Leinster 34
Hollywoodbets Sharks 13
Daire Walsh reports from the RDS
JORDAN LARMOUR, MAX Deegan, Rob Russell and Tommy O’Brien were amongst the tries at the RDS as Leinster claimed a bonus point victory against Hollywoodbets Sharks in their first home game of the new United Rugby Championship season.
Eager to bounce back from last weekend’s defeat to Glasgow Warriors in Scotstoun Stadium, the Blues were briefly in arrears during the opening period before ultimately assuming control of the play. While Ireland’s World Cup contingent are yet to return to competitive club action, Michael Ala’alatoa was selected in the starting line-up following his exploits with Samoa in France and there was also a debut appearance for All-Ireland League stalwart Dylan Donnellan off the bench.
The visiting Sharks had lost out to defending URC champions Munster in their opening game at Thomond Park last Saturday, but the Durban-based side opened the scoring in Ballsbridge when out-half Curwin Bosch knocked over a penalty with just over a minute gone on the clock.
Yet it didn’t take long for Leinster to get up and running as a prolonged attack inside the Sharks ‘22’ was bookended by Cormac Foley’s incisive pass out wide which released Larmour for his 34th try in a Leinster jersey.
Byrne was off-target from a difficult touchline conversion strike, however, and this opened the door for the Sharks to regain the initiative courtesy of a long-distance Bosch penalty on the stroke of 10 minutes. The visitors had an opportunity to go further in front moments later, but Bosch’s ambitious effort off the tee from inside his own half floated marginally wide of the mark.
Leinster remained one point adrift moving into the second-quarter, but that all changed when Deegan bagged the most popular try of the game on 22 minutes. The ever-dependable back-row was picking up his 100th provincial cap and after Lee Barron’s tap-and-go had given them momentum, Deegan was on hand to drive powerfully over the opposition whitewash.
Byrne added the bonuses to this score with minimal fuss, but even though they dominated both possession and territory for the remainder of the opening period, Leinster had to be content with a 12-6 interval buffer.
The eastern province did suffer a set-back when Barron was yellow-carded for a high tackle on opposite number Kerron van Vuuren two minutes after the resumption, but the temporary absence of their starting hooker didn’t prevent Leinster from extending their lead.
When Italian referee Federico Vedovelli awarded the home team a penalty right in front of the posts, Byrne stepped back up to the tee and added three points to his and Leinster’s tally for the night.
At the same time that Barron resumed his position in the Leinster scrum, head coach Cullen also introduced Will Connors (who had appeared briefly as a first half blood replacement) and Russell to the fray. The latter made an instant impact as he got on the end of an attack on the right-hand side for his 11th try in just 19 senior appearances for the province.
Leinster’s South African counterparts also made an interesting change of their own in the third-quarter. Having recently completed a four-year doping ban, Aphiwe Dyantyi was brought off the bench for his Sharks debut.
However, whereas he struggled to make an impression on the game, the promising Sam Prendergast enjoyed a lively 18 minute run-out at out-half for Leinster. The Kildare man showcased his vision off a kicked pass that landed into the grateful arms of O’Brien, who then side-stepped his way over the line for Leinster’s bonus point try.
The Sharks had looked set to end the game on a positive note when replacement hooker Dylan Richardson got through for a 80th minute five-pointer, but Leinster had the final say when a defensive error opened the door for Russell to score his second try of the game in stoppage-time.
Leinster Scorers:
Tries – Rob Russell [2], Jordan Larmour, Max Deegan, Tommy O’Brien.
Conversions – Harry Byrne [2/3], Sam Prendergast [1/2]
Penalties – Harry Byrne [1 from 1]
Sharks Scorers:
Tries – Dylan Richardson
Conversions – Boeta Chamberlain [1 from 1]
Penalties – Curwin Bosch [2 from 3]
LEINSTER: Ciaran Frawley; Tommy O’Brien, Jamie Osborne, Charlie Ngatai (Rob Russell ’53), Jordan Larmour; Harry Byrne (Sam Prendergast ’62), Cormac Foley (Ben Murphy ’62); Jack Boyle (Paddy McCarthy 60), Lee Barron (Dylan Donnellan ’67), Michael Ala’alatoa (Rory McGuire 60); Ross Molony, Jason Jenkins (Brian Deeny ’57); Rhys Ruddock (Will Connors ’53), Scott Penny (Will Connors ’26-29), Max Deegan.
SHARKS: Aphelele Fassi; Werner Kok, Francois Venter, Rohan Janse van Rensburg, Marnus Potgieter (Aphiwe Dyantyi ’53); Curwin Bosch (Boeta Chamberlain ’69), Cameron Wright (Zee Mkhabela ’61); Ntuthuko Mchunu (Dian Bleuler ’60), Kerron van Vuuren (Dylan Richardson ’60), Hanro Jacobs (Khwezi Mona ’60); Corne Rahl (Hyron Andrews ’69), Emile van Heerden; James Venter, Vincent Tshituka (George Cronje ’36), Phepsi Buthelezi.
Referee: Federico Vedovelli.