Llanelli 17 Leinster 31: LEINSTER COACH Michael Cheika was glad to see the tries flowing again as his side ended their try-scoring drought with an emphatic victory over title rivals the Scarlets in front of 6,200 spectators in Llanelli on Saturday night .
Cheika’s men had failed to score a try in the last six weeks of competitive action but they put that right following first-half touchdowns from wing Isa Nacewa and flanker Cameron Jowitt. Skipper Shane Jennings and 16 points from the boot of Felipe Contepomi sealed victory after the break to maintain the pressure on Munster
Cheika said: “Everyone was saying we hadn’t scored a try for a while and we were starting to think we wouldn’t score a try again. But we knew if we just concentrated on our mental approach, we’d be okay. We were hungry to win the game but also maintained the technique, style and shape of the team.
“Unfortunately we couldn’t get the fourth try, which would have been nice because we haven’t got a lot of bonus points this year but then again, no one seems to have so we can’t be greedy. I’m just so happy to come down here to win.”
Gordon D’Arcy will have caught Ireland coach Declan Kidney’s eye with an impressive 80-minute outing. D’Arcy is in line to replace Paddy Wallace against England next Saturday. Wallace is a major doubt for the Croke Park clash following an eye injury picked up against Italy last weekend. And D’Arcy has been backed to make a real impact in the rest of the Six Nations campaign.
Cheika said: “Gordon is keen as mustard and ready to go. He’s back and has plenty of energy and verve and is so excited about playing again, it’s hard to keep him down. He put his best foot forward to try and reclaim the number 12 jersey for Ireland and we want as many of our players to be in that starting team.”
D’Arcy and Leinster got off to a perfect start when Contepomi, linked with a move to Toulon, shrugged off the speculation by slotting home two fine penalty goals with the boot.
The hosts lost star New Zealand centre Regan King with a hamstring injury and Rocky Elsom pierced the vacant hole left in the Scarlets defence to set up the opening try. Elsom combined with fullback Girvan Dempsey to send Nacewa clear for an easy finish from distance at the end of the opening quarter.
The 13-point lead was increased on 26 minutes when Rhys Priestland’s kick was charged down by Dempsey and Jowitt pounced to slide over.
Priestland finally got the Scarlets on the scoreboard with a penalty and the Scarlets’ tails were up when scrumhalf Martin Roberts brushed past Stan Wright to score under the posts.
Contepomi maintained his excellent kicking display with another penalty as Leinster held a commanding 23-10 lead at the interval.
But the Scarlets rallied through Deacon Manu’s second-half strike and Priestland’s conversion put the Welsh region within a score of the lead.
That scare galvanised Leinster, who responded in style when skipper Jennings added a third on the hour mark. Contepomi completed the scoring with his fourth penalty of the night before he was sin-binned for a professional foul on 67 minutes. But it did not affect Leinster as the visitors’ clung on for a comfortable win.
Former Ireland and Scarlets skipper Simon Easterby said: “It’s a massive blow to our hopes. It was a bitterly disappointing game and our mistakes cost us victory.”
SCARLETS: M Stoddart; D Daniel, R King (G Evans 19), J Davies, M Jacobs; R Priestland, M Roberts; I Thomas, K Owens, D Manu, L Reed, D Day, V Cooper, D Lyons, S Easterby (capt). Replacements: G Evans for King (19 mins), J Turnbull for Day (48 mins), P Johns for Thomas (56 mins), M Schwalger for Owens (57 mins).
LEINSTER: G Dempsey; S Horgan, F McFadden, G D'Arcy, I Nacewa; F Contepomi, P O'Donohoe; C Healy, B Blaney, S Wright, T Hogan, M O'Kelly; C Jowitt, S Jennings (capt), R Elsom. Replacements: B Jackman for Blaney (41 mins), J Sexton for McFadden (50 mins), D Toner for Hogan (59 mins), S Keogh for O'Donohoe (60 mins), G Brown for Jowitt (71 mins), R McCormack for Wright (72 mins), S Keogh for Jennings (79 mins).
Referee: Andy Macpherson(SRU)
