Lacklustre Leinster Struggle To Put Dragons Away

Capping off his 100th appearance for Leinster, Josh van der Flier turned in a player-of-the-match performance as the province pipped the Dragons by a single point.

Number 8 Max Deegan scored the only try of a forgettable game in Newport, with Ross Byrne’s conversion proving vital in the end. Sam Davies hit back with two second half penalties for the hosts.

On a day when his team were well below par, van der Flier’s contribution allowed the Leinster pack to dominate possession and territory which should have proved more telling.

The PRO14 champions did not quite hit their stride early on, meeting a very aggressive Dragons defence led by the impressive back row of Aaron Wainwright, Ollie Griffiths and Ross Moriarty.

When Dan Sheehan came up just short of the try-line from a maul, Dragons scrum half Lewis Jones was sin-binned for killing the ball.

Leinster went to their trademark pick-and-go until Deegan powered through Griffiths for his 13th minute try. Byrne’s conversion glanced in off the right hand post for a 7-0 lead.

Soon, a cross-field delivery from Byrne, taken in by Rory O’Loughlin, was almost turned into a second score before a counter, sparked by Jamison Gibson-Park, led to a yellow card for Dragons full-back Josh Lewis slapping down the ball.

It meant the Dragons were reduced to 13 men and Leinster looked to exploit this advantage by going to the edge. On his competitive debut, Rob Russell ate up the ground before play broke down in midfield.

Credit to the Dragons, they coped well with those yellows and slowly came into the game. Hooker Elliot Dee and Josh Lewis threatened in their first serious surge into the 22.

When they came again, Andrew Porter manhandled Moriarty and a combination of Sheehan and van der Flier stopped the Welsh side dead to end a stop-start first half in which neither side could find their flow.

The Dragons continued to disrupt and frustrate Leinster’s attack when play resumed, and at the other end, Rhys Ruddock was alert to a loose ball when Dean Ryan’s men were gaining momentum.

This was a win the Blues would have to chisel out with pure grit and determination. Despite a well-won scrum penalty, Hugo Keenan was again thumped by Lewis out wide and the cleaners failed to protect the ruck ball.

The Dragons were gathering energy from their work in defence, their number 10 Davies slotting over a penalty for offside to make it 7-3 in the 62nd minute.

Little over two minutes later, a faulty Leinster lineout was seized on by Rhodri Williams for Davies to knock over three more points when Ryan Baird rolled into Williams at a ruck.

For the umpteenth time, Leinster worked their way into a prime position but this time, a handling error let them down at the pivotal moment.

Eventually, Byrne went to the clouds with a kick, Ciaran Frawley grabbed the breaking ball. Fellow replacement Dan Leavy looked like scoring and Nick McCarthy, on his return to Leinster colours, did so from an offload.

However, the TMO review revealed that Russell’s hand had knocked the ball forward in the lead-up. The Dragons received a reprieve.

Suddenly, the rain came down heavily, Leavy made an important tackle, Baird put his shoulder into another and Garry Ringrose kicked the ball dead to seal an error-strewn 7-6 victory.

Leinster head coach Leo Cullen said afterwards: “We can definitely be better. We had a lot of turnovers over the course of the game. It turned into a very tight contest.

“Early in the game we squandered some opportunities and didn’t build enough scoreboard pressure. We’re pleased to come away with a win after the situation we found ourselves in.

“We had some chances. We could have been a little bit more patient at times. Some key turnovers, five or 10 metres out from the try-line, probably on five or six occasions during the course of the game.

“So, we just need to understand we’re away from home, in difficult conditions with the crowd and all the rest. We’re pleased to get the win.”