WE’RE USED TO Leinster making slow starts to the season, but last weekend’s defeat to Connacht won’t have sat well with Matt O’Connor’s side.
Leinster’s most recent outing at the RDS before tonight saw them run six tries past the Scarlets, although the Cardiff Blues seemed unlikely to defend as poorly as their Welsh neighbours.
Mark Hammett’s side had just one win from their opening three games coming into this encounter – the same record as Leinster – and brought a side that includes Sam Warburton, Adam Jones and Alex Cuthbert.
As always, we’d love to hear your thoughts on the match. E-mail muray@thescore.ie, tweet @thescore_ie, post a message to our Facebook wall, or leave a comment below.
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Good evening rugby fans and welcome along to our liveblog from the RDS, where Leinster look to get back to winning ways against the Cardiff Blues.
Last weekend’s defeat to Connacht featured a poor second-half performance and a failure to be clinical in the opposition red zone. Matt O’Connor will look for his men to take every chance they get tonight and improve on a record that currently reads one win from three games.
What are Leinster fans expecting from this game? With conditions absolutely ideal for expansive, passing rugby, are we set a see another six-try success as the one enjoyed over the Scarlets?
Or are there issues in Leinster’s performances this season that remain a worry?
Points of interest in the Leinster team this evening come in the shape of Gordon D’Arcy, Kane Douglas and Martin Moore.
D’Arcy makes his first start of the season in the 13 shirt, outside Ian Madigan. It will be intriguing to see how that partnership functions, both defensively and in an attacking sense.
Word is that Moore has been destroying his teammates in scrum practice in recent weeks and, by all accounts, he is ready to be unleashed on the season.
Australian lock Douglas makes his debut for Leinster just a week after landing in Ireland. His work rate stood out for the Waratahs in Super Rugby earlier this year, and he loves to rush up in defence.
Here are the teams for this evening’s game:
Leinster: Rob Kearney; Fergus McFadden, Gordon D’Arcy, Ian Madigan, Darragh Fanning; Jimmy Gopperth, Eoin Reddan; Michael Bent, Sean Cronin, Martin Moore; Devin Toner, Kane Douglas; Rhys Ruddock, Dominic Ryan, Jamie Heaslip (capt.).
Replacements: Bryan Byrne, Ed Byrne, Tadhg Furlong, Mike McCarthy, Jack Conan, Luke McGrath, Steve Crosbie, Mick McGrath.
Cardiff Blues: Rhys Patchell; Alex Cuthbert, Cory Allen, Dafydd Hewitt, George Watkins; Gareth Davies, Lewis Jones; Gethin Jenkins, Kristian Dacey, Adam Jones; Jarrad Hoeata, Chris Dicomidis; Josh Turnbull, Sam Warburton, Josh Navidi (capt.).
Replacements: 16 Matthew Rees, 17 Sam Hobbs, 18 Taufa’ao Filise, 19 Macauley Cook, 20 Manoa Vosawai, 21 Tavis Knoyle, 22 Adam Thomas, 23 Dan Fish.
There’s Leinster coach Matt O’Connor heading onto the RDS turf. He still hasn’t won over many fans, but others feel he has been harshly judged. What’s your take?
Need some pre-match reading to get you through to kick-off? We have you sorted:
Mark Hammett is the man in charge of the Cardiff Blues, having joined from the Hurricanes in Super Rugby during the summer. The Welsh region’s defence was extremely aggressive against Ulster last weekend, but just lost concentration on a couple of key occasions.
Shane Walsh speaks for all Leinster fans:
Let’s hope for a better performance than last week!
Can anyone out there help TheScore.ie reader Harvey Kinkel, who is looking to tune in or listen in to Connacht’s big clash against Glasgow over in Scotland?
Murray do you know is there anyway possible of getting the Connacht match even a stream or radio coverage ?
The teams are out on the pitch and we’re ready for kick-off at the RDS!
1 minute - Gareth Davies gets the game going!
2 minutes - Cardiff enjoy a nice passage of possession to start, but then get done for crossing. Gopperth kicks to touch around 10 metres inside the Blues half and Cronin throws to Toner…
4 minutes - Sustained pressure from Leinster leads to a penalty. That looked slick from the home side, with Madigan stepping in at first receiver on a couple of occasions, while D’Arcy had one clever pass when the ball was spread wide to the right.
Madigan is going to have a shot at the sticks, just to the right and 24 metres out…
PENALTY! Leinster 3-0 Cardiff (Madigan ’5)
6 minutes - A sharp counter-attack comes to an end for Leinster with Gopperth’s forward pass. Strong work from Fanning in the air after a Reddan box kick led to the turnover, and Ruddock, Heaslip and Madigan swept the ball from left to right.
Leinster looking energetic and accurate in these early minutes.
8 minutes - Scrum penalty to Leinster! Referee Ian Davies pings the Cardiff front row for a difficult-to-identify offence.
