Leinster 36; Stormers 12
Leinster have found the South African clubs something of a handful since they entered this URC league but on Saturday, the home side was way too strong and too smart for their opponents as they ran out winners by 24 points at the Aviva Stadium.
There was good news all round for Irish rugby in this match with Dan Sheehan returning after a cruciate injury sustained on the South African tour last summer.
He showed no ill-effects as he scored two trade-mark tries while on the left wing James Lowe also announced that he was ready to rejoin the national panel by producing a great display over the 80 mins and with Jack Boyle and Sheehan, they joined up with Simon Eassterby’s panel in Portugal’s Quinta do lago this week before Saturday’s blockbuster against England in the Aviva Stadium.
In all, the rampaging Leinster side ran in five tries with Andrew Osborne also getting a brace while the ever-alert Jordie Barrett dived over for a second half touchdown. Harry Byrne converted four of the five tries and also kicked an early penalty to complete the scoring.
Sheehan, 26, who skippered the team on the day, said afterwards on RTE: “It felt like a bit of a debut nearly. A lot of work has been put into me from the backroom staff at Leinster, physio Emma Gallivan has put a huge amount of work in and made my life easy.
“It's excellent to be back out on the pitch with the lads and sort of lead the week like that and get that buzz around, get that nervous energy again, which was sorely missed over the last couple of months. Yea delighted with how that went and really proud of the lads of how they showed up.”
Referring to a big black bandage on his leg, he reassured Ireland supporters: “I am 100 percent, that's just for extra stability, I suppose. It's part of the rehab process but we've covered all bases and everyone is 100 percent sure and convinced that I'm ready to play. There was no rushing and I made sure that, in my own head, I wasn't rushed. I passed all the markers and we got back onto the pitch earlier than expected and hit that six-month mark, which was sort of a target of mine when we got injured in July. So couldn't be happier,” he emphasised.
This was Leo Cullen’s 14th win in a row and his side are now 15 points clear at the top of the table following this comprehensive victory.
Meanwhile Munster showed real class in the first half as they defeated Dragons 38-19 at Rodney Parade, with the home side getting a brace of late tries to put a respectable look on the scoreboard.
The Southern province were 26-0 to the good by the end of the first quarter as they gave their best display of the season. Diarmuid Kilgallen, Alex Kendellen, Ben O’Connor, Dian Bleuler and John Hodnett scored Munster's tries. There was also a penalty try award, and Billy Burns shot over two conversions while Tony Butler added another.
Leinster: H McErlean; A Osborne, L Turner, J Barrett, J Lowe; R Byrne, L McGrath; J Boyle, D Sheehan (capt), R Slimani; R Snyman, B Deeny; A Soroka, S Penny, M Deegan Replacements: J McKee, P McCarthy, R McGuire, D Mangan, J Culhane, W Connors, C Foley, C Tector.
