United Rugby Championship:

Leinster 28

Edinburgh 20

THE IMPRESSIVE Scott Penny grabbed a hat-trick of tries at the Aviva Stadium this evening as an experimental Leinster side moved to second place in the United Rugby Championship table with a hard-earned bonus point triumph over Edinburgh.

Whereas the Blues were without their sizable international contingent — and also had several others missing through injury — Edinburgh were bolstered by the release of Duhan van der Merwe, Freddy Douglas and Magnus Bradbury from Scotland’s Six Nations Championship squad for this contest.

Leo Cullen’s men breathed a sigh of relief when an early penalty from Ross Thompson drifted past the target. But the hosts subsequently gained a temporary numerical advantage when Edinburgh lock Callum Hunter-Hill was sent to the sin bin on 10 minutes for a high tackle on Andrew Osborne.

Before an off-field review determined that Hunter-Hill’s indiscretion would remain a yellow card, Leinster opened the scoring when an extended period of pressure ended with Max Deegan driving over for a 13th-minute try.

This five-pointer was supplemented by a conversion from the versatile Charlie Tector, who was selected at out-half for this fixture in the absence of Sam Prendergast, Harry Byrne and Ciaran Frawley.

Tector looked set to substantially increase his personal tally moments later when he raced over the whitewash from a fast-paced attack. However, this score was ultimately ruled out for a forward pass by Leinster hooker John McKee earlier in the move.

This was a let-off for Sean Everitt’s visitors, but a strong carry out from a resulting scrum by flanker Ben Muncaster set them on the way to a try of their own just shy of the first-quarter mark. After he was picked out on the run by Muncaster, scrum-half Ben Vellacott released van der Merwe for a typically ruthless finish on the left wing.

While Thompson fired his bonus strike in the wake of this effort past the target, the fly-half later knocked over a penalty to edge Edinburgh in front for the first time.

The former Glasgow Warriors player then joined his fellow number 10 Tector in having a try disallowed. But he also produced an excellent interception when Leinster looked set to pounce inside their ‘22’.

The hosts suffered a blow towards the end of the first half when Joshua Kenny was withdrawn for a head injury assessment, and with right-winger Malelili Satala sprinting past a Deegan tackle to bag a converted try, Edinburgh brought a 15-7 cushion into the interval.

Although momentum appeared to be with the away side at this point, the half-time break offered Leinster an opportunity to regroup and consider the task ahead. They certainly emerged as a rejuvenated force and following another extended attack close to the Edinburgh line, Penny powered over for his 37th try in the blue of Leinster.

Tector added the extras to leave the bare minimum between the teams. Nonetheless, a wayward penalty from the Wexford native kept Edinburgh in the ascendancy, moving into the final quarter.

Despite introducing fresh legs in the form of front rows Gus McCarthy, Alex Usanov and Niall Smyth — Hugo McLaughlin and the Connacht-bound Will Connors were also brought on before Penny’s first try — Leinster were finding it difficult to grind down their stubborn Celtic rivals.

Nevertheless, the eastern province persisted with their challenge and ultimately regained the lead.

Openside flanker Penny has always proven a valuable asset in the absence of frontline internationals, and he once again displayed a clinical edge by dotting down under a slew of Edinburgh bodies for his second try of the game.

This suddenly left Leinster within sight of a bonus-point victory, and the home team duly secured the maximum reward when Penny completed his hat-trick with yet another close-range finish just six minutes from the end.

There was enough time for Edinburgh to finally open their second-half account with a Charlie Shiel try right at the death. But a miscued conversion attempt from replacement out-half Cammy Scott ensured they came away empty-handed from this encounter.

Scorers for Leinster:

Tries – Scott Penny 3, Max Deegan

Conversions – Charlie Tector [4 from 4]

Penalties – Charlie Tector [0 from 1]

Scorers for Edinburgh:

Tries – Duhan van der Merwe, Malelili Satala, Charlie Shiel

Conversions – Ross Thompson [1 from 2], Cammy Scott [0 from 1]

Penalties – Ross Thompson [1 from 2]

LEINSTER: Andrew Osborne; Joshua Kenny (Hugo McLaughlin ’37), Rieko Ioane, Ciaran Mangan, Ruben Moloney; Charlie Tector, Luke McGrath (Fintan Gunne 77); Jerry Cahir (Alex Usanov ’54), John McKee (Gus McCarthy ’54), Andrew Sparrow (Niall Smyth ’54); RG Snyman, Brian Deeny (Conor O’Tighearnaigh 77); Max Deegan, Scott Penny, Diarmuid Mangan (Will Connors ’43 (Josh Ericson ’77)).

EDINBURGH: Harry Paterson; Malelili Satala, Wes Goosen, James Lang (Piers O’Conor ’61), Duhan van der Merwe; Ross Thompson (Cammy Scott ’75), Ben Vellacott (Charlie Shiel ’52); Boan Venter (Mikey Jones ’71), Jerry Blyth-Lafferty (Harri Morris ’57), Paul Hill (Ollie Blyth-Lafferty ’46); Callum Hunter-Hill, Glen Young; Ben Muncaster (Tom Dodd half-time-’43 & 67), Freddy Douglas (Connor Boyle ’61), Magnus Bradbury.

Referee: Andrea Piardi (FIR).