‘Better Second Half’ Steers Leinster In Right Direction

Leinster maintained their hold on top spot in Conference A of the Guinness PRO14 with a 35-29 bonus point defeat of the Dragons at Rodney Parade.

However, it was a far from convincing performance from the defending champions who trailed 15-14 at half-time and leaked two closing tries to their dogged hosts.

In the end, scores from Peter Dooley, Scott Penny, Josh Murphy and Dan Sheehan, in addition to a penalty try, were enough to move the province closer to a PRO14 final place.

Giving his reaction afterwards, head coach Leo Cullen said: “Conditions were difficult, first half our discipline was poor playing into the wind though we scored two tries.

“A better second half, then we make some changes and it gets a bit disjointed. We made life a bit more difficult than it needed to be.

“But there were some good passages of play so it’s mixed emotions. Overall, a positive result, a win away from home against a tough team on a difficult pitch.”

Jack Conan made an early impact in his 100th appearance for Leinster, including a lineout steal, but the Dragons, who leant heavily on their maul as an attacking weapon, were first on the scoreboard.

It was an attritional opening period on a heavy surface, with the Dragons moving into a six-point lead thanks to two Sam Davies penalties.

Leinster conceded to cough up soft penalties in kickable range, and a scrum infringement was punished with three more points from Davies in the 20th minute.

Yet, when Cullen’s men got into the opposition they showed how deadly they can be. Murphy, Conan, the eventual Guinness player-of-the-match, and Rory O’Loughlin drove up close and the try arrived with 23 minutes on the clock.

Second row Ross Molony pumped his legs before prop Dooley crashed in under the posts via James Tracy’s pop pass. The conversion was clipped over by Ross Byrne, playing at centre outside his younger brother Harry.

Frustratingly for the visitors, impressive flanker Ben Fry forced a penalty at the breakdown soon after, allowing Davies to make it 12-7 to Dean Ryan’s determined side.

Leinster hit back on the half-hour mark, Baird supplying quick lineout ball off the top and strong carries from Conan, Tom Clarkson and Molony led to Penny finishing smartly from close in. Ross Byrne converted for a two-point lead.

Again though, Leinster were unable to build on that score. Davies took advantage of a ruck advantage to drill over his fifth successful penalty, and only obstruction prevented Fry from registering a try just before the interval.

Leinster emerged in much better fettle on the restart, aided by Baird’s early lineout steal. Their relentless recycling led to the Dragons infringing and tighthead Lloyd Fairbrother saw yellow.

The table toppers tapped the penalty from five metres out, Tracy leading the charge before flanker Murphy squeezed over for Ross Byrne to convert.

Now 21-15 in front, Leinster advanced again thanks to a well-won Dave Kearney penalty. Clarkson earned the plaudits for a scrum penalty, and a well-executed maul led to the awarding of the penalty try.

Dragons replacement Dan Baker was sin-binned to make it a double whammy, and with their bonus point in the bag, Leinster soon went in search of more scores.

They could only muster one more try, young hooker Sheehan coming off the bench to sidestep past Jordan Williams for a classy score, converted by Ross Byrne. It looked game over at 35-15 and still a quarter of an hour to go.

At this stage, 20-year-old Kildare loosehead Marcus Hanan was introduced for his debut, joining another Leinster Clubs prop in Wexford man Greg McGrath in the front row.

The Dragons did not ease off, even though they were a beaten docket, and Luke Baldwin dived over from close range in the 72nd minute for Davies to add the extras.

Cullen will not have been happy with how the Dragons were able to add a second try with time almost up. Josh Lewis’s effort, via some neat passing, secured a losing bonus point for the Welsh outfit.