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Leinster back on top in the URC after their nine-try Italian job
By PA
Leinster reclaimed the top spot in the URC with a 61-17 Saturday thrashing of Benetton in Treviso. Ulster’s big win against Cardiff on Friday night saw them edge ahead of Leo Cullen’s men in the overall table but the Dubliners ran in nine tries to claw their way back to the summit with a four-point margin.
Max Deegan, Sean Cronin, Jordan Larmour and Ross Byrne earned Leinster a bonus point by half-time, with a single penalty from Rhyno Smith the only response Benetton could muster before the URC interval.
The hosts did touch down twice in the second half but Cronin’s second and two tries each for James Tracy and Jimmy O’Brien saw Leinster to a comfortable victory, with Byrne also kicking 14 points.
Deegan powered over from close range for Leinster’s first try after a totally dominant opening five minutes. Byrne added the extras before Smith got Benetton off the mark with a relatively straightforward penalty seven minutes later.
The visitors eventually added their second try when Cronin went over from a driving maul. Byrne’s conversion made it 14-3 after 24 minutes and he was on target again when a third try quickly followed, Larmour exploiting a gap in the Benetton defence to go over.
Leinster had their bonus point by half-time thanks to a fantastic team try initiated by a rapid counter-attack from Jimmy O’Brien, Tommy O’Brien and Larmour, with Byrne eventually applying the finish and converting for a 28-3 scoreline at the break. Cronin emerged from another lineout maul to cross for his second try seven minutes into the second half, again converted by Byrne, but Benetton went over when second row Nicola Piantella picked up from the back of a ruck and darted for the line.
Smith’s conversion took the hosts into double figures but replacement hooker Tracy resumed the Leinster onslaught with a close-range finish and Byrne made it 42-10 from the tee. Jimmy O’Brien ran in under the posts to give Byrne an easy seventh conversion but the fly-half hit both posts and the crossbar after Tracy’s second – his first miss of the match.
Lorenzo Cannone touched down and Smith split the posts as Benetton showed some signs of life but O’Brien converted his own try to round off a pleasing afternoon’s work for Leinster.
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Latest Comments
Nah, that just needs some more variation. Chip kicks, grubber stabs, all those. Will Jordan showed a pretty good reason why the rush was bad for his link up with BB.
If you have an overlap on a rush defense, they naturally cover out and out and leave a huge gap near the ruck.
It also helps if both teams play the same rules. ARs set the offside line 1m past where the last mans feet were😅
Go to commentsYeah nar, should work for sure. I was just asking why would you do it that way?
It could be achieved by outsourcing all your IP and players to New Zealand, Japan, and America, with a big Super competition between those countries raking it in with all of Australia's best talent to help them at a club level. When there is enough of a following and players coming through internally, and from other international countries (starting out like Australia/without a pro scene), for these high profile clubs to compete without a heavy australian base, then RA could use all the money they'd saved over the decades to turn things around at home and fund 4 super sides of their own that would be good enough to compete.
That sounds like a great model to reset the game in Aus. Take a couple of decades to invest in youth and community networks before trying to become professional again. I just suggest most aussies would be a bit more optimistic they can make it work without the two decades without any pro club rugby bit.
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