Benetton 27
Leinster 32
DAVE KEARNEY WAS the hero for Leinster on Saturday evening with a hat-trick of tries as the Guinness Pro14 champions got their title defence up and running with a hard-fought 27-32 bonus-point win away to Benetton.
Leo Cullen’s side raced into a 10-point lead early on when a pinpoint penalty kick from Ross Byrne was added to by an Adam Byrne try under the posts.
Byrne had no difficulty with the conversion, but Leinster were stopped in their tracks when the Italians bounced back in fine style.
Derrick Appiah delivered a try following a Leinster knock-on, with Ian Keatley converting to narrow the deficit to just three points.
Benetton struck again shortly after when Tomas Baravalle took full advantage of a quick lineout from inside his own half.
Kearney’s opening try was followed by another important Byrne conversion on the stroke of half-time, which saw the champions edge in front 14-17 at the break.
The hosts were level again following the restart via another Keatley kick, but Kieran Crowley’s side were dealt a massive setback when Ratuva Tavuyara was dismissed for taking Kearney out while competing for a high ball.
Leinster took full advantage of their man advantage, Kearney producing his second try of the evening to bring his side 17-22 ahead with 50 minutes on the clock.
Keatley cut the deficit back with another important penalty kick and Benetton took the lead for the very first time when Luca Sperandio dotted down despite the best efforts of James Tracy’s tackle deep inside Leinster’s 22.
Kearney grabbed his third try in heroic fashion to level the sides yet again, before Byrne added the extras to extend Leinster’s lead by two.
Sprung off the bench, Lansdowne’s Harry Byrne clinched victory with a pivotal late penalty kick as Leinster got up and running with a thrilling five-point win on the road in Italy.
WATCH:
— eir Sport (@eirSport) September 28, 2019
Benetton 27- 29 Leinster.
A hat-trick of tries for Dave Kearney as he gets Leinster back into the lead in this very eventful game!
Live on eirSport 1!#PRO14 #LEINvBENN pic.twitter.com/5wMIe4iE5p
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