Leinster Rugby v Cardiff Blues

ONE FROM
The Vaults
Leinster Rugby 37 Cardiff Blues 9
8 September 2017 | RDS Arena | Ref: Andy Brace | Attendance: 13,535
Cardiff Blues were well in this contest
for over an hour, trailing 16-9 before
Leinster replacements Sean Cronin,
Barry Daly and Nick McCarthy scored
three tries in the final 13 minutes
to give a lopsided look to the final
scoreline.
Lynchpin lock Devin Toner made his 200th
appearance for his native province, but a Steve
Shingler penalty brace – coupled with the sinbinning
of captain Isa Nacewa – raised hopes
of an upset.
However, a strong finish to a slow-burning first
half saw Leinster nudge their way into a 10-6
lead, the influential Ross Byrne converting
hooker James Tracy’s 32nd-minute try and
landing a late penalty.
Although out-halves Shingler and Byrne
swapped further penalties on the resumption,
Cardiff were held scoreless for the remainder
as Leinster’s greater firepower wore the Blues
into submission.
Picking up 10 championship points in an early
season Welsh double – they also put 37 points
on the Dragons in the first round – will boost
confidence levels in Leo Cullen’s squad ahead
of their two-match tour of South Africa which
begins next week.
They had nothing to show for a dominant start
against Cardiff, who were looking to bounce
back from a 20-10 home loss to Edinburgh.
Winger Adam Byrne was crowded out in the
right corner early on.
Ross Byrne, who ended the night with 17
points, pushed a penalty wide after Cardiff
tighthead Keiron Assiratti infringed at scrum
time, but good pressure in defence saw the
Blues frustrate the hosts.
A well-timed run from Alex Cuthbert set up
Shingler’s lead score on the quarter hour
mark, and as Leinster launched a kick chase,
the sidestepping Cuthbert was caught high by
Nacewa for a 21st-minute yellow card.
LEINSTER: Rob Kearney
(Barry Daly h-t); Adam
Byrne, Rory O’Loughlin, Isa
Nacewa, Jordan Larmour;
Ross Byrne, Luke McGrath
(Nick McCarthy 68); Cian
Healy (Ed Byrne 51), James
Tracy (Seán Cronin 51),
Michael Bent (Andrew Porter
51); Devin Toner, Scott Fardy
(Mick Kearney 72); Rhys
Ruddock (Dan Leavy 57
(Cathal Marsh 77)), Josh van
der Flier, Jack Conan.
CARDIFF BLUES: Rhun
Williams (Matthew Morgan
68); Alex Cuthbert, Rey Lee-
Lo, Garyn Smith, Tom James;
Steve Shingler (Jarrod Evans
69), Lloyd Williams (Tomos
Williams 69); Rhys Gill
(Corey Domachowski 56),
Matthew Rees (Kirby Myhill
60), Keiron Assiratti (Dillon
Lewis 56); Seb Davies,
Damian Welch (James Down
63); Macauley Cook (Sian
Bennett 74), Josh Navidi,
Josh Turnbull.
Cardiff doubled their lead through Shingler
after Rhys Gill forced a 27th-minute scrum
penalty. Crucially, error-prone Leinster found
their rhythm as half-time approached. A Rory
O’Loughlin line-break lifted them, Ross Byrne
fired a penalty into the corner and a wellexecuted
maul saw Tracy crash over for Byrne
to convert.
With man-of-the-match Jack Conan and Cian
Healy growing in influence as ball carriers,
skipper Nacewa was tackled off the ball by
Josh Navidi and the three points were added
by Byrne for a 10-6 advantage.
Navidi’s breakdown skills enabled Shingler
to respond within a minute of the restart, but
Byrne rewarded the Leinster scrum with a
three-pointer soon after – his 44th-minute kick
incredibly striking both posts before going over.
The newly-introduced Daly then threatened
from a Jordan Larmour kick through and as
Cardiff gave away ground in defence, Byrne
was successful with the second of two penalty
attempts, splitting the posts from just inside the
visitors’ half.
Leinster had been on the cusp of a try but Josh
Turnbull repelled them with some excellent
work at the breakdown. Unfortunately for
Danny Wilson’s men, the home side saved the
From The Ground Up | 58 | www.leinsterrugby.ie