URC: Leinster 42 Cardiff 24

Leinster have moved 15 points clear at the summit of the United Rugby Championship after a strong second half display helped them to claim a bonus point triumph over Cardiff at the Aviva Stadium earlier this afternoon.

Leinster 42

Cardiff 24

Daire Walsh reports from the Aviva Stadium

LEINSTER HAVE MOVED 15 points clear at the summit of the United Rugby Championship after a strong second-half display helped them to claim a bonus-point triumph over Cardiff at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

While it was a far from perfect performance at times, an experimental Leinster side ultimately made it 12 wins from as many games in the URC this season to put them in a strong position ahead of their upcoming mini tour of South Africa.

Donning the socks of his alma mater St Michael’s College for the URC’s second consecutive ‘Origin Round’, Ross Byrne (who will depart the eastern province for Gloucester at the end of the current season) kicked a brace of early penalties to touch in a bid to produce an early breakthrough try for Leinster.

While their first attempt at a lineout maul didn’t pay dividends, the hosts eventually broke the deadlock when Leinster hooker John McKee applied the finishing touches to a set-piece move.

This looked set to be the catalyst for a dominant opening period performance from Leo Cullen’s men, but their Welsh counterparts had other ideas. After making a powerful break into the Leinster half in the direct aftermath of McKee’s five-pointer, Cardiff fullback Cam Winnett passed out wide for winger Harri Millard to race over in the left-hand corner for a 17th-minute try.

Although a wayward conversion from Callum Sheedy kept them in the ascendancy, there would have been concern within the Leinster ranks that their line was breached off Cardiff’s first meaningful attack of the game. The Welsh region, on the other hand, grew in confidence after opening their account and were through for a second try just shy of the half-hour mark – bustling back-row Thomas Young driving over powerfully from a few metres out.

Formerly an Ireland U19 7s player before becoming a 15s international with his native Wales, Sheedy added the bonuses to this latest effort to move Cardiff into a five-point cushion.

This lead looked set to remain intact at the interval when McKee was held up on the line off a subsequent attack, but there was enough time left for Leinster to turn the tide in their favour. Back on Leinster duty after making his Ireland senior bow against Wales last weekend, Jack Boyle got on the end of a prolonged move for a stoppage-time try on the left flank.

A successful touchline bonus strike from Byrne ensured Leinster led 14-12 at the beginning of the second half and within three minutes of the restart, their cushion was extended as a result of Max Deegan crashing over for a third converted try – moments after Cardiff’s Alex Mann had been sent to the sin-bin.

In advance of the latter returning to the field of play, Leinster sealed their ninth try bonus of the campaign when McGrath seized on a loose ball to dot down in clinical fashion.

The half-time introduction of RG Snyman had shown that the URC pace-setters meant business on the resumption and with inside centre Charlie Tector breaking over for his fifth try in just nine appearances this season on 54 minutes, the final outcome was seemingly placed beyond all doubt.

Yet Cardiff continued to pose a threat whenever they found themselves inside enemy territory and when a grubber kick from Winnett bounced awkwardly on the left wing towards the tail end of the third quarter, Millard reacted quickest to touch down for his second try of the game.

This put the Welsh men within sight of a bonus point of their own and when replacement scrum-half Ellis Bevan finished off another enterprising team move on the stroke of 70 minutes, they were guaranteed to leave Dublin with at least a point to show for their efforts.

By this point in the action, a number of Leinster replacements had joined Snyman on the field of play – including debutants Ivan Soroka and Oliver Coffey.

Rob Russell was also introduced for his first competitive outing since an opening-day victory on the road against Edinburgh back in late September and following a lengthy consultation between the match officials, he was awarded a 76th-minute try that rounded off another URC victory for the Irish province.

Leinster scorers:

Tries – John McKee, Jack Boyle, Max Deegan, Luke McGrath, Charlie Tector, Rob Russell
Conversions – Ross Byrne [6/6]

Cardiff scorers:

Tries – Harri Millard 2, Thomas Young, Ellis Bevan
Conversions – Callum Sheedy [1/3], Tinus De Beer [1/1]

LEINSTER: Jimmy O’Brien; Tommy O’Brien (Rob Russell ’61), Hugh Cooney (Liam Turner ’77), Charlie Tector, Andrew Osborne; Ross Byrne, Luke McGrath (Oliver Coffey ’70); Jack Boyle (Ivan Soroka ’70), John McKee (Stephen Smyth ’57), Rabah Slimani (Rory McGuire ’70); Diarmuid Mangan (RG Snyman half-time), Brian Deeny; Alex Soroka, Will Connors (Scott Penny 63), Max Deegan.

