Benetton 5; Leinster 35
Leinster went 28-0 up in the first half and we sat back waiting for a second period of champagne rugby at Stadio Monigo. Instead we got a really tough encounter as the home side fought tooth and nail for their pride and made Leo Cullen’s side work overtime to preserve their lead.
The homesters managed a late try for their efforts but then Leinster continued their 100pc start by adding another converted touchdown to win easily in the end.
After being awarded an initial penalty try for their opponents pulling down a maul after nine minutes, the rampant blues had further scores through the excellent standoff Ciaran Frawley and back rowers Jack Conan and Caelan Doris with Frawley adding all three conversions to leave the score 28-0.
The second half was a good workout in that Benetton didn’t cave in and when Ryan Baird was then sin-binned the losers took advantage with Marco Manfredi dipping down although Leonardo Marin missed the conversion.
Not to be outdone even on a half-by-half evaluation, replacement Lee Barron got in for a fifth try which was converted by Ross Byrne.
Afterwards, Man of the Match Jack Conan was already thinking about this weekend’s showdown in Croke Park against Munster.
“A little bit sloppy in the second half, a bit of indiscipline but it's great to have all the boys back and now we're lifting it for the next few weeks. We couldn't ask for much more than 15 points after three games. The performances have gradually been getting better. I thought the lads were incredible today.
“On to next week now to Croke Park, it'll be something special. Hopefully bodies aren't too sore and lads freshen up and get ready to go again,” he stressed.
Munster make up for Italian humiliation
Munster 23; Ospreys 0
It was a night for excuses as the rain and winds lashed Virgin media Park but Munster showed only their old mettle in beating Ospreys 23-0 which acted as a way of apologizing for the previous week’s loss in Italy to Zebre.
Indeed it took just 10 seconds for the men in Red to make up for that debacle abroad when Shay McCarthy matched the fastest try ever in URC history by touching down as part of scores that saw the home province lead by 18-0 at the break.
Tom Farrell and Calvin Nash also scored first-half tries with the only on-going worry from that period the injuries to Oli Jager and Ireland skipper Peter O’Mahony.
Graham Rowntree’s side sealed their bonus point through Jack O’Donoghue in the 64th minute before thoughts turned to next week’s Croke Park clash with Leinster.
First, though, Rowntree spoke of how proud he was to follow up the Zebre game with such a performance.
“The conditions there were unbelievable, particularly the second half into the wind. Some young men really showed up for us. Shay McCarthy was excellent for us. We chasing a bonus point and he had a key moment in the lead-up to that try. Brian Fitzgerald was excellent for us. In the last minute of the game, he's holding them up over the goal-line. That pleased me. We saw a reaction but our physicality and our accuracy and the weather - they stand out for me,” he claimed.
Munster picked up some knocks with Jager, O'Mahony and Mike Haley all needing to be assessed ahead of Saturday's game.
“We'll see how those guys pull up,” Rowntree said. “We've got a huge game next week now but it's about getting bodies on the field so we'll have to modify what we're doing on Monday and we'll see what we can put on the field but I've learned not to worry about things until I get the scan results back and see how they are.”
Meanwhile, Ulster lost 47-21 against Bulls, while Connacht squeezed by Scarlets 24 to 23, also on the road.
