Leinster save best for last

Leinster31 Pontypridd 18

Coach Matt Williams was a much-relieved man as Lions hero Brian O'Driscoll and his Irish three-quarter partner Denis Hickie broke Pontypridd with a brace of tries apiece.

"It was tough going at times but it was nice to pick up a result. The pressure was always on us because of our status but we came through a fairly searching examination," said coach Matt Williams.

The visitors led 15-12 at the interval and kept Leinster guessing until well inside the last quarter when the champions managed to pull clear.

Pontypridd actually came closest to scoring in the opening minutes when a sustained attack ended with Sonny Parker knocking on the ball with the line at his mercy. Still, from the subsequent scrum the visitors were awarded a penalty for lifting and full-back Brett Davey knocked it over for the lead.

The enjoyment was short-lived because Leinster struck back immediately with the opening try. It started as a counter-attack from Brian O'Driscoll and the Irish side finished off the move with a magnificent score from winger Denis Hickie after the ball went through several hands, amongst them Girvan Dempsey, Brian O'Meara, Eric Miller and Christian Warner.

Without ever seriously threatening, Pontypridd made the most of a rare scoring opportunity in the 30th minute. They won a line-out deep in Leinster's territory and plundered the try from Geraint Lewis off that ball. Davey kicked the conversion to give the visitors a flattering 10-5 lead.

Eight minutes later, Leinster made a right mess in defence and allowed Duncan Bell in for a soft try that Davey was unable to convert to make it 15-5 and leave themselves with all to play for.

But Brian O'Driscoll is never quite quiet. In injury time, Warner picked up a misguided lofted clearance from Ceri Sweeney and turned to find O'Driscoll at his side. The Irish centre took one look at the line and there was no hesitation as he took off for the try. Andy Dunne knocked over the extra points to give Leinster a big lifeline just three points adrift.

Leinster hit the high road early in the second half when O'Driscoll hit the line under the posts after a magnificent break by Hickie with assistance from O'Meara and Miller. Dunne converted to give Leinster a 19-15 lead.

Davey cut the arrears to a point with a 62nd minute penalty but Leinster responded brilliantly when Hickie scorched over for another try. It all came after his kick ahead. The ball was won in the air by Dempsey and his delicate flick back was snapped up by the Irish winger who flew in at the corner for an unconverted try.

The best was reserved for last, even though the try went to the most unlikely candidate. Mal O'Kelly, who had a stormer up front, was on hand to finish off a magnificent move by diving in under the posts for a try that Andy Dunne converted. Gordon D'Arcy and O'Driscoll did all the hard work, but for sheer cheek in being where he was at the particular time, O'Kelly deserved the plaudits.