CARDIFF: Cam Winnett (Tinus De Beer ’41-52); Gabe Hamer-Webb, Rey Lee-Lo, Rory Jennings, Harri Millard (Regan Grace ‘63); Callum Sheedy (Tinus De Beer ’70), Johan Mulder (Ellis Bevan ‘63); Danny Southworth (Rhys Barratt ’52-61), Liam Belcher (Efan Daniel ’65), Rhys Litterick (Will Davies-King ’52); Josh McNally (Alex Mann ’33), Rory Thornton; Ben Donnell (Seb Davies ‘63), Thomas Young, Alun Lawrence.

Referee: Andrea Piardi (FIR).

HE HAS ENDURED his share of frustration since last appearing at international level almost 17 months ago, but Jimmy O’Brien remains hopeful of donning the green jersey again in the near future.

After picking up his eighth Ireland senior cap against New Zealand in a Rugby World Cup quarter-final on 14 October 2023, Kildare native O’Brien was subsequently ruled out of the 2024 edition of the Six Nations Championship with a neck issue.

A hamstring injury effectively eliminated any prospect of him featuring in last November’s Autumn Nations Series and while he had previously made the Ireland squad for the summer tour of South Africa, he missed out on the match day 23 for both Tests against the Springboks.

Similarly, he is part of the Irish set-up for this year’s Six Nations, but has yet to see any game time in the tournament. However, O’Brien has been named at full-back for Leinster’s United Rugby Championship clash against Cardiff at the Aviva Stadium this afternoon and this is an ideal opportunity to keep him in the thoughts of interim head coach Simon Easterby ahead of the forthcoming clashes with France and Italy.

“I’ve been in training with the lads in [Ireland] camp and coming back. You’re just trying to get a bit of game time. Because all I’ve been doing is training with the lads in camp. You’re trying to come back and trying to play well, get a bit of minutes in the belt. Hopefully go back into camp next week and you never know,” said O’Brien, who also played for Leinster in their URC win away to Ospreys on 14 February.

“The aim is obviously to be back in and try to play again with Ireland. You can only do that by playing well for Leinster. I missed out on last year’s Six Nations and the autumn with Ireland. I obviously haven’t gotten a chance with them yet. I’ve still been in the squads whenever I’m fit, but it’s tough to break back into the Ireland squad.”

Interestingly, during last weekend’s Six Nations Championship third round, Ireland and their opponents Wales were the only teams to select five forwards and three backs amongst their replacements. Whereas England, Scotland and Italy opted for a 6/2 split amongst their reserves, France went a step further by naming just one back (scrum-half Maxime Lucu) on the bench.

While Ireland opted for a 6/2 split against France, Wales and England in the 2024 Six Nations, this is something Leinster have also done with their bench in the past – including last year’s European Champions Cup final defeat to Toulouse.

Considering he had appeared as a replacement in the last-four triumph over Northampton Saints in Croke Park, O’Brien arguably missed out on the match day 23 for this showpiece due to the Leinster coaching team’s preference for naming an extra forward in reserve.

Although he acknowledges it is tough when you are left out under these circumstances, O’Brien feels his ability to play across the back-three and at outside centre could potentially benefit him if the eastern province returned to a 6/2 bench split in the coming months. Of course, having started three of the four Champions Cup games that Leinster have played to date in the current season, his ultimate ambition is to be in the first 15 for the business end of Europe and the URC.

“It’s personally frustrating and stuff like that. You’re never happy when you’re not playing and you’re not picked, but you try to deal with that the way you do it. Not allow it to seep into anyone else. Try and help the team out.

“Hopefully if you can play a couple of positions. I think that I can play a couple of positions, that might help if they go 6/2 or 7/1. Where you can cover a few things. It can be frustrating, but there’s not much you can do about it. You just have to play well enough that you’re starting.”

Certainly, a strong showing at Irish Rugby HQ later on today will – at the very least – bolster O’Brien’s chances of retaining a regular starting berth when all of Leinster’s international contingent have returned to the fold.

Though he won’t be in charge of the team in Dublin, current Wales interim head coach Matt Sherratt is at the helm of Cardiff and O’Brien believes Ireland’s showdown with the Welsh last Saturday offers some indication of the challenge that awaits Leinster this afternoon.

“They’ve been going well in the URC. Obviously you saw their coach went into Wales and they seemed to play a bit more rugby with a more exciting brand. It is going to be tough, but hopefully we can put in a big performance at home,” O’Brien added.