Madigan steps up to the tee again, from further out this time…
PENALTY! Leinster 6-0 Cardiff (Madigan ’9)
12 minutes - Great return from Leinster after a lengthy period of kick tennis. There was a brief opening for the Blues down the right, but Alex Cuthbert’s kick was too long as he looked to knock it past the last man.
Devin Toner has already stepped in as a link-passing forward close to the ruck, hoping we’ll see more of that from Leinster tonight.
13 minutes - A third penalty for Leinster, as Cardiff go offside from their own kick. Madigan is going for posts again, this time from the left. He’s around 42 metres from goal here…
15 minutes - Madigan has missed that one, pulling it just to the left.
16 minutes - Leinster look for the ambitious cross-field kick from Gopperth to McFadden, but the wing is in front of his out-half and that’s a penalty to the Blues. Patchell sends the kick into touch on the let-hand side, a couple of metres into the Leinster 22.
Let’s see what Hammett’s side can do in attack.
17 minutes - Cardiff win a maul penalty and Lewis Jones darts away on a quick tap, but gets called back. Patchell is instead going to have a shot at goal. He works with Dave Alred, the same kicking coach as Johnny Sexton does.
PENALTY! Leinster 6-3 Cardiff (Patchell ’19)
20 minutes - Something of a let off for Leinster there! Gopperth spilled the ball in the air after a Jones box kick and Cardiff scooped it up to race towards the tryline. Some good scrambling work for Leinster got them back into shape and the Blues then knocked-on through Josh Turnbull.
Rob Kearney had a chance to counter, but his chip was just too long and Leinster have conceded a penalty.
22 minutes - Patchell has missed that one, which looked easier than his previous kick.
23 minutes - Hooker Sean Cronin has had a couple of nice touches in the first quarter here at the RDS.
24 minutes - A little sloppy from Leinster in the last five minutes overall, however. Madigan kicks out on the full outside his 22 and Cardiff get the throw at an attacking line-out. But there’s a knock-on from Jones and Matt O’Connor’s men get the put-in at the scrum.
28 minutes - Really, really poor stuff from Leinster. First, Gopperth and Madigan force passes needlessly, then the rucking fails to shift past the ball. Reddan takes an age and indicates a box kick, before the Blues simply counter-ruck and shunt Leinster off the ball.
The passage ends with Davies kicking in behind, Gopperth holds on in contact, and here’s Patchell with the kick…
PENALTY! Leinster 6-6 (Patchell ’30)
31 minutes - Now Gopperth kicks straight into touch with his restart. This is a poor 10-minute passage for Leinster.
32 minutes - A nice screen pass to Patchell allows the fullback to send Cuthbert up the right-hand touchline, but he’s tackled into touch. Ruddock claims the ball at the tail of the line-out and Reddan boots it clear…
34 minutes - Darragh Fanning kicks some life into Leinster with a break up the middle, darting through after Marty Moore was hit ball-and-all. But on the very next phase, there’s no first receiver in place to take the quick ball.
35 minutes - Leinster try that left-to-right cross-field kick again and McFadden taps the ball down to Fanning, but he can’t hold the pill.
We’ve got a stop in play here after a nasty clash of heads between Ian Madigan and Dafydd Hewitt.
Just a quick update from the Connacht game:
Glasgow Warriors 10-7 Connacht. 35 minutes gone there.
35 minutes - Hewitt is gone.
22. Adam Thomas is on for 12. Dafydd Hewitt.
37 minutes - Rhys Ruddock makes good ground up the right from a Devin Toner pass, but gets stripped of the ball in contact. Blues kick out and Leinster come again on the attack…
TRY! Leinster 11-6 Cardiff (Ruddock ’38)
38 minutes - That’s superb! Gopperth carries to the line, slips a little pass to Ruddock charging on an unders line and he bursts through a gap. The back row then hands off Jones to score in the right corner. Covered 25 metres there in serious pace!
CONVERSION! Leinster 13-6 Cardiff (Madigan ’39)
40 minutes – Cardiff on the attack inside the Leinster 22 now after the home side carried back in before kicking to touch…
40 minutes - A good hit from Toner and Gopperth forces Davies into a spill. But we go back for the penalty.
Patchell to kick it…
PENALTY! Leinster 13-9 Cardiff (Patchell ’40)
HALF TIME: Leinster 13-9 Cardiff
Hard to argue with this comment from Neil Dunn in relation to that wonderful Ruddock try:
Shades of Ferris in that Ruddock try.
Let us know your thoughts on that first half. It took some time to kick into life, but Ruddock’s score finally got Leinster over the tryline.
How has stood out and who needs to get better after the break?
Here’s an update on Connacht’s game from TheScore.ie reader ScewMadd:
I’ll give you guys the low down as I get it from Scotland. Glasgow ran up 10 points to lead 17-7 going in at half-time. Hogg got first try, followed by McSharry, with Porter converting for 7-7. Weir kicked a penalty, before Pyrgos got a try that was converted.
Both teams are back out on the RDS turf. How’s this one going to end? Leinster to pull away with a couple more tries? How do you see it going from here on in?
