Leinster Bag Bonus Point Against Currie
Leinster secured their second successive bonus point win in the British & Irish Cup when they defeated Currie 30-7 at Donnybrook on Sunday afternoon.
Colin McEntee's men completed their Pool A campaign with their fourth win in five matches, which has them in pole position to qualify for the quarter-finals.
They jumped to the top of the table on 19 points, two ahead of the Cornish Pirates, who are the defending champions. The Pirates lost 34-32 at Newport on Friday and sit on 17 points with a game to play.
Their final fixture is against Worcester Warriors, who have 10 points after their three matches and could still qualify.
The two top teams from each pool go through to the knockout stages, and mathematically there are still three sides in contention in Leinster's pool.
At Donnybrook, Ian McKinley kicked the hosts into a second minute lead as Leinster enjoyed the better of the early exchanges.
A searing break from full-back Niall Morris, five minutes later, almost reaped the first try of the game but he was denied.
Nonetheless, from the resulting passage of play, Eamonn Sheridan found Andrew Conway and the 19-year-old winger sprinted clear to score at the Wesley End.
Leinster began to dominate with the power of Simon Shawe causing the Scottish visitors some damage at scrum time, while fellow prop Jack McGrath picked up where he left off from last weekend with some strong breaks.
Morris was thwarted again, before Currie gradually came back into the game with scrum half Richard Snedden probing frequently. However, his opposite number, Paul O'Donohoe, displayed tenacity in quelling threats and asking questions of the defence.
In fact, O'Donohoe almost profited from a Sheridan break. The attack broke down metres from the try-line, but a Currie defender illegally blocked O'Donohoe as he aimed for the line from the resulting ruck.
McKinley slotted home the resulting 27th minute penalty from in front of the posts to make it 11-0 to the hosts.
The first half drew to a close with limited opportunities for either side. Leinster came racing out of the traps, on the resumption, with David Kearney almost scoring.
But, in the 55th minute, Leinster's long-awaited second try of the afternoon arrived from Conway, who scored after good work from Kearney and Morris.
Replacement out-half Ian Madigan added the points with an excellent touchline conversion to give Leinster an 18-0 lead before Brendan Macken scorched past the Currie defence to garner Leinster's third try.
Front rower McGrath secured the bonus point when he gathered a Madigan pass to touch down from close-in after an excellent Kearney break with 68 minutes on the clock. Madigan again added the extras to make it 30-0.
Centre Alex Dunbar added a late consolation try for the visitors, with the conversion coming from Hayden Abercrombie, but Leinster were good value for their win against a spirited Currie side.
Referee: Ross Campbell (England)