea outfit), Leinster were expected to extend their winning league run to eight games.
They started the contest as they wished to continue, registering tries through Dave Kearney, Scott Penny – a scorer on his own debut last weekend – and captain Scott Fardy. With Ross Byrne also adding four points off the kicking tee, they brought a commanding 19-3 cushion into the break.
Kearney’s second try on the resumption ensured the Blues would come away with maximum points at the end of a one-sided affair. While a Rhodri Williams five-pointer eased the pressure on the hosts for a brief spell, Caelan Doris and Hugo Keenan opened their Leinster accounts with smooth finishes on the 53rd and 61st minutes respectively.
Floodgates had well and truly been opened at this point and Bryan Byrne claimed his fifth try of 2018/19 off the bench inside the final-quarter – a period that saw Jimmy O’Brien coming into his own.
He completed outstanding team moves to round off another emphatic display for the holders, who have moved 15 points clear at the summit of the Conference B table.
Meanwhile, O’Brien’s Eadestown compatriot – Tadhg Beirne – returned from international duty to play his part in Munster’s facile 44-14 success at the expense of Edinburgh on Friday.
It was also a memorable weekend for Naas’ Billy Dardis at the Dubai 7s International Invitational Trophy. After five wins in succession on Friday and Saturday, Dardis led Ireland to a magnificent victory over South Africa Academy in the tournament’s decider (28-21).