41 minutes - There’s been a half-time substitution for Leinster:
23. Mick McGrath is on for 15. Rob Kearney, who was holding his arm towards the end of the first period.
43 minutes - Big changes in the backline on account of Kearney’s departure. Madigan goes to fullback, D’Arcy to 12, McFadden to 13 and then Fanning over to the right wing. McGrath goes to the left wing.
45 minutes - Ruddock batters his way through again, but his one-handed offload is above the head of McGrath and into touch. He’s just so powerful with ball in hand, always makes yards.
45 minutes - We haven’t seen any big moments from Kane Douglas yet, but that’s probably not what O’Connor is expecting.
TRY! Leinster 18-Cardiff 9 (McGrath ’47)
Oh no, we’re off to the TMO! Davies is going to have a check. No try yet!
TRY! Leinster 18-9 Cardiff (McGrath ’47)
It’s been given, another lovely score.
CONVERSION! Leinster 20-9 Cardiff (Madigan ’47)
47 minutes - Gordon D’Arcy’s excellent long pass released Madigan on the left, with the fullback bursting into space, drawing a defender and hitting Mick McGrath. The Clontarf man showed great pace before smashing into the covering George Watkins. He was tackled, but not held and found his feet again to score!
TRY! Leinster 25- Cardiff (D’Arcy ’52)
CONVERSION! Leinster 27-9 Cardiff (Madigan ’53)
54 minutes - Suddenly, Leinster’s backs are rampant. The pack provided front-foot ball, Gopperth darted into a gap and than off-loaded to D’Arcy on his left. The veteran centre finished smartly. He’s been excellent this evening.
56 minutes - The Blues get a chance to react, working their way into Leinster’s 22, but Patchell loses the pill in contact. D’Arcy kicks clear, he’s doing it all tonight!
58 minutes - Changes for Leinster:
19. Mike McCarthy on for 5. Kane Douglas. Also, 6. Rhys Ruddock is off for 20. Jack Conan.
Here’s ScewMadd’s latest update on the Connacht game:
Bench beginning to be emptied with Kearney and Ronaldson on. Yields results with Leader try on 56′ to bring it to 22-12. Conversion coming up. Converted for 22-14. Game on.
59 minutes - Mick McGrath has been as lively as ever off the bench for Leinster. The Clontarf man is so powerful. Here he is scoring his try.
TRY! Leinster 27-14 Cardiff (Allen ’63)
CONVERSION! Leinster 27-16 Cardiff (Patchell ’64)
64 minutes - An error from Madigan that time, as he went back to gather a Cardiff grubber close to the Leinster tryline. The ball just bobbled as he looked to fall on it, and Allen was on hand to do the simple task of dotting down!
66 minutes - We’re with the TMO here for another Cardiff shout for a try. Looks a forward pass from Dan Fish into Warburton…
TRY! Leinster 27-21 Cardiff (Warburton ’66)
Davies has given it!
CONVERSION! Leinster 27-23 Cardiff (Patchell ’66)
69 minutes – Dan Fish looked to have given a forward pass inside to Warburton for that pass, but Davies and his TMO were happy with it. Big chorus of boos in the RDS, but it’s game on!
71 minutes - There’s a nervousness in the RDS now, but Leinster are in the Blues’ half. Davies is in discussion with one of his assistant referees as play pauses.
71 minutes - The penalty comes Leinster’s way after McGrath was tackled off the ball. O’Connor’s men go to touch 15 metres out and look to maul this one…
72 minutes - Penalty to Leinster straight in front of the sticks for no release in the tackle. Madigan is going to go for goal with this one. Should be three points…
PENALTY! Leinster 30-23 (Madigan ’73)
76 minutes - Leinster on the attack here, putting pressure on the Blues in the 22. They’ll hope to run the clock down on this manner, controlled play and smart decisions.
78 minutes - A Cardiff knock-on brings to an end a helter-skelter two minutes of play! First the Blues kicked clear and put a huge chase on, but Luke McGrath scampered back to clean up. Mick McGrath made a surge, but the Blues turned it over and came back again.
79 minutes - Gopperth slams a clearing kick to touch, but Patchell takes it quickly and the Blues attack again. Good tackle from Luke McGrath!
80 minutes - Superb from Jamie Heaslip! Wins a steal on the deck and a penalty with it. Leinster go to touch; they want the bonus point.
Gordon D’Arcy is man of the match!
TRY! Leinster 35-23 Cardiff (Luke McGrath ’80)
CONVERSION! Leinster 37-23 Cardiff (Madigan ’80)
FULL TIME: Leinster 37-23 Cardiff
Thanks to ScewMadd, who has been leaving updates from the Connacht game. Here’s the final one:
Full time. 39-21, contrary to my previous comment. I’ve pretty much spent the past hour shouting into an empty room, while swelling the number of comments on this article. I hope someone found this helpful.
And thanks to you for joining us for our liveblog. Keep the comments coming and stay tuned for reaction from the RDS!
