Leinster’s try feast as Swansea are licked

By Barry Coughlan LEINSTER progressed to the quarter-finals of the Heineken Cup with relative ease last night, against a lacklustre Swansea side.

Such was the dominance of the home side, the winning margin should have been greater again, however few were complaining. Take for example, the injured Paul Wallace.

"Eight tries ain't bad," he said from his berth in the stands. "We played into their hands for a while but eventually got the rewards."

But what of the missed goal chances? Nothing to fear, Wallace admits, such lessons are all part of the wonderful learning curve which Leinster have found themselves on.

"We have got to be a bit more patient," he admitted. "We tried to play too early instead of trying to control the game by doing the simple things. Eventually everything came right but there were too many mistakes. I suppose it could have come down to nerves because there was such high expectation.

"At the end of the day, however, I will take the result and so will everyone associated with the team. As I said, eight tries was a fair return from any match."

Leinster began as they aimed to finish. They took the lead inside a minute when Brian O'Meara kicked a long range penalty but Swansea were back on level terms a few minutes later when Gavin Henson proved capable of matching the Leinster scrum half and he knocked over a similar effort.

Then Leinster, came close to scoring the first try after Denis Hickie chipped ahead and Richard Rees got back to foil both Brian O'Driscoll and Shane Horgan as they surged through.

But this was a first half of mistakes from both sides. Neither of them appeared to have any real ability to hold onto the possession they won and it wasn't as if they had any excuses with the weather. Inevitably, after 26 minutes, the next chance (after O'Meara had missed a 17th-minute penalty) fell to Henson and he knocked over the kick to give Swansea a 6-3 lead.

The best move of that first half came via a superb burst from Shane Horgan but, after a 60-metre run, his last pass went astray. That just about summed up Leinster's inept first half display.

Then, when everyone expected least of them, Leinster struck with a brilliant try from Victor Costello, thanks entirely to superb work from Christian Warner and O'Driscoll with a little bit of help from others.

Good teams thrive on challenge and Leinster rose to that challenge in the closing stages of that first half (after Colin Charvis was shown a yellow card and Swansea were reduced to 14 men) with a brace of tries inside three minutes at the end.

Keith Gleeson got in for the second try and then Denis Hickie was sent away, courtesy of Horgan and Costello respectively. At 20-6 midway through the game, Leinster emerged from discomfort to the comfort zone.

It got better 40 seconds into the second half when Hickie chased down a kick by Brian O'Meara and the winger scored a classic try after controlling the bounce perfectly.

Henson found a rare gap in the Leinster defence five minutes later, got in at the posts and converted to bring Swansea to within 12 points. O'Meara stretched it out further with a penalty but Henson responded quickly with another three points.

That wasn't nearly enough, however, for Leinster came storming back and scored a fifth try from Aidan McCullen 13 minutes into the half to establish a comprehensive 33-16 lead.

Hickie grabbed his hat-trick when he picked up a loose clearance from Henson midway through the half and it mattered little that the outhalf atoned somewhat when he dropped a subsequent goal. Leinster were never troubled after that and finished with a flourish for their seventh and eight tries. Des Dillon got in on the 80th minute and Gordon D'Arcy was sent away seconds later to make it 48-19.

Leinster now await other weekend results with interest. They have won the group and can go further by beating Bristol next week. They have closed in on a home draw but, after last year when they lost out on a similar points tally, they are counting no chickens until they are hatched

LEINSTER: G. D'Arcy, D. Quinlan, B. O'Driscoll, S. Horgan, D. Hickie, C. Warner, B.O'Meara, R. Corrigan (captain), S. Byrne, E. Byrne, A.McCullen, M. O'Kelly, E. Miller, V. Costello, K. Gleeson.

Replacements. P. Coyle for E. Byrne(67), N. Spooner for Warner (71), G. Hickie for S. Byrne (72), A. Kearney for McCullen , D. Dillon for Costello, B. O'Riordan for O'Meara (all 75).

SWANSEA: G. Swales, R. Rees, M. Taylor, S. Gibbs, S. Payne, G. Henson, S. Cordingly, D. Morris (captain), C. Balshen, D. Dorsey, B. Evans, J. Stade, J. Thomas, C. Charvis, J. Bater, D. Thomas.

Replacements. C. Wells for Balshen, R. Jenkins for Thomas (both 59), A. Thomas for Henson, R. Jones for Cordingly (both 72), S. Winn for Gibbs (76).

Referee: J. Jutge (France)

Meanwhile, the Irish Rugby Union Players Association have met with the Irish Rugby Union to clarify matters pertaining to the professional playing structure in Ireland. The Association has stressed the importance of maintaining four professional teams and the 120 player base as it currently exists. The IRUPA believe any cut could have far reaching consequences for Irish rugby.