RUGBY
After a frustrating 12 months, Byrne is finishing 2018 with a flourish
By Daire Walsh
KILL’S Adam Byrne was amongst the tries on Saturday evening at the Aviva Stadium for Leinster’s ruthless 42-15 demolition of Bath in Pool One of the Heineken Champions Cup.
It has been a difficult 12 months for the Naas CBS alum, but the final weeks of 2018 has seen him gain some much-needed game-time in the Blues’ first-team. His 37th-minute try helped to secure a bonus point for the hosts prior to the interval as the defending champions reinforced their back-to-back title credentials.
After Byrne made his senior international bow against Argentina in last year’s Guinness Series, he found himself shifted down the back-three pecking order at provincial level.
He played a limited role in Leinster’s march towards domestic and European success – all bar two of his appearances in the second half of the season coming off the bench.
He featured heavily for the Leinster ‘A’ side in their journey to an inaugural Celtic Cup triumph in October and this was the tonic he needed for his eventual return to the senior set-up. Consecutive tries in PRO14 victories over Benetton and Isuzu Southern Kings was the springboard for an extended run on the right-wing – he also started in wins against Ospreys and the Dragons.
He sat out the previous weekend’s game at the Recreation Ground, which saw Leinster coming away with seven points to spare (17-10) over Bath. However, with an injury to Rob Kearney leading to Jordan Larmour’s redeployment at full-back, Byrne was given another shot at redemption.
Fellow Kill compatriot James Tracy was listed amongst the replacements, and watched on as the Blues gradually gained control in Lansdowne Road. Following five-pointers courtesy of Jack Conan, Rory O’Loughlin and James Lowe, Byrne superbly gathered a Jonathan Sexton cross-field kick in the air on his way to crossing the whitewash.
As a result, Leinster were 18 points to the good (28-10) at the break. Sam Underhill cancelled out Dan Leavy’s try after the restart, but the hosts had the final say through Jamison Gibson-Park’s converted score.
Tracy was introduced alongside ex-Clongowes Wood College student Ed Byrne in the 53rd-minute, and can expect to play a key role during a busy festive period for the double-chasing outfit. Next up for Leinster is a Saturday evening clash at the RDS with Connacht, who claimed an outstanding 36-21 win over Perpignan in Pool Three of the Challenge Cup on Friday.
James Connolly’s impressive individual display in the back-row garnered him the man of the match award – a considerable boost for the Naas man in light of his recent injury woes.
Joey Carbery, Jeremy Loughman (both Athy) and Tadhg Beirne all featured for Munster in their away Champions Cup clash with Castres on Saturday, but it wasn’t enough to prevent an agonising 13-12 defeat to the Top 14 champions.
Carbery kicked four penalties over the course of the action, though he also had a number of wayward efforts off the tee.