Sexton Steers Leinster To Seven-Try Triumph

Back at the RDS for the first time this season, Leinster put Zebre away in the second half to claim a 43-7 bonus point win in the United Rugby Championship.

Adam Byrne marked his first appearance since December 2019 with two tries, although it was only 15-0 at half-time as Leinster struggled to turn their 70% share of possession into points.

Unconverted efforts from Scott Penny and Jordan Larmour had started the scoring, but Zebre defended stoutly and number 8 Renato Giammarioli made a dozen tackles.

However, with Jonathan Sexton coming off the bench to lift the performance level, Leo Cullen’s men cruised home with further tries from Ed Byrne, Sean Cronin, Adam Byrne and replacement Ronan Kelleher.

A slick 66th-minute breakaway try from Pierre Bruno was the only score for Zebre, who had out-half Antonio Rizzi sin-binned for lifting above the horizontal in a tackle on Sexton.

Apart from Andrea Zambonin leading Zebre’s poaching of two lineouts, it was all Leinster early on. Flanker Penny drove over inside the opening two minutes.

Larmour then twisted his way over past two defenders in the 12th minute, grounding the ball despite Nicolo Casilio’s best efforts.

Leinster number 10 Harry Byrne had an off day with the boot and went off injured in the 22nd minute, bringing Sexton into the fray.

Rizzi’s penalty from far out fell short, before a timely third try followed at the other end. Good hands from Ed Byrne and Sexton released fit-again winger Byrne to go over in the right corner.

Leinster began the second half with prop Byrne’s bonus point try, a powerful finish on the back of a quick tap. Sexton converted to make it 22-0.

Soon it was one-way traffic, Cronin squeezing over by the left corner flag before Sexton – dusting himself off after Rizzi’s yellow card tackle – kicked wide for Adam Byrne to score again.

Kelleher barged over from a well-executed maul, past the hour mark, with Sexton taking his kicking haul to eight points.

Zebre rallied and their best moment was Bruno’s dummy and acceleration to get past Rob Russell for a 40-metre run-in. The consolation try was converted by replacement Paolo Pescetto.

Dan Leavy and Zebre back rower Giammarioli stood out in the first half, showing their physicality on both sides of the ball.

However, Leinster’s club captain Sexton had a key influence for the final hour. The URC player-of-the-match got his side back on track after a disappointing collective display at the Dragons last Sunday.

Speaking in the aftermath, head coach Cullen said: “It’s a bit of mixed feelings in the dressing room there, some good stuff, Adam coming back is great, scoring a couple of tries, a few of the guys playing in their first competitive outing of the season.

“It was always going to be a little bit of a challenge for us, that cohesion bit, but it’s round three, it’s a short block, so in terms of round four now next week, the Scarlets will pose a much more stern test you would imagine.

“I think we started the first half in similar fashion, got in for a couple of tries as well, missed a couple of opportunities, then it gets a bit disjointed.

“Some of that is Zebre coming aggressively, shooting out of the line, putting guys under pressure. And maybe we’re also trying to force things a little bit too much, maybe trying to make things happen rather than just being patient, particularly when we’re in possession.”

He added: “Adam is delighted now, it means so much to him. It was really challenging for him the last period because he didn’t play rugby at all during the lockdown basically.

“He’s shown great resilience and dedication throughout the process and the backroom team look after the player so well.

“It’s been a frustrating one for him, but that’s part and parcel of the game, so he’s trying to stay the course and it’s great to see Adam back because he’s had to be so patient over a long period of time.”