Leinster 26 Edinburgh 7
Leinster head coach Leo Cullen hailed the attitude of his side after they returned to winning ways in the United Rugby Championship with a bonus point triumph over Edinburgh at the RDS last night.
Thanks to tries from Scott Penny, Nick McCarthy, Vakh Abdaladze and Max Deegan, the Blues emerged with a maximum return from the fixture and are now just a single point adrift of URC pace-setters Ulster with a game in hand. Despite the absence of several players through injury and international duty, Cullen was delighted to bounce back from last Saturday week’s 29-27 reversal at the hands of Cardiff.
“It’s a pleasing outcome for sure. A lot of parts of the performance is to be expected really. We’ve a group here that were just working away, limited numbers. Some young guys coming in that I thought did really well. The effort was outstanding, it’s just about being a bit more accurate with the execution,” Cullen acknowledged after the game.
“The attitude is the big thing, making sure we bring that attitude the whole time. I know there’s lots on this weekend and with the break in the Six Nations hopefully we can build on it for the Ospreys [game next week] so hopefully we’ll get a big crowd out. Some good stuff today, but plenty to work on.”
Edinburgh signalled their attacking intent from the word go with their Fijian number eight Mesulame Kunavula being held up just shy of the line in the ninth minute.
Leinster suffered a blow on the first quarter mark when inside centre Ciaran Frawley was withdrawn following a clash of heads with Connor Boyle. The Edinburgh flanker was yellow carded for his part in this incident, while Harry Byrne was called upon to deputise for Frawley.
Byrne’s older brother Ross had been selected ahead of him at outhalf and Leinster’s starting 10 was on hand to comfortably supply the bonuses to a breakthrough score from the versatile Murphy.
Even though Edinburgh were eventually restored to their full compliment, they could do little to halt the march of Leinster.
Making his first start since returning from arch rivals Munster in the summer, scrumhalf McCarthy pounced on a loose ball in the 31st-minute before racing over to the left of the posts. Ross Byrne calmly stroked over a tricky bonus kick to ensure Leinster brought a convincing 14-0 cushion into the interval.
It looked decidedly ominous for Edinburgh moving into the second half but they emerged from the dressing rooms with a newfound lease of life. They looked set to finally open their account in the 50th minute, only for Henry Immelman’s final pass out wide towards winger Ramiro Moyano to float into touch.
Leinster’s buffer remained at 14 points heading into the final quarter and with the likes of Sean Cronin, Devin Toner and Luke McGrath joining Harry Byrne off the bench, they had their sights set on securing a bonus point.
With 13 minutes remaining on the clock, replacement tighthead Abdaladze produced a clinical five-point finish to finally extend the home side’s lead.
Maximum points was now well and truly within reach for Leinster and after being picked out by Ross Byrne’s audacious pass through the hands, Max Deegan crossed over for their four try in simple fashion on the left flank.
It was a difficult night at the office overall for Edinburgh, but Emiliano Boffelli’s superb solo try in the closing minutes - which the left wing converted himself - at least meant they left with something to show for their efforts.
Scorers
Leinster: J Murphy, N McCarthy, V Abdaladze, M Deegan try each, R Byrne 3 cons.
Edinburgh: E Boffelli try, con.
Leinster: J Osborne; T O'Brien, R O'Loughlin, C Frawley, D Kearney; R Byrne, N McCarthy; E Byrne, J Tracy, M Ala'alatoa; R Molony, J Murphy; M Moloney, S Penny, M Deegan.
Replacements: H Byrne for Frawley (20 mins), S Cronin for Tracy, P Dooley for E Byrne, V Abdaladze for Ala'alatoa, L McGrath for McCarthy (all 56 mins), D Toner for Murphy (57 mins), R Russell for Osborne, A Soroka for Moloney (both 73 mins).
Edinburgh: H Immelman; R Moyano, M Currie, J Lang, E Boffelli; C Savala, H Pyrgos; B Venter, A McBurney, L-R Atalifo; M Sykes, G Young; B Muncaster, C Boyle, M Kunavula.
Replacements: D Cherry for McBurney, J Armstrong for Atalifo (both 54 mins), C Shiel for Pyrgos ( 57 mins), C Hutchison for Lang (62 mins), P Phillips for Young (63 mins), S Grahamslaw for Venter (67 mins), K van Niekirk for Boyle, J van der Walt for Savala (both 73 mins).
Referee: A Jones (WRU).
