Ealing Trailfinders 22
Leinster ‘A’ 7
LEINSTER’S HOPES OF completing a double swoop for silverware today were dashed as they came off second-best against Ealing Trailfinders at Vallis Way in the final of the British & Irish Cup.
In the final season of the competition, Leinster — winners in 2013 and ’14 — were unable to claim the silverware at the expense of the Championship side, who finished second to Bristol this year in England’s second tier.
Luke Carter’s try shortly before half-time sent Ealing into the changing rooms with a 10-7 lead, and they pulled further ahead after the restart thanks to tries from Joe Munro and Mark Bright.
After a cagey start in greasy conditions in West London, Luke Daniels kicked Ealing into a 13th-minute lead when Leinster were penalised for not rolling away. However, the visitors responded swiftly and were ahead within a couple of minutes.
Having kicked to the corner with a penalty, a pick-and-go drive brought Leinster over the opposition’s line. Beneath a pile of bodies, it was difficult to make out who had finished the move, but many of the congratulations appeared to go in the direction of captain Bryan Byrne.
Ciaran Frawley added the extras to give Leinster a 7-3 lead. Despite moving into the ascendancy, however, they never capitalised on that momentum to increase their advantage.
At the other end, they defended well to withstand heavy Ealing pressure as the interval approached, before eventually succumbing two minutes prior to half-time when scrum-half Luke Carter peeled away from the scrum to creep over for Ealing’s first try. Daniels’ conversion left the home side 10-7 in front at the break.
Ealing, aided by the first-half introduction of Mark Tampin to their front row, gradually gained the upper hand in the scrum. The pressure Leinster were under told in the 56th minute when replacement prop Peter Dooley was sin-binned after another scrum collapsed.
Moments later, Ealing increased their lead when Joe Munro finished off a superb move involving Carter and James Cordy Redden. With Leinster’s numbers further reduced following a yellow card to Tommy O’Brien for a deliberate knock-on, the English side went 22-7 ahead in the 62nd minute when captain Mark Bright charged over after Leinster brought the maul down just shy of their line.
Leinster came from 27-8 behind to get the better of Jersey Reds in their semi-final, but a similar comeback never looked likely this afternoon.
Ealing Trailfinders scorers:
Tries: Luke Carter, Joe Munro, Mark Bright
Penalties: Luke Daniels [1 from 2]
Conversions: Luke Daniels [2 from 3]
Leinster ‘A’ scorers:
Tries: Bryan Byrne
Conversions: Ciaran Frawley [1 from 1]
Penalties: Ciaran Frawley [1 from 1]
EALING TRAILFINDERS: Luke Daniels; Seb Stegman, Piers O’Conor, Joe Munro, James Cordy Redden; Shane O’Leary, Luke Carter; Will Davis, Alun Walker, Lewis Thiede; Sam Dickinson, Harry Casson; Kieran Murphy, Rayn Smid, Mark Bright (captain).
Replacements: Rhys Lawrence, James Gibbons, Mark Tampin, Oli Curry, Dan Temm, Calum Waters, Peter Lydon.
LEINSTER: Jack Kelly; Adam Byrne, Gavin Mullin, Conor O’Brien, Tommy O’Brien; Ciaran Frawley, Charlie Rock; Ed Byrne, Bryan Byrne (captain), Vakh Abdaladze; Mick Kearney, Ian Nagle; Josh Murphy, Peadar Timmins, Max Deegan.
Replacements: Sean McNulty, Peter Dooley, Jack Aungier, Caelan Doris, Will Connors, Hugh O’Sullivan, Tom Daly.
Referee: Craig Evans (WRU)
