Gunners blown away but all to no avail

Edinburgh Gunners 8 Leinster 31

Two tries from the Ireland centre inspired Leinster to the bonus point win they needed to keep alive their Celtic League title hopes.

But their efforts were all in vain as leaders Ulster earned the glory by beating the Ospreys in Wales.

Leinster, backed by a big and noisy travelling support, dominated the opening exchanges.

Argentinean playmaker Felipe Contepomi was in the thick of the action and he was involved in two near things. He set up the first real opportunity with a darting run, only for Gordon D’Arcy to spill his clever flipped pass.

He then set up a penalty line-out in the Gunners’ danger zone and created another opening which also ended with a knock-on.

Edinburgh then edged in front with a penalty by Ander Monro, when prop Will Green was given a yellow-card for killing the ball on the ground.

Then, despite being a man down, Leinster seized control with O’Driscoll’s quick-fire one-two. First, he was in the right place at the right time to latch on to a perfectly-weighted Shane Horgan feed.

Then he found an extra yard of pace to dart in under the crossbar when the home markers were expecting the ball to be sent wide.

With the two conversions to his credit, Contepomi was unlucky to see his long-range penalty crash back from the woodwork.

Gunners steadied the ship and stayed in the hunt thanks to a try by veteran lock Scott Murray four minutes before the interval.

Another two-try burst earned Leinster the precious bonus point and ended the Gunners’ challenge.

O’Driscoll turned from scorer to provider as his interception sent Horgan clear — then the brilliant Contepomi bagged a typical opportunist effort. He converted both and added a penalty for good measure.

Edinburgh scorers: Tries: Murray. Pens: Monro.

EDINBURGH: Leonelli Morey, Pyke, Godman, Dey, De Luca, Monro, Lawson, Jacobsen, Kelly, Dickinson, Pringle, Murray, Mustchin, Strokosch, Callam.

Replacements: Cairns for Dey (53), Webster for De Luca (54), MacDonald for Monro (69), Laidlaw for Lawson (48), Hall for Kelly (59), Smith for Dickinson (54), Rennie for Murray (54).

Leinster scorers: Tries: O’Driscoll 2, Horgan, Contepomi. Cons: Contepomi 4. Pens: Contepomi.

LEINSTER: Dempsey, Horgan, O’Driscoll, D’Arcy, Hickie, Contepomi, Easterby, Corrigan, Jackman, Green, Byrnes, O’Kelly, Ronan, Gleeson, Heaslip.

Replacements: Lewis for D’Arcy (68), Kearney for Hickie (59), O’Riordan for Easterby (70), McCormack for Corrigan (62), Blaney for Jackman (72), Toner for Byrnes (75), Miller for Ronan (69).

Celtic League: Borders 43 Newport-Gwent D’gons 5