Gopperth inspires Leinster to victory

Jimmy Gopperth inspired a second-half Leinster comeback as the reigning Pro12 champions saw off a brave Zebre effort at the RDS Arena.

The Italians, who have never won on Irish soil, were ahead at half-time after Hennie Daniller's try and a penalty from Mirco Bergamasco.

Zebre had conceded eight tries at home to Glasgow Warriors last weekend but were resilient throughout the opening 40 minutes.

However, Leinster - and Gopperth particularly - turned the screw after the restart and the New Zealand flyhalf capped his 50th cap for the province with a try and 14 points in total which helped seal a 29-8 bonus-point victory.

wing Michele Visentin, No.8 Samuela Vunisa and flank Mauro Bergamasco all returned to the starting XV for Zebre as the Italians made an impressive start in Dublin.

Despite conceding a fifth-minute penalty, which Gopperth surprisingly missed from close in, the visitors held firm and then took the lead in the 22nd minute.

A super break eventually fell to Visentin who fed Daniller to easily touch down from close range.

Edoardo Padovani failed to add the conversion from out wide but they continued to hold firm in defence despite wave after wave of Leinster pressure.

The home side eventually opened their account through Gopperth's 32nd-minute penalty, but Zebre - and Mirco Bergamasco - responded with a three-pointer of their own to lead 8-3 at half-time.

However, Leinster came out fired up for the second half and quickly got their noses in front.

On 46 minutes the ball was spread wide by Ben Te'o to Luke Fitzgerald who burst through the Zebre defence.

The wing was stopped short but Dominic Ryan finished the job from close range and Gopperth added the conversion to make it 10-8.

And Gopperth got in on the act himself on 56 minutes. Eoin Reddan took the ball from the back of the scrum and found his teammate who stepped inside and finished before notching the conversion once more.

Despite being bottom of the table and losing 11 of their 13 Pro12 fixtures prior to heading to the RDS, Zebre refused to lie down.

However, the game was all-but sealed by Fitzgerald who dotted down in the corner on 74 minutes after some patient build-up work from the hosts.

The hosts then went in search of that crucial fourth try and Sean Cronin grabbed it with the last play of the game - Gopperth adding the extras to cap a memorable day for the Kiwi.

Scorers:

Leinster:

Tries: Fitzgerald, Cronin, Ryan, Gopperth

Cons: Gopperth 3

Pen: Gopperth

Zebre:

Try: Daniller

Pen: Bergamasco

Teams:

Leinster: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Fergus McFadden, 13 Ben Te'o, 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Luke Fitzgerald, 10 Jimmy Gopperth, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Shane Jennings (captain), 6 Dominic Ryan, 5 Kane Douglas, 4 Mike McCarthy, 3 Marty Moore, 2 Aaron Dundon, 1 Michael Bent.

Replacements: 16 Sean Cronin, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Tadhg Furlong, 19 Ben Marshall, 20 Dan Leavy, 21 Isaac Boss, 22 Cathal Marsh, 23 Dave Kearney.

Zebre: 15 Hendrik Daniller, 14 Dion Berryman, 13 Mirco Bergamasco, 12 Matteo Pratichetti, 11 Michele Visentin, 10 Luciano Orquera, 9 Brendon Leonard, 8 Samuela Vunisa, 7 Mauro Bergamasco (captain), 6 Jacopo Sarto, 5 Michele Sutto, 4 Valerio Bernabò, 3 Luciano Leibson, 2 Oliviero Fabiani, 1 Andrea De Marchi.

Replacements: 16 Lorenzo Giovanchelli, 17 Laert Naka, 18 Luca Redolfini, 19 Giacomo Bernini, 20 Ruben Riccioli, 21 Alberto Chillon, 22 Edoardo Padovani, 23 David Odiete.

Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)

Assistant referees: Kieran Barry (Ireland), Stuart Douglas (Ireland)

TMO: Dermot Moloney (Ireland)