RUGBY COLUMN – MARCH 5
Byrne among the tries again
By Daire Walsh
KILL’S Adam Byrne was amongst the try-scorers in Leinster’s 19-7 Guinness PRO14 victory over the Toyota Cheetahs at the RDS on Friday night.
This latest triumph – their 15th of the campaign – gives the Blues an unassailable 22-point lead at the summit of the Conference B table. As a result, they have secured a home semi-final with all of four games to spare.
This was the second time in the space of seven days that Leo Cullen’s side came up against South African opposition.
Whereas they eventually cruised to a 59-19 win at the expense of Southern Kings, this was always expected to be a sterner test of their resolve.
Alongside Dave Kearney in the back-three, Byrne was also joined by Suncroft native Fergus McFadden. Additionally, his Kill compatriot James Tracy was listed amongst the replacements – where current international Andrew Porter was a notable inclusion.
Following an 18-week absence from competitive action, McFadden was starting his second PRO14 game in succession.
He was on the receiving end of a late hit by Ox Nche in the early of this contest – the Bloemfontein prop extremely fortunate to escape with just a yellow card.
This handed the initiative to the Blues during a drab opening as Conor O’Brien drove over the Cheetahs line on 11 minutes. Ross Byrne added the bonuses for the hosts, but their lead was cancelled out in remarkably swift fashion.
Before Nche returned to the fray, Rabz Maxwane capitalised on a Bernhard Janse van Rensburg punt to ground on the left-flank. A comfortable Tian Schoeman conversion left the sides on level terms heading into the second-quarter.
This was the cue for Adam Byrne to stamp his authority on the play. Despite enjoying limited space on the right-hand side, the former Naas CBS student touched down for his fifth try in the current campaign.
On what was his landmark appearance for the province – he lined out in Blue for the 50th time – Byrne also made it 18 career tries at club level.
At the end of a half that was surprisingly dominated by kicks out of hand, Leinster were 12-7 in front.
It continued to be a largely attritional battle on the resumption, with both teams struggling to develop a cohesive attacking rhythm. Shortly after Tracy introduction on 54 minutes, Rory O’Loughlin bagged Leinster’s third try – the second to be supplemented by Ross Byrne’s ever-dependable boot.
While a bonus try alluded them in the closing stages, it was an ultimately satisfactory night at the office for Cullen and his charges.
In Conference A, Munster relinquished top spot to Glasgow Warriors as a consequence of their 10-6 defeat to Scarlets in Llanelli. Though Joey Carbery and Tadhg Beirne were marked absent, Jeremy Loughman (Athy) kept Kildare interest alive.
This was the loosehead’s 14th appearance of the term and his seventh start in total. He featured for 64 minutes of this clash – which was effectively decided by Ioan Nicholas’ first-half try.