Leinster hold off late Edinburgh charge
MATCH REPORT: Leinster held on in the face of a late rally by the home team to edge Edinburgh 33-31 in a thrilling opening match of the new United Rugby Championship season.
Leinster, on a quest to land their first silverware for four seasons, held a handy 14-point lead going into the final quarter.
However, late tries by Duhan van der Merwe and Matt Scott saw Edinburgh salvage two bonus points from the match.
The Irish province, Leinster, took a full bag of five points home.
The big negative note for the Dublin-based team - apart from conceding five tries - was the late yellow card shown to Ross Byrne for tackling Darcy Graham in the air.
Pierre Schoeman opened the scoring when he took a quick tap-and-go and, a few forays later, it was the Scotland prop who stretched for the line. Ross Thompson added the extras.
Leinster soon atoned with a try of their own. Tommy O’Brien opened the visