Late drama as unconvincing Leinster edge past Dragons
Josh Kenny of Leinster scores his second, and his side's third try. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
Leinster remain unconvincing to start this campaign. They just about got out of Rodney Parade with a bonus point win, surviving three yellow cards and what should have been a clear red for Scott Penny, overturning a half-time deficit with a 10-24 win.
Leinster’s already complicated start to the year threatened to descend into embarrassment. Alex Soroka’s fourth-minute score was undone by two yellow cards and a Matthew Screech try under the posts, the Dragons taking a 7-5 lead at the interval which had them dreaming of a first win over Leinster since 2016.
Individual moments were entered into Leinster’s positive ledger. Jack Boyle was a menace both at the scrum and in the carry. Soroka’s defensive lineout work was stellar - to go with his well-taken finish, powering through contact to score from close range.
Young wing Josh Kenny appears well-suited to Jacques Nienaber’s defensive system, flying out of the line for a pair of big hits.
But these moments failed to coalesce into team-wide excellence. It’s been a horrendous week for discipline as far as Irish teams are concerned, Diarmuid Mangan and Scott Penny ensuring the revolving door to the sin bin remains well occupied by Irishmen after last weekend’s farce at the Aviva.
Both were sent for repeated infringements.
While Mangan was gone, Dragons took the lead, a series of tap penalties ultimately ending with Matthew Screech diving over. Tinus de Beer, after striking the post with an earlier penalty, made no mistake from straight in front. Dragons were not exactly good value for their lead, but Leinster did enough to ensure it would be impossible for them not to be in front.
Handling errors in attack, a charged down kick, a held-up maul and one breakdown turnover ensured Leinster couldn’t get any fluidity into their attack.
They never looked like scoring after Soroka’s early effort. The only solace was they were only briefly down to 13, Mangan returning shortly after Penny was binned on the cusp of half-time.
Leinster didn’t exactly kill the game off after the break, but a double from Kenny did quell the first-half malaise. His first effort came while Leinster were still down to 14, the Byrne-Frawley midfield axis combining nicely to send the wing over.
On 47 minutes, RG Snyman entered the fray. His first act saw a fortuitous offload bounce off the deck and into the arms of Jimmy O’Brien. You miss every shot you don’t take, I suppose. Luke McGrath scored shortly after, only for the TMO to pick up a dangerous Boyle clearout.
Snyman repeated the dose, this time a direct assist leading to a score which stood. He threw two offloads in three phases, both as audacious as each other, the second looping its way into Kenny’s arms, who finished strongly in the corner.
Seven points looked a dicey lead, even if Dragons didn’t cross the Leinster half until the final 10 minutes. Once they did, Penny was a very lucky boy not to be sent off.
With a tucked arm, he made contact with the head of Levi Douglas, defending his own line. Referee Ferreira said he tried to make a legitimate tackle. No card.
As the home crowd voiced their disappointment at the officials, Snyman secured an undeserved bonus point, cantering off after the Dragons spilt in the backfield. Job done, but not convincingly.
A O’Brien (capt); C Evans, D Richards (J Westwood, 75), A Owen, H Anderson; T de Beer (E Rosser, 65), R Williams (N Armstrong, 75); D Kelleher-Griffiths (W Jones, HT), O Burrows (W Austin, 43) R Hunt (O Jones, 71); S Davies (S Lewis-Hughes, 30), M Screech; R Woodman (L Douglas, 41), T Young, M Martin.
J O’Brien; J Kenny, H Cooney (C Tector, 64), C Frawley, J Larmour (R Moloney, 79); H Byrne, F Gunne (L McGrath, 52); J Boyle (J Cahir, 57), G McCarthy (J McKee, 57), T Clarkson (R Slimani, 57); B Deeny (R Snyman, 47), D Mangan; A Soroka, S Penny, M Deegan (capt) (B Deeny, 52).
D Mangan 29-39, S Penny 35-45, L McGrath 80.
M Ferreira (South Africa)
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
