Leinster 39
Edinburgh 10
Ryan Bailey reports from the RDS
IT REMAINS TO be seen how much of a toll this game will have on Leinster’s season but, for now, Leo Cullen’s men can be satisfied with a job well done as they moved top of the Guinness Pro12.
What started out as a night of opportunity for so many in blue, quickly turned into one of frustration and, to a certain degree, disaster as Josh van der Flier, Dave Kearney, Dominic Ryan, Rory O’Loughlin and Noel Reid were all casualties of a facile six-try victory.
Cullen had to make three enforced changes inside the opening half an hour at the RDS and by the time the clock struck red, the home side finished with just 14 men and two hookers, two scrum-halves and two out-halves on the pitch.
Captain Luke McGrath operated for much of the second half on the wing, Bryan Byrne came on to cover in the second row and Adam Byrne played as a makeshift centre.
Joey Carbery’s withdrawal shortly before the end just about capped a miserable night on the injury front for Leinster, although the out-half was, encouragingly, back on the pitch at full time.
Although the injuries largely overshadowed and shaped the game, there were still positives to take as Barry Daly and Carbery scored two tries apiece while Dan Leavy came off the bench to make a point with a man-of-the-match performance. Jack Conan was again excellent.
Five points tonight moves Leinster top of the Pro12, albeit temporarily, with leaders Munster and second-placed Ospreys going head-to-head in Wales tomorrow afternoon.
Duncan Weir scored all 10 points for the Scottish visitors but they were unable to take advantage of Leinster’s disjointed first-half performance before the home side pulled clear after the break.
Leavy was outstanding after his sixth minute introduction and while he seized his chance, it came at the expense of the luckless Ryan who never returned after going off for a Head Injury Assessment.
Van der Flier, O’Loughlin and Kearney followed him into the treatment room before the interval and the heavy bang sustained by Reid in the second period compounded a busy night for Leinster’s medical team.
The first half was a largely uninspiring affair, and although Edinburgh went into the break five points behind it was arguably they who enjoyed the better of it. Certainly on possession and territory, the visitors edged it.
In fact, Edinburgh should have at least been level at the break but, with the last play of the half, Tom Brown somehow managed to fumble with the line at his mercy.
The Edinburgh winger had been receiving treatment in the minutes before and was still clearly in distress when the ball came his way, but even with one leg he should have been able to finish; that was his final involvement of the night.
Indeed the story of the evening was missed opportunities as injury robbed van der Flier the chance to push his case for next weekend and, worse still, potentially rule him out for the rest of the Six Nations.
The flanker looked in serious discomfort when he went down holding his left shoulder and after briefly receiving treatment on the pitch, van der Flier forlornly trudged off.
In Ryan’s case, it was a particularly cruel blow having been handed a rare start and the chance to impress ahead of Leavy. In an attempt to tackle Magnus Bradbury, he got his head in the wrong position and was clattered by the Edinburgh blindside.
No doubt aggravated by being on the bench, Leavy made an instant impact and it was his powerful break through the centre which provided the platform for Leinster’s opening score.
Luke McGrath provided the support and while the captain was hauled down yards from the line, the hosts recycled and Daly eventually went over in the corner for his second try of the season.
From there, the half become increasingly disjointed as injury stoppages prevented any flow or rhythm. It suited Edinburgh to take the sting out of proceedings and they enjoyed a sustained period of pressure of their own at one stage but Leinster were able to shut the door.
But the attritional contest was taking its toll. After making a covering tackle on this near touchline, Kearney lay stricken on the turf clutching his arm and despite soldiering on until half time, he didn’t reappear for the second half.
O’Loughlin didn’t make it that far and Reid became the fifth casualty of the night after 54 minutes when he was hit late in the build-up to Leinster’s third try.
Despite the enforced changes and a reshuffle of the backline, Leinster still managed to conjure a vastly improved second-half display and had the points sealed not long in as they went over three times in quick succession.
Carbery marked his return from injury last week with a try in Treviso and the out-half, who switched to 15 after Ross Byrne’s introduction for O’Loughlin, went one better this week as he capped an encouraging performance with a brace.
Firstly, he used that devastating step he possesses to shimmy his way over after Leinster had remained patient through the phases and then he was on hand to finish off a sweeping team move as McGrath burst down the right with Jamison Gibson-Park also involved.
The bonus point was sealed six minutes later as Daly added his second before Leavy and Bryan Byrne got in on the act either side of Weir’s consolation score for the visitors.
Leinster leave the RDS sitting pretty at the summit but it’s likely to come at a cost. The question now is how much of a cost.
Leinster scorers:Tries: Barry Daly [2], Joey Carbery [2], Dan Leavy, Bryan Byrne.Conversions: Joey Carbery [0 from 1], Ross Byrne [2 from 5]Penalties: Joey Carbery [1 from 1]Edinburgh scorers:Tries: Duncan WeirConversions: Duncan Weir [1 from 1]Penalties: Duncan Weir [1 from 1]
LEINSTER: 15. Zane Kirchner; 14. Dave Kearney (Adam Byrne 40′); 13. Rory O’Loughlin (Ross Byrne 33′); 12. Noel Reid (Jamison Gibson-Park 54′), 11. Barry Daly; 10. Joey Carbery, 9. Luke McGrath (captain); 1. Peter Dooley (Andrew Porter 59′) 2. James Tracy, 3. Mike Ross (Michael Bent 44′); 4. Ross Molony, 5. Mike McCarthy (Bryan Byrne 63′); 6. Dominic Ryan (Dan Leavy 9′), 7. Josh van der Flier (Mick Kearney 13′), 8. Jack Conan.
EDINBURGH: 15. Glenn Bryce; 14. Damien Hoyland, 13. Chris Dean, 12. Phil Burleigh, 11. Tom Brown (Blair Kinghorn 40′); 10. Duncan Weir, 9. Sam Hidalgo-Clyne (Nathan Fowles 59′); 1. Jack Cosgrove (Derrick Appiah 40′) 2. Neil Cochrane (captain) (George Turner 49′), 3. Murray McCullum (Nick Beavon 71′); 4. Fraser McKenzie (Grant Gilchrist 59′) 5. Ben Toolis (Lewis Carmichael 59′) 6. Madnus Bradbury, 7. Jamie Ritchie, 8. Cornell Du Preez.
Replacements not used: 22. Jason Tovey.
Attendance: 11,445.
Referee: Ian Davies [WRU].
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