RUGBY COLUMN – APRIL 2
By Daire Walsh
KILL’S Adam Byrne grabbed a second-half try at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday to help Leinster survive a huge test from Ulster in the Champions Cup quarter-final.
Moments after Jacob Stockdale failed to ground the ball beyond the whitewash, Byrne sprinted over on the right-flank – via Jack Conan’s excellent carry into enemy territory. A Luke Marshall try cancelled out their advantage, before a Ross Byrne penalty eventually guided the holders towards a 21-18 triumph.
While a number of players were ruled out through injury, Adam Byrne’s selection in the back-three was a display of trust by Blues head coach Leo Cullen. Instead of opting for both Rob Kearney and Jordan Larmour in his starting line-up, Cullen named the latter at full-back with the former Naas CBS student assuming the right-wing mantle.
Joining Byrne in the match day squad was fellow Kill native James Tracy – who replaced Sean Cronin on 58 minutes. Though there was a considerable array of talent within the Leinster side, the absence of Jonathan Sexton, Robbie Henshaw and James Lowe was expected to limit their attacking potential.
Ulster had to make do without the services of Will Addison, but it proved to be a dream start at Irish Rugby HQ for the northern province. In unison with Iain Henderson, skipper Rory Best charged down an attempted Garry Ringrose clearance.
This allowed Kieran Treadwell to touch down and John Cooney later converted to give Ulster a seven-point cushion. Ross Byrne fired back with a try of his own, though, and Ulster suffered another set-back when Best was subsequently forced off.
After Cooney and Ross Byrne traded penalties, the deputising Leinster fly-half nudged his side in front. Nevertheless, Ulster were playing with ferocious physicality and intent, which allowed Cooney to secure a 39th-minute penalty in front of the posts.
This enabled them to bring a 13-11 buffer into the dressing rooms and their vocal supporters were in full voice when Stockdale appeared to grab a try on the resumption. Yet, following consultation with TMO Denis Grenouillet, referee Romain Poite halted the Ulster celebrations.
They were left to rue this mistake in the 54th-minute of the action, when Adam Byrne completed a swift break to claim his sixth try of the season. This lead was wiped out by Marshall powering over with 15 minutes remaining, with a seemingly straightforward bonus strike to follow.
However, Cooney couldn’t find the target and this opened the door for Ross Byrne to seal a semi-final spot against Toulouse for Leinster.
On the opposite side of the draw, their arch rivals Munster will face Saracens at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry. Despite Athy man Joey Carbery suffering a recurrence of his hamstring injury, the magnificent Keith Earls bagged a brace of tries to give the Red Army a 17-13 success at the expense of Edinburgh.
Eadestown’s Tadhg Beirne was once again a powerful presence in the Munster second-row, while Jeremy Loughman (Athy) made a strong contribution off the bench.