Leinster young guns step up to the mark

THE story of Leinster’s season so far seemed to be repeating itself at the RDS on Saturday evening.

A healthy half-time lead had just been whittled away and when Dan Parks kicked the Cardiff Blues into the lead on 64 minutes the sense of déjà vu was palpable.

Joe Schmidt was forced to withdraw Ireland captain Brian O’Driscoll under the player welfare scheme, while his own skipper, Shane Jennings, went off injured leaving a callow side on the field. But they stepped up, led by Isa Nacewa and Jamie Heaslip, and scored 14 points without reply to win with a bonus point.