Daire Walsh

It may be another few months before he officially takes up his post, but Ian Costello believes Munster supporters should be excited about what Clayton McMillan will bring to the table as the province’s new head coach.

Since former England international Graham Rowntree stepped down from the main coaching position in October of last year, Costello has been in charge of Munster on an interim basis. There had been a prolonged search for Rowntree’s permanent replacement, before the southern province eventually announced in recent days that current Chiefs supremo McMillan will become the new head coach of Munster in July – following the completion of the 2025 Super Rugby season.

WHILE HE REMAINS a proud native of New Zealand, Leinster assistant coach Tyler Bleyendaal acknowledged he finds it exciting to watch so many people he works with on a regular basis lining out for Ireland at international Test level.

In the match day 23 that Simon Easterby selected for Ireland’s Six Nations Championship victory away to Wales last Saturday, there were no fewer than 16 Leinster players – including stand-in captain Dan Sheehan and senior debutant Jack Boyle.

Additionally, before joining the eastern province last summer from Super Rugby outfit the Hurricanes, Bleyendaal enjoyed a stint as a player with Leinster’s arch rivals Munster from 2015 to 2020. During this period, he counted Tadhg Beirne, Peter O’Mahony and Conor Murray amongst his list of team-mates and the same triumvirate saw game time as Ireland came from behind to defeat Wales on a final score of 27-18 at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.

“It makes it exciting to watch. You’re not 100% sure of the plan they’re trying to execute, but you know the individuals and what they’re capable of. You get excited and then you also get inquisitive sometimes. Then they come back with the wealth of knowledge and what applies to the Leinster game,” Bleyendaal said of the eastern province’s international contingent.

“That’s a really unique situation, I think. It’s quite exciting to sit back with a pint on hand on these off weekends and watch the match. Just enjoy it and watch the players that you are involved with often to be in a different environment, and not quite sure what they’re going to do.”

Mostly deployed as an out-half across his 62 appearances for Munster, Bleyendaal has a big part to play in the ongoing progress of Sam Prendergast on the provincial front. After enjoying a series of starts in the European Champions Cup for Leinster, Prendergast – who made his senior international debut at the age of 21 against Argentina in last November’s Autumn Nations Series – has also donned the number 10 jersey in Ireland’s three games to date in the 2025 Six Nations Championship.

Understandably, given it is such a pivotal position in the Irish team, the Kildare man’s performances over the past few weeks have been the subject of intense scrutiny.

Speaking as someone who displayed plenty of promise himself as a young player – he was top scorer when New Zealand won the World Rugby U20 Championship in 2010 – Bleyendaal feels the key for Prendergast is to strike the right balance between risk and reward within the international game.

“You’ve got to understand your skillset and how you can actually break down a test defence. You need a bit of extra sometimes and you need to take a risk, but I think the risk profile comes down to the team itself.

“There’s one thing having the skill sets and then executing them, and you need to have the other guys around you on board. Make the right decision at the right time. Speed and the pressure of test level is an adjustment that Sam will get used to, but I think he’s doing a good job at the moment.”

Although he wasn’t technically on the clock as he states above, Bleyendaal nevertheless had cause to view Ireland’s third round Championship showdown with Wales from an analytical perspective.

Following the departure of Warren Gatland from the hot seat in the wake of their defeat to Italy in Rome on 8 February, current Cardiff Rugby supremo Matt Sherratt was appointed as interim head coach of the Welsh for the remainder of this year’s Six Nations – beginning with Ireland’s visit to the Principality last weekend.

While his commitments to Wales for the rest of the Championship means he will be marked absent when they pay a visit to Leinster in the United Rugby Championship at the Aviva Stadium this Saturday, it seems unlikely Cardiff will deviate from how Sherratt has had them playing to date in this season’s competition.

The playing personnel might be different, but Bleyendaal believes the way Wales played against Ireland offers some indication of what Cardiff will bring to the table in Irish Rugby HQ this weekend.

“I think when we’re doing our scout for Cardiff, you can see trends maybe from how they defend, but also how they attack. I thought they [Wales] were a lot more ambitious with their attack. Jacques [Nienaber] would have seen some of those pictures and I think it’s a direct transfer from the coaching change there,” Bleyendaal added.

“It’s also different personnel altogether. I’m not sure if it’s going to be exactly the same versus Cardiff, but I thought Wales played a really good match on the weekend. Definitely were a bit more ambitious and put Ireland under pressure.”

Daire Walsh