Leinster in driving seat as title race reaches climax in Wales

Leinster 31 Borders 0

But of greater significance is that Magners League success is in the hands of Michael Cheika’s men.

Stylish it was not, but there was no shortage of determination from Leinster as their perseverance paid off late in the game. Their reward was a bonus point win which keeps the pressure on Cardiff, Ospreys and Llanelli.

Willed on by a vociferous support, Leinster surged into a commanding first quarter lead with Guy Easterby playing Felipe Contepomi in for a converted try.

Leinster must have thought the bonus point would arrive before half time when some non-existent tackling let the home side in for another try on 14 minutes.

Gordon D’Arcy got a glimpse of the posts and with the Borders backline at sea, he accelerated beyond the flailing arms of Steve Jones to put leave 12 points between the teams.

Contepomi was successful with his kick straight in front of the posts before Opeta Palepoi spurned a glorious chance to reduce arrears for the Borders when he knocked the ball on after a five metre scrum which should have delivered much, much more.

That was pretty much it until the start of the second half when Denis Hickie and D’Arcy exchanged passes in the build-up to Jamie Heaslip’s first and only try of the night on 51 minutes.

Contepomi was unable to convert but it mattered little as replacement Brian Blaney racked up the vital fourth five-pointer with 75 minutes gone.

After Hickie foraged and won the ball, Blaney was set free on the left flank and wriggled through an meek tackle from Dougie Flockhart to score.

Blaney heaped further misery on the Borders when he passed to Christian Warner thirty yards out and he ambled past a jaded defence to score the fifth and final try at the ‘old’ Donnybrook.

Leinster were expected to beat the Borders, and they did so not quite as emphatically as the scoreline may suggest, and elements of their play — particularly their handling at line-out — is in need of some improvement.

Denis Hickie said: “We were disappointed with aspects of the performance, but in saying that we got the win and the bonus point which we needed, although we will have to raise our game for Cardiff.”

Nevertheless after a better than expected weekend Leinster are in the driving seat, and for the soon to depart Guy Easterby his return to Wales will hopefully coincide with a win on Friday.

After a spell at Llanelli, Easterby is well placed to assess just how difficult it will be on Friday night, in the Cardiff Arms Park.

“I think there’s a huge strength in depth in Wales, and it’s coming to the fore if you look at their touring squad and the players they have left behind it’s easy to see just how strong they are.” said Easterby.

He added: “It’s just a hugely competitive league, and every region in Wales is strong. In saying that we’ve hung on in and stayed competitive, hopefully we can finish the job off and win the Magners.”

LEINSTER: G Dempsey; R Kearney (L Fitzgerald 67), G D’Arcy, S Horgan (C Warner 77), D Hickie; F Contepomi, G Easterby (C Whitaker 57); R Corrigan (C Healy 65), B Jackman (B Blaney 65), W Green, T Hogan, M O’Kelly (O Finegan 65), S Keogh (S Jowitt 56), J Heaslip, K Gleeson.

BORDERS: S Moffat; D Flockhart, G Law (B Rennie 55, C MacRae, N De Luca; S Jones (G Townsend 67), R Chrystie (B McKercher 65); G Kerr, S Scott (S Crombie 57)B Douglas, S Grimes (C Hamilton 61), O Palepoi, S Gray (J Dalziel 67), K Brown, A Miller.

Referee: H Watkins (Wales).