United Rugby Championship: Leinster 34 Sharks 13
Leinster haven’t lost two games on the spin to start a domestic league campaign since 2003. After last weekend’s opening URC defeat to Glasgow, this year’s cohort ensured they didn’t join their brethren from 20 years ago with a comfortable, if at times sloppy, win over the visiting Sharks at the RDS.
In front of just over 10,000 on World Cup final day, Leinster showed in their home opener they had learned enough of their lessons from the drubbing in Scotstoun to come away with a bonus-point victory.
The scrum faltered no longer, and more variety was on show inside the Sharks’ 22. They held on to the ball more effectively and kicked more, albeit that was at times a mixed bag. Most pleasingly from Leo Cullen’s point of view, they responded to an early period of Sharks pressure, when Corwin Bosch kicked two penalties from three attempts, to score four unanswered tries while keeping the visitors out thereafter until the final minute of the game.
In round one, Leinster squandered opportunities aplenty inside the 22 when refusing to move on from the pick-and-go tactic. Glasgow held them up accordingly. Today’s first entry into the Sharks’ 22 showed that they wouldn’t be so fruitlessly belligerent.
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The game’s first try could have come on a first phase strike as Max Deegan carried and popped a pass back inside for Lee Barron to hit the gap. If the hooker didn’t have to check his run to take the ball above his shoulder, he likely would have scored.
In any case, after hammering away at the line didn’t work thereafter, Cormac Foley zipped a beautiful wide, fast pass across the face of the defender to send Jordan Larmour over.
It wasn’t the last time Leinster were inventive inside the 22. Minutes later, Charlie Ngatai, an effective carrier as is his norm, opted to catch the defence off-guard with a grubber in behind. The bounce of the ball saved the Sharks backfield.
Moments later on another 22 entry, Foley sold the defence by feigning to play one direction before box kicking in the other. Again, the Sharks backfield survived, somehow offloading the ball in-goal before breaking from deep.
For all the redzone invention, the second try of the half came from brute force. A penalty five metres out saw no quick-tap trickery, instead Barron hammered at the line before Deegan followed him a phase later to notch a try on the occasion of his 100th Leinster appearance.
The half petered out amid profligacy from both sides. Ross Molony spilled in contact, Deegan the same when carrying off the back of a 5m scrum – set up by some individual magic from Tommy O’Brien via a chip and chase – while both sides made errors in the air.
The careless streak continued into the second half. Barron, up to this point magnificent in the carry and on the floor defensively, went too high in a tackle and was duly sent to the bin, the low degree of force saving him from red. The Sharks suddenly had an avenue back into the game. That is, until Bosch kicked the penalty dead when trying for the corner.
Another score went begging when Rohan Janse van Rensburg threw a poorly-judged offload from the floor into touch. The chance came from another Leinster error, Foley losing control of the ball when trying to set up a box kick via a stray boot in the ruck.
After that period of the Sharks coming close to firing an attacking shot, the game turned on a moment of Jamie Osborne brilliance. Firstly he read Bosch’s chip well, tracking back to claim when there was space in behind. A cultured use of his left boot followed, the Naas man kicking almost immediately in behind as the ball bounced favourably into touch for a 50:22.
Off that lineout, Rob Russell dove over with his first touch after coming off the bench. The result was now decided with 55 minutes on the clock, all that remained was for Leinster to hunt the bonus point.
They had to work harder than perhaps anticipated. Momentum went the way of the Sharks after the customary flurry of replacements from both sides. Aphelele Fassi and Aphiwe Dyantyi presented regular running threats.
Entering the fray with 18 minutes to go, Sam Prendergast quickly endeared himself to the RDS faithful on his first home appearance. His first touch was a delicate touchfinder that would have been a 50:22 had the pass to him not originated on the wrong side of halfway. His second was even better, a perfect crossfield kick for O’Brien to take in stride and cross for the score his performance deserved.
There was time for the Sharks to threaten, Ciarán Frawley twice saving Leinster with a last-ditch tackle and another effort to hold Werner Kok over the line. As the clock ticked into the 80th minute, replacement hooker Dylan Richardson finally ruined Leinster’s clean sheet when scoring from close range.
It was quickly forgotten by those among the RDS crowd who hadn’t left early to find a good spot in the pub to watch the final in Paris, Russell adding his second to round things off after a Sharks spill presented him with a gift in the 22.
SCORING SEQUENCE – 2 mins: Bosch pen 0-3; 5: Larmour try 5-3; 10: Bosch pen 5-6; 22: Deegan try, Byrne con 12-6; Half-time 12-6; 49: Byrne pen 15-6; 54: Russell try, Byrne con 22-6; 67: O’Brien try 27-6; 80: Richardson try, Chamberlain con 27-13; 80 Russell try, Prendergast con 34-13.
LEINSTER: Ciarán Frawley; Tommy O’Brien, Jamie Osborne, Charlie Ngatai, Jordan Larmour; Harry Byrne, Cormac Foley; Jack Boyle, Lee Barron, Michael Ala’alatoa; Ross Molony, Jason Jenkins; Rhys Ruddock, Scott Penny (capt), Max Deegan. Replacements: Will Connors for Penny (blood, 26-29 mins); Connors for Ruddock, Rob Russell for Ngatai (both 53); Brian Deeny for Jenkins (59); Paddy McCarthy for Boyle, Rory McGuire for Ala’alatoa (both 60), Sam Prendergast for Byrne, Ben Murphy for Foley (both 62), Dylan Donnellan for Barron (68). Yellow card: Barron (43 mins).
Sharks: Aphelele Fassi; Werner Kok, Francois Venter (capt), Rohan Janse van Rensburg, Marnus Potgieter; Curwin Bosch, Cameron Wright; Ntuthuko Mchunu, Kerron van Vuuren, Hanro Jacobs; Corne Rahl, Emile van Heerden; James Venter, Vincent Tshituka, Phepsi Buthelezi. Replacements: George Cronje for Tshituka (36 mins); Aphiwe Dyantyi for Potgieter (53); Dylan Richardson for van Vuuren, Dian Bleuler for Mchunu, Khwezi Mona for Jacobs, Zee Mkhabela for Wright (all 60 mins); Hyron Andrews for Rahl, Boeta Chamberlain for Bosch (both 69).
Referee: Federico Vedovelli (FIR).
