RUGBY
Moloney makes Leinster debut among strong Kildare contingent
By Daire Walsh
IT proved to be a productive Saturday evening for Leinster’s Kildare contingent at Energia Park as they played their part in a commanding 47-17 pre-season friendly success over Coventry.
No fewer than five Lilywhites were in action for Leo Cullen’s men, who will face Canada at Tim Horton’s Field in Hamilton this coming weekend. They also have a work-out against Northampton Saints to look forward to on September 12 – in advance of a PRO14 opener with Benetton just over a fortnight later.
While Suncroft’s Fergus McFadden was marked absent, there was a Kildare quintet on show in the Donnybrook venue for the Blues’ first outing since last May’s league final triumph at the expense of Glasgow Warriors. Now fully recovered from the injury that curtailed him in the latter half of the 2018/19 season, Kill native Adam Byrne was selected in the back-three alongside Cian Kelleher and Barry Daly.
Following his impressive displays for the Ireland U20s in their memorable Grand Slam victory in the spring, Martin Moloney (Athy) was named in the Leinster back-row. Joining him there on the openside was Donadea’s Will Connors – who already has five first-team appearances to his name.
On the bench, James Tracy (Kill) and Jimmy O’Brien (Eadestown) were also afforded run-outs ahead of the forthcoming campaign. Tracy needs just eight games to reach a landmark 100 caps for Leinster, whereas O’Brien is hoping to build on his seven professional appearances to date.
Having applied relentless pressure on the Coventry defence, Leinster finally broke the deadlock through Vakh Abdaladze’s 16th-minute try. This was eventually supplemented by a Josh Murphy five-pointer – fly-half Harry Byrne (younger brother of Ross) providing the extras.
Adam Byrne was probing to great effect on the right-flank and he was subsequently released by his namesake for Leinster’s third try of the contest. The hosts were in a rampant mood in front of a 2,527-strong crowd and further scores inevitably followed.
Harry Byrne bolstered his personal tally with a seven-point salvo, before the powerful Abdaladze crossed over for a second time. Full-back James Stokes got the visitors up and running in the latter stages of the half, but Leinster were still 28 points (35-7) to the good during the interval.
As is often the case in these affairs, a raft of changes took the sting out of Leinster’s play on the resumption. O’Brien and Tracy were introduced at inside centre and hooker respectively, while Moloney deputised for Connors in the final-quarter after being initially withdrawn at the break.
There was a significant improvements on the Coventry side in the second period, though Max Deegan and Ronan Watters ensured it was a comfortable win for the Blues in the end.
This game served as a curtain-raiser for the Women’s Interprovincial clash between Leinster and Connacht.
The home team prevailed on a final scoreline of 34-6, with Naas native Meabh O’Brien crossing the whitewash in the closing moments of the tie.