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Leinster pull clear of Benetton to regain top spot in URC

Updated / Monday, 19 Feb 2024 10:18
Luke McGrath with Leinster's second try
Luke McGrath with Leinster's second try

Leinster have gone back to the top of the BKT United Rugby Championship, as they pulled clear late on against this season's surprise package Benetton.

Leo Cullen’s side were ran in seven tries in their 47-18 win against the Italians, but that score doesn’t do the visitors justice, with their second team well in touch of Leinster for 60 minutes at the RDS.

While both sides were depleted due to the Six Nations, Leinster have always been better placed to deal with it. Eleven of Italy’s matchday squad last week against Ireland came from the Treviso club, with only two of them available for selection at the RDS this week. In other seasons, the Benetton seconds would have been hockeyed in this fixture.

The visitors gave Leinster an early scare when Ignacio Mendy ran in for a try after just two minutes, while his second try late in the first half, which was followed up by a penalty for Jacob Umaga, left Leinster just three points ahead at half-time.

Scott Penny, Luke McGrath and Liam Turner had all crossed for first half tries for the hosts, with Turner’s the pick of the bunch as he charged onto a pass from Tommy O’Brien to finish a wonderful first-phase move.

Ross Byrne returned from his arm injury with a composed performance, kicking four of his five conversions, while showing some lovely touches in open play, particularly with a pair of crossfield kicks to set up Jason Jenkins for the bonus-point try early in the second half.

Jamie Osborne continued to flourish, and was unlucky not to get a try of his own, with the centre held up just short of the line inside the final 10 minutes, before Brian Deeny followed up to make sure of the score.

Deeny’s try, and the final touchdown from Penny, put some gloss on an otherwise competitive game, as Leinster pulled away late on to move back ahead of the Bulls to the top of the table.

Liam Turner scored one of Leinster's seven tries

Much like last week's Ireland v Italy instalment at the Aviva Stadium, there was a sleepy atmosphere for the 3pm kick-off, which wasn't helped by the visitors crossing for a try inside the second minute.

Starting with a lineout 30 metres out from the Leinster line, Marco Zanon’s hard carry up the centre of the pitch narrowed the hosts’ defence before the visitors went wide, Jacob Umaga feeding Ignacio Mendy, who got around the outside shoulder of Tommy O’Brien too easily, as he sprinted to the corner.

Umaga’s conversion gave them a 7-0 lead, but Leinster were level by the seventh minute, when Penny burrowed over to score.

The attacking platform was handed to them, with a poor Benetton clearance giving them a lineout in the 22, and after a series of dominant phases, it was Penny who drove over the line, aided by a strong latch from Ross Molony.

The Italians were making too many simple errors, and when Umaga had a careless knock-on by the halfway line, it led to a Leinster penalty off the resulting scrum. After kicking to the corner, an inside pass from Jamie Osborne to Rob Russell broke the line, before the quick thinking of McGrath allowed the scrum-half scamper clear to score the second try.

For the second time, Ross Byrne converted, giving Leinster a 14-7 lead after 13 minutes.

It was individual errors that were killing Benetton rather than the system, and when they established phases in the Leinster half they looked threatening, particularly in midfield where Zanon and Fekitoa brought a physical edge.

On 25 minutes Umaga trimmed Leinster’s lead back to 14-10, knocking over a penalty after Turner had been penalised for not rolling away, but the centre made amends as he scored Leinster’s third try eight minutes later.

It was a perfectly executed strike play off a midfield scrum; Osborne’s hard decoy line off Byrne’s shoulder sucked in the Benetton defence, before Byrne whipped the ball back to O’Brien who had come in off his wing. O’Brien straightened up before throwing a pass to the onrushing Turner, who charged through the 22 to extend his side’s lead. Byrne continued his 100% record off the tee, to make it 21-10.

Despite putting some daylight between the sides, Leinster switched off in the final six minutes before half time. Moloney dropped the restart, and it led to Benetton working their way into the 22, before they found Mendy on the overlap, who ran in to get his second try of the afternoon.

Umaga pulled his conversion wide, leaving the score at 21-15, but right on the stroke of half time the full-back got his radar working again. Leinster ran offside from a McGrath box-kick, and Umaga’s penalty from just inside his own half saw the visitors get back within three – 21-18 – as they went in for the break.

It was the splash in the face that Leinster needed, as they came out with a new focus in the second half, and secured their bonus-point try when Jenkins powered over on 43 minutes.

Max Deegan set the tone with a stolen lineout in midfield, before two neat crossfield kicks from Byrne – first to O'Brien and then to Lee Barron – brought Leinster within inches of the Benetton line, with a penalty advantage to help them along their way.

They didn’t need it, as the South African lock shoved his way over from short range, while Byrne’s fourth conversion put some daylight back between the teams at 28-18.

Marco Bortolami’s side didn’t fold, and as the heavy rain started to fall and conditions worsened at the RDS, they worked their way back down into the Leinster 22 where they established a series of phases, but this time Leinster’s defence looked clued in, with Ben Brownlee and debutant Henry McErlean in particular charging up aggressively to eventually force a knock-on.

Leinster were creating chances, but looked rusty after their four-week layoff as McGrath and Osborne were guilty of knock-ons in promising positions, but on 63 minutes they got in for a fifth try, owing to a bit of luck.

A grubber kick from Byrne knicked a Benetton player before running out over the dead-ball line, giving the hosts a five-metre scrum and an ideal attacking platform. A strong drive up the loosehead side from Ed Byrne opened up the blind side of the pitch, as replacement scrum-half Murphy picked from the base to run in and score. Ross Byrne’s conversion went wide, but it gave his side a healthy 33-18 buffer.

Byrne lasted 69 minutes on his return, with Sam Prendergast seeing out the final 10 minutes, and the out-half set up Deeny to dive over for his side’s sixth try shortly after his introduction, after Deegan and Osborne had combined to bring the hosts deep into the 22.

Ruthless as ever, there was still time for Leinster to grab a seventh try, with Penny getting in for his second, which Prendergast converted to put the final seal on the victory.

Leinster: Henry McErlean; Tommy O'Brien, Liam Turner, Jamie Osborne, Rob Russell; Ross Byrne, Luke McGrath; Jack Boyle, Lee Barron, Thomas Clarkson; Ross Molony, Jason Jenkins; Will Connors, Scott Penny (capt), Max Deegan.

Replacements: John McKee, Ed Byrne, Michael Ala'alatoa, Brian Deeny, Rhys Ruddock, Ben Murphy, Sam Prendergast, Ben Brownlee.

Benetton: Jacob Umaga; Ignacio Mendy, Malakai Fekitoa, Marco Zanon, Onisi Ratave; Tomas Albornoz, Andy Uren; Henry Time-Stowers, Toa Halafihi, Giovanni Pettinelli; Eli Snyman (capt), Gideon Koegelenberg; Tiziano Pasquali, Siua Maile, Thomas Gallo.

Replacements: Giacomo Nicotera, Federico Zani, Filippo Alongi, Riccardo Favretto, Alessandro Izekor, Alessandro Garbisi, Leonardo Marin, Filippo Drago.

Referee: Hollie Davidson (SRU)

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