Six-Try Leinster Break Down Dogged Cardiff Defence

Scott Penny snapped up two final-quarter tries during Leinster’s 40-5 Guinness PRO14 win over Cardiff Blues at the RDS.

Penny took his season’s haul to five tries, and fellow replacement Michael Silvester added his first senior score, as Leinster claimed a Championship record-equalling seventh successive bonus point victory.

Dave Kearney’s try after just 36 seconds – the province’s second fastest in PRO14 history – put them on course for a 19-5 half-time lead.

Jimmy O’Brien and Aled Summerhill swapped tries towards the end of the first quarter, with James Tracy’s maul effort coming just before the interval.

Cardiff defended manfully but flanker Penny burrowed over twice before Silvester dotted down from Harry Byrne’s inviting 77th-minute kick.

Cardiff’s selected captain Jarrod Evans failed a late fitness test, so returning Wales scrum half Tomos Williams was joined at half-back by Jason Tovey.

The visitors fell behind inside the opening minute, Leinster centre Ciaran Frawley brilliantly ghosting past Ben Thomas to send Kearney over near the left corner.

Byrne converted and then added the extras to a blistering 14th-minute score from full-back O’Brien, who touched down from his own chip kick which Tovey had failed to deal with.

However, Cardiff replied from their first serious attack, whipping the ball wide from a 17th-minute maul for winger Summerhill to slid over in the far corner.

It remained 14-5 despite some speedy sniping from player-of-the-match Luke McGrath and young Cardiff centre Thomas, who was starting to catch the eye in attack.

Josh Turnbull and company made the breakdown a real scrap and Byrne then pulled a penalty wide. But, with a clever kick from O’Brien forcing a late lineout, the Leinster pack successfully drove hooker Tracy over.

Breaks from Silvester and Summerhill went unrewarded early in the second period, and a determined Cardiff rearguard held Leinster up twice before Rhys Ruddock was pinged for a double movement on the try-line.

Nonetheless, with their bench growing in influence, the home side went up a gear to maintain their bonus point-winning form.

Upping the tempo off a Ryan Baird lineout steal, a series of pick-and-drives ended with Penny reaching over in the 66th minute. He did likewise five minutes later, aided by a latch from Baird.

It was a cruel finish for the battling Blues, who watched Byrne dink a neat kick through for Silvester to ground beside the posts. The out-half tagged on his fifth conversion.

Speaking after the game, Leinster’s influential scrum half McGrath said: “It was a very pleasing win, but it was very hard work out there. The Blues defended exceptionally well today.

“They put us under a lot of pressure and it took us a long time to break them down, but thankfully we did. It’s very pleasing to get another bonus point win.

“It was very physical, especially in the first half when the ball was in play for a lot of it and they went very hard at the breakdown, made it very difficult for us.”

He added: “The lads did really well, the bench came on at the end and made a huge impact. The scoreline probably flattered us a little bit at the end, though.

“We’ve been working very hard in training. There were a lot of good things there today, especially early on. But probably that middle patch we lost our way a little bit.

“So we’ll have a good hard look at ourselves and try and improve for next week, because we’ve a big challenge away in Scarlets now next week.”