Zebre 0
Leinster 3
ROSS BYRNE’S FIRST-HALF penalty was the only score on offer on Saturday evening as Leinster prevailed 3-0 in a low-scoring affair against Zebre.
Leo Cullen’s side came into this weekend’s Guinness Pro14 clash with a perfect record having already seen off Benetton, Ospreys and Edinburgh.
The defending champions came back refreshed from a week off and got back to winning ways with a battling performance at the Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi in a game which failed to inspire.
Early pressure saw Scott Penny and Michael Bent come close to an opening try deep inside the Italian’s 22.
A brilliant grubber kick from Jamison Gibson-Park saw Cian Kelleher touch down soon after, however the 25-year-old’s effort was chalked off after a TMO as Kelleher made his first start of the campaign.
A few minutes later Gibson-Park was held up over the line as Leinster enjoyed plenty of possession and territory, but again a TMO ruled the 27-year-old scrum half’s try out.
Byrne’s penalty after 19 minutes broke the deadlock in Parma. Cullen’s side pushed to try and add to their advantage after the interval but struggled to break through a dogged and resilliant Zebre backline.
Caelan Doris, replacing Max Deegan in the second half at number eight, and Josh Murphy both came close with speedy breaks.
But neither side could add to the scoreboard in a drab affair which sees the defending champions pick up an important four points to extend their lead at the top of Conference A.
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