mens
United-rugby-championship
Leinster closed their first victory in the new United Rugby Championship season when they beat Cardiff 29-5 on their return to the Laya Arena in Dublin.
Hugo Keenan scored Leinster’s first try in the ninth minute when he chased his own shot down the line, before Cardiff saw Aled Davies sent to the sin bin for handball. The yellow card proved costly as Jimmy O’Brien and Jack Conan crossed within two minutes of each other.
Mason Grady got Cardiff on the board in the 25th minute, curling a shot from Callum Sheedy’s cross into the corner. O’Brien then hit Leinster’s fourth after another fast break to secure a bonus point just before half-time, with a try converted from goal by Sam Prendergast for a 22-5 lead.
Leinster – who lost both their opening games in Johannesburg and Durban – were forced into a strong defensive display as Cardiff looked to regroup in the early stages of the second half.
Cardiff – won Scarlets and Zebras in the previous two matches – almost added another try on the break when Taine Basham looked to be out of the running after intercepting a loose Leinster pass, but Keenan made a superb recovery run to come back and pull off the save.
United Rugby Championship
P
W
L
D
PF
Well
PD
BP T
BP-7
BP
In total
1
3
3
0
0
14
2
3
2
0
1
13
3
3
2
1
0
11
4
3
2
1
0
11
5
3
2
1
0
10
6
3
2
1
0
9
7
3
2
1
0
9
8
3
1
1
1
9
9
3
1
1
1
9
10
3
1
2
0
8
11
3
0
1
2
8
12
3
1
2
0
7
13
3
1
2
0
6
14
3
1
2
0
5
15
3
0
2
1
5
16
3
0
3
0
1
Leinster – playing their first competitive match at the 20,500-capacity Merrion Road stadium after spending two seasons at the Aviva Stadium during the rebuild – ensured there was no late drama when Jamie Osborne crossed with four minutes remaining and Prendergast was again through the extras.
“Lots of good things in the first half. Unfortunately at the start of the second half we don’t make many plays, it’s a bit uneven,” said Leinster head coach Leo Cullen after the game.
“The big challenge is when you have so many players coming back for the first game of the season, it just looks like guys haven’t played for a while. But we stuck with it, defended well, fought well in a lot of different phases and came through towards the end.
“It’s a start, a really positive start. But we just need to work on getting better. We’ve used 40 players in three rounds. The cohesion isn’t where we’d ideally like it to be, but we just need to keep working on it.”
“Three games done, we traveled to South Africa. It’s great to get the bonus point.”
Cullen praised the performance of Prendergast, who had a tour-de-force in the ten, having a direct hand in several of Leinster’s tries, even if his goal-kicking radar was a little off.
“He’s just building all the time. That’s what we’ve been saying the last couple of years,” Cullen noted.
“He’s got a really positive mindset, he wants to keep getting better in all aspects of his game. Once you have young players who are like that, they’re going to get better. That’s the main thing.”
“We all have to be patient. As young players, especially in such a critical position, playing at 10, there are so many moving parts to manage. He’s getting better and we want to continue the growth of all our young players,” Cullen said.
Press Association, additional coverage RugbyPass
