DAVE KEARNEY IS a soft-spoken character so the increased decibel levels from his sighs told the story of a win that got away.
Starting at fullback for Leinster, Kearney scored the try of the game [from the left wing] in a 29-29 draw with Ospreys. The Welsh side scored 14 unanswered points in the second half but Leinster fought back and thought they had secured the home win before conceding a late penalty to the reliable Dan Biggar.
Kearney told TheScore.ie: “We got off to a decent start and build a good lead but I think it was a couple of lapses in concentration that let them back in… it just shows that one or two missed tackles, and lapses, can cost you a game.”
“We played some really good stuff but it goes to show you what can happen when you take your foot off the gas,” he said. “We put together some good play and created opportunities but maybe our accuracy cost us at times. There were a couple of dropped balls when we had numbers out wide. It’s early, it’s our second game, so we’ll try put that right for next week.”
While Leinster were certainly not on top at scrum time in the first half, the arrival of Adam Jones, Richard Hibbard and Duncan Jones [all Welsh internationals] saw Ospreys set the tempo, off a solid platform, after the break. Kearney insists that the dropped points should not be viewed as a harbinger of doom. He said:
We had it in us to win. I thought we were the better team. We let them… we lost the game. It’s still two points; it’s better than nothing so I suppose that is the only positive to take.”
Kearney may have been disappointed to drop points at the RDS but he is pleased with his early season form ahead of the drip, drop return of Irish and Lions players. “These games are very important,” he said. “It’s the first few games, you have a new coach. You’re looking to impress and get your name on the jersey for the big league and Heineken Cup games.”
One down, many more to go
Leinster may have thought they finally shook off Ospreys as their bogey team when they squeezed them between finger and thumb and won in bonus point style at home last season. However, with a solid front row, Eli Walker and Ashley Beck in the backline and Biggar an unerring outhalf, the Welsh side remain hard to beat.
Flanker Tom Smith was Ospreys captain in the absence of Ryan Jones. With another league clash on the slate and two Heineken Cup ties with Leinster looming ever larger, Smith was happy with the marker his teammates laid down.
He told TheScore.ie: ”Looking at the result, we would have taken that but the boys in the dressing room are a little disappointed as we were up at a [late] stage and feel we could have gotten a little more.”
“We’ll have an opportunity to play against Leinster a good few times this season so, to come out here and get a result like we did tonight and nearly pipping them at the post, gives us that bit of confidence,” Smith added.
