Leinster ‘A’ Cruise Through To Semi-Final Stage
Leinster ‘A’ booked their place in the semi-finals of the British & Irish Cup when they defeated Pontypridd 32-0 at Donnybrook on Sunday afternoon.
Noel Reid kicked the hosts into a second minute lead with a penalty, and the former St. Michael's College out-half doubled his side's advantage three minutes later following an infringement by a Pontypridd forward at a ruck.
Then Reid turned provider after 14 minutes as his clever pass found the onrushing Conor Gilsenan who displayed the necessary pace and power to burst through and touch down for the opening try of the game.
Reid added the extras to push the Leinster lead out to 13-0, and the home side certainly looked potent with ball in hand. Skipper Jack McGrath and Jordi Murphy were also prominent at the breakdown, giving the province further momentum.
However they could not add to their tally despite Reid and then David Kearney both coming close to scoring a try late in the half, but they were denied by some rigid Ponty defence.
Nevertheless, Reid was able to link with Brendan Macken and the centre dotted down in the corner, with Reid adding the difficult touchline conversion to make it 20-0 at the interval.
Leinster 'A' began the second half brightly and Murphy punched successive holes in the Welsh side's defensive line before centre Colm O'Shea almost weaved his way through for the opening score of the half only to be foiled by Gavin Dacey.
Then, in the 53rd minute, Leinster 'A' struck when Macken intercepted a Pontypridd pass inside the home 22 and he sprinted clear to score under the posts at the Bective end, with Reid adding the conversion for a commanding 27-0 lead.
With eight minutes remaining, winger Darren Hudson rounded the Pontypridd rearguard to score his side's fourth try of an entertaining but one-sided affair.
Referee: Greg MacDonald (England)