Leinster 34; Dragons 6
This was always going to be a bonus win for the home side at the Aviva Stadium but Leo Cullen’s outfit huffed and puffed quite a bit before getting the job done.
With over 18,000 cheering them on, an experimental team still had enough to come through in this six-try victory.
With a lot of the pre- and post-match publicity surrounding prop Cian Healy’s remarkable achievement of making a record 281 Leinster appearances, there was still a job to be done and with stand-in captain Jack Conan leading from the front by scoring an early try and dominating play in this half when Leinster were far from as dominant as they should have been.
Another who caught the eye was winger Jimmy O’Brien, particularly in defensive mode when he made two outstanding tackles to thwart promising Dragon moves. Ross Byrne struggled from the tee by missing three of five conversions, but he got in for a vital try to give Leinster a 10-6 interval lead
Cullen’s few words at the break recharged his outfit and they looked much more concentrated as they went to work in the second half. Flanker Max Deegan showed up well and capped his performance with a try. Second-rower Joe McCarthy got over for the bonus-point after 64 mins, while Jordan Larmour and Aitzol King put a shine on the scoreline with two further touchdowns.
Leinster: J Osborne; J Larmour, L Turner, C Tector, J O’Brien; R Byrne, L McGrath; C Healy, G McCarthy, T Clarkson; B Deeny, J Ryan; M Deegan, W Connors, J Conan (capt) Replacements: L Barron (for G McCarthy, 52), M Milne (for Healy, 52), R Slimani (for Clarkson, 52), J McCarthy (for Deeny, 52), J van der Flier (for Connors, 62), F Gunne (for McGrath, 62), H Byrne (for Tector, 62), A King (for Larmour, 70).
Healy hits record numbers - and still not out
Almost 37, prop Cian Healy has scrummed in more big games than any Irish player - and still has some power left in his limbs to carry on until season’s end at least.
In addition to his now record 281 Leinster appearances, the powerful front row man has 131 Irish caps which stands only two behind the number amassed by the legendary Brian O’Driscoll. Between Leinster and Ireland appearances, that means Healy has amassed 412 games in a stellar 17-year professional career.
He admitted that when he hit 400 appearances he wondered if would that be a good time to call a halt. “I personally thought that was a cool number of games to hit and that to me was like, 'Wow, I didn't think I'd get this many games playing for this club and my country.' I took a bit of stock and enjoyed that but it was in the middle of one of the tournaments so it was fairly 'crack on!'," he explained.
On how far he will go on, Healy assessed: “The body is good. It has its aches but it's always had its aches. If you mentally give into those aches and start taking Mondays off training and doing that, that's not what I'm about, so I don't think it has that effect on me.
“I enjoy the challenge of getting around sore knees and a stiff back, and getting through a training session and playing my part. I like that. It's like a small personal win that nobody else needs to know about. That's what gets you through hard days of training when you're stiff and sore and you've had a big scrum session the day before. They're the micro-bits of the game that I enjoy.”
The loosehead would love to go out on a high with another big trophy to round off his career. “That's not in my hands -- what's in my hands is to put a couple of performances together when Leo and the lads give me the opportunity to try and get back into that squad.
"I'd love to win another Six Nations, that is something I'd want to be a part of, share those experiences with more people, love to be part of the November Series that looks to be against some serious teams. There is an itch I want to scratch there and it's not so much about going past Drico , it's about winning and achieving things with groups of people. That's something that seriously drives me.”
A moving moment after the game saw previous Leinster appearance holder Devon Toner make a presentation and a speech to mark Healy’s record-breaking evening.
Ulster lose, but make a point
Lions 35; Ulster 22
Ulster suffered a 35-22 loss to Lions in Johannesburg but earned a point on the road in this United Rugby Championship clash.
The home side were always in control in the opening half and went 15-0 up before Ulster’s John Cooney touched down on the cusp of half-time.
When Aidan Morgan cut the deficit to 15-10 on the restart, it looked as if the visitors might mount a real challenge.
However the Lions took over on the physicality stakes and following a rolling maul, Henco van Wyk got in and suddenly the homesters were 27-10 to the good.
Werner Kok got his first try for Ulster to cut the margin with 20 minutes to go and then a late try from Corrie Barrett earned the bonus point.
Ulster: E McIlroy; W Kok, S Moore, S McCloskey, J Stockdale; A Morgan, J Cooney; A Warwick, J Andrew, T O'Toole; K Treadwell, A O'Connor (capt); M Rea, S Reffell, N Timoney Replacements: J McCormick, E O’Sullivan, C Barrett, I Henderson, J McNabney, N Doak, M Lowry, D McCann.
