LEO CULLEN WILL have much to ponder when he reviews Leinster’s 24-12 win over the Dragons, not least how they managed to bag a bonus-point with a remarkable try in the 78th minute from RG Snyman.

But if that moment is on the plus side of the ledger, there will be 18 penalties to dissect and three yellow cards to reckon with. And the almost unimaginable thought that they could have been held to a draw against a team that hasn’t won in the league since September 2024.

The game ultimately turned on a TMO review of an incident in front of the Leinster posts in the 75th minute when a Scott Penny shoulder to the head of a Dragons player at a maul went under the spotlight with Leinster leading 17-12.

Penny had already received a yellow card in the first half and seemed destined for another one. Then the South African referee, Morne Ferreira, came up with a decision that had the home crowd howling in disbelief – no dangerous play, scrum to Leinster.

“Both players were falling so it’s hard to say, but that’s the way the game is at the moment – it’s a little bit complicated,” said Cullen.

“If you wind back the clock, that incident wouldn’t even have been looked at. When every incident is blown up on the screen, and everything is freeze framed, it’s a real challenge when you are dealing with poachers.

“You do want consistency from referees, but I’d like to see the game being more fluid and have less TMO interruptions. I understand the need around tries on the goal line, but we need more fluidity.”

Having been cleared of any wrong-doing, Leinster cleared their lines, went up field and Snyman galloped 25 metres to bag the bonus-point. Harry Byrne’s touchline conversion merely rubbed salt into the Dragons’ wounds.

“We’re going home with five points, but I’m not sure how. There was a hell of a lot of effort, but we put ourselves under pressure and a lot of things were avoidable – we could have been smarter,” admitted Cullen.

“We got a try in the first five minutes and then we had five or six entries into their 22 in the first 20 minutes and we don’t come away with points. You have to try to kill off any team and we weren’t clinical enough.

“Then we started giving away silly penalties. There were about seven or eight for offside and I’ll have to have a look back at it on the review.

“It’s hugely frustrating and the Dragons were hungrier than us in the second half of the first half. We had greater intensity and were a bit more direct in the second half, but then we had other chances and were lacking a little bit of killer instinct.

“There was a period in the second half where it looked like we were going to push on, but we never did. We need to have a good look at ourselves in terms of decision making.

“It’s frustrating but it was also good because it’s good learning for a lot of young guys. We got five points away from home with a young and inexperienced group.

“Josh Erikson was a new cap on the night, and Josh Kenny has now scored four tries in two games. It’s great to see those inexperienced youngsters coming through.

“This group has done well and picked up 10 points from two games. We’ve also had seven new caps.”