In the sixth round of the United Rugby Championship, Leinster beat Emirates Lions by 24 to 6. Despite not bagging a sixth bonus-point victory, Leinster demonstrated a promising start to the URC season, with 29 out of 30 points. This impressive performance maintains their six-point lead as they approach the November break.
The match proved demanding for Leinster, held on a wet night at Aviva, with every point contested vigorously. Their quest for a bonus point fell short, with tries only achieved near the half-hour and the hour mark, followed by one at the very end of the play.
Leinster’s head coach, Leo Cullen, in a bid for repositioning, made the decision to make nine changes which extended the total number of players used in six matches to 47. Among these was Sam Prendergast. His performance, although imperfect, demonstrated skill and precision. Particularly during the game’s third quarter, Prendergast skillfully led the younger players. His surprising substitution in the game’s last quarter left fans intrigued.
Speculation bubbled around the Lions’ preceding record, which placed them second despite dubious quality of their past adversaries. However, their intensified competitiveness is becoming evident, with noteworthy performances like that of 23-year-old Kade Wolhuter securing an injury-free streak.
Unfortunate incidents included the early match exit of Lions fullback Quan Horn due to a head injury. This led to Edwill van der Merwe being outplayed in kicking duels by James Lowe and, without Caelan Doris, their indispensable number 8, the Lions found it tough against Leinster.
The visiting team lived up to their reputation by displaying a strong set piece. They maintained solidity of defence and ensured Leinster couldn’t make any easy advances. The game also witnessed Leinster’s Ed Byrne deciding to part ways in search of more gameplay time.
The greater part of the large crowd of over 22,000 people were attracted mainly by RG Snyman, and he did not disappoint, affecting the game within the first minute. He took control when blocking Morne van den Berg’s intended box kick and then earned a penalty, enabling Prendergast to put the first points on the board.
Attention then turned to Prendergast as Robbie Henshaw, Max Deegan and Caelan Doris made significant progress from his strategic, well-timed passes and Hugo Keenan narrowly missed a try.
In spite of a lack of players in the Springbok’s year-end tour squad, the Lions demonstrated their strength. Following a miscalculated touch finder by Andrew Osborne, an unusual occurrence of Lions substitute, Erich Cronje, rebuking a failed attempt to tackle Doris, and Asenathi Ntlabakanye colliding with Michael Milne, ensued.
Milne was under scrutiny for keeping the ball when JC Pretorius intercepted, allowing Wolhuter to equalise the points. Leinster gained their first advantage through Keenan’s foot skills despite McGrath’s fumble.
However, Snyman, who was offside, regained an offload intended for McGrath and Wolhuter furthered the Lions’ score with a penalty kick. But the youthful outhalf’s aim was off the mark on his next attempt from inside his own half.
The Lions illustrated their determination when Rabah Slimani was penalised after Juan Schoeman won the initial scrum of the match. Leinster relied heavily on James Lowe’s impressive kick to gain momentum. Despite Francke Horn’s interception of Gus McCarthy’s throw, both McCarthy and Deegan managed to set up a five-metre scrum.
Then came the physical prowess, with Doris charging through scrumhalf Morne van den Berg, and following a sequence of plays by Milne and Ryan Baird, the ball was passed on to Josh van der Flier for a try.
Hugh Cooney’s strong tackle and impressive speed on his first full competitive Leinster match allowed Lowe to secure a turnover penalty. That didn’t deter the Lions though, who finished the first period on the offensive. These first-half statistics support how tightly the game was fought. However, Leinster might feel hard done by due to Craig Evans’ 9-4 penalty decision in the first half, which is reminiscent of his 13-6 penalty count against them in Treviso.
Upon resumption, a forward pass from Lowe to Deegan forced Leinster to put-in twice in succession. Evans once again invoked controversy by first demanding a reset and then penalising Porter, just like in Treviso. This led to sarcastic applause when the Lions’ front row was penalised for collapsing at the following scrum.
Despite these setbacks, Leinster continued to attack. Doris, with his powerful surges from the lineout, kept up the pressure. Yet, Andrew Osborne’s finishing pass from Prendergast was slightly forward, preventing a possible try. Lowe was also denied a try from a Prendergast’s well-placed grubber kick, thanks to a brilliant cover by Henco van Wyk.
The game was made more challenging by the heavy rain which made the ball slippery, preventing Leinster from creating quick balls or red zone attacks until the match’s closing minutes.
In a rare moment of favour from Evans, Ross Byrne’s penalty gave Leinster a scrum in the corner. The resultant maul led to a try, which began with Snyman’s one-handed take from newbie Stephen Smyth. In the celebrations following that score, Porter hoisted Smyth off the ground. Meanwhile, Evans had already moved towards the posts to grant a penalty try.
Recap of scoring points: Prendergast kicked off with a penalty in the third minute leading 3-0; by the 13th minute, Wolhuter balanced the scores with a penalty; in the 18th minute, Wolhuter’s penalty added another 3 points; Van der Flier then made a try, with Prendergast taking the score to 10-6 by half-time. In the 58th minute, Doris attempted, and Prendergast succeed a conversion making it 17-6. By the 82nd minute, the penalty attempt led to 24-6.
The Leinster team was made up of Hugo Keenan, Andrew Osborne, Hugh Cooney, Robbie Henshaw, James Lowe, Sam Prendergast, Luke McGrath, Michael Milne, Gus McCarthy, Rabah Slimani, RG Snyman, Ryan Baird, Max Deegan, Josh van der Flier, and was captained by Caelan Doris.
Michael Milne and Rabah Slimani were switched for Andrew Porter and Thomas Clarkson in the 46th minute. Further changes included Cormac Foley for McGrath and Ross Byrne for Prendergast in the 64th minute, Brian Deeny for Baird in the 67th minute, James Culhane for Deegan in the 69th minute, Stephen Smyth for McCarthy and Charlie Tector for Henshaw in the 79th minute.
The Emirates Lions’ team consisted of Quan Horn, Richard Kriel, Henco van Wyk, Rynhardt Jonker, Edwill van der Merwe; Kade Wolhuter, Morne van den Berg; Juan Schoeman, PJ Botha, Asenathi Ntlabakanye, Ruben Schoeman, Reinhard Nothnagel, JC Pretorius, Jarod Cairns, and the captain was Francke Horn.
Employed substitutes were Erich Cronje for Horn (at 11 minutes), Franco Marais for Botha, Ruan Delport for Juan Schoeman, Marius Louw for Jonker (all 59 minutes in), Heiko Pohlmann for Juan Schoeman, RF Schoeman for Ntlabakanye, Sanele Nohamba for van den Berg (all at 68 minutes), Renzo du Plessis for Pretoris (70 minutes).
Presiding over the match was referee Craig Evans from the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU).