Auva’a power gives Leinster the edge

SOME not so clever defending made this victory more difficult than it should have been for Leinster but it also contributed to a hugely entertaining game of rugby.

It was a cold, windy day in Edinburgh, like it often is, but from the very start both teams played high-tempo attacking rugby that warmed the cockles.

Edinburgh were the first to rouse the scoreboard operator when a period of sustained pressure earned a penalty that Greig Laidlaw slotted, but Leinster drew level a couple of minutes later when Jonny Sexton replied in kind.

Sexton’s kick came courtesy of a spring-heeled run from Rob Kearney that brought him agonisingly close to the Edinburgh line, and though the home team prevented the try, they held on after the tackle to cough up the penalty.

Both teams then had another couple of near misses before Sexton slotted another penalty after a spell of pressure that ended with Isaac Boss going close but, two minutes later, Leinster were knocked back on their heels when Edinburgh scored the first try of the game.

Tim Visser is one of the most lethal finishers in the game, and the flying Dutch-man proved as much when he shimmied his way past a flat-footed Sean Cronin and then evaded both Kearney brothers, Rob and Dave, on the way to the line.

Laidlaw knocked over the conversion to put Edinburgh four points to the good — but Leinster’s response to this setback was impressive.

First Sexton closed the gap to the minimum with his third penalty and then Boss dived over for a try having created a gap in the Edinburgh defensive line by dummying a pass from the base of a ruck. Sexton knocked over the conversion, and now Leinster were six points ahead.

That remained the situation at half time too, as the team’s exchanged apenalty apiece to leave Leinster 19-13 to the good.

It took Edinburgh just two minutes of the second half to hit back and once again it was a combination of Visser’s finishing ability and some suicidal Leinster defending that undid the visitors.

The winger bustled his way past Dave Kearney on the wing and then swept past the attempted tackles of both Sexton and Rob Kearney for another wonderful individual try. Laidlaw converted, and now Edinburgh were leading by a point.

A penalty each preserved the status quo before Leinster made the next significant breakthrough when a superb one-handed pass from Rob Kearney put the bullocking Leo Auva’a over in the corner for an unconverted try that eased Leinster four points ahead.

Joe Schmidt’s team were really starting to turn the screw now, and a penalty and a drop-goal from Sexton reflected their growing dominance.

Just when you thought the match was winding down to an inevitable conclusion, however, Edinburgh found a late surge when out-half Harry Leonard put Matt Scott through for a try with a cheeky chip-kick.

Laidlaw missed the conversion, however, and a late Fergus McFadden penalty eased Leinster to the eight-point victory.

Scorers for Leinster: Tries: I Boss, Auva’a. Pens: Sexton (6) McFadden. Con: Sexton. Drop goal: Sexton.

Scorers for Edinburgh: Tries: Visser (2), Scott. Pens: Laidlaw (3). Cons: Laidlaw (2).

LEINSTER: R Kearney; D Kearney, E O’Malley, F McFadden, L Fitzgerald; J Sexton, I Boss; H van der Merwe, S Cronin, M Ross; L Cullen, D Toner; K McLaughlin, D Ryan, L Auva’a.

Replacements: R Strauss for Cronin (50), R Ruddock for McLaughlin (58), N White for Ross (62), I Madigan for Sexton (79).

EDINBURGH: C Paterson; S Webster, N de Luca, M Scott, T Visser; H Leonard, G Laidlaw; A Jacobsen, R Ford, G Cross; E Lozado, S Turnbull; D Denton, R Grant, S McInally.

Replacements: N Talei for McInally, G Gilchrist for Turnbull , T Brown for Webster (all 63), S Lawrie for Ford, J Thompson for Paterson (70), L Niven for Cross (73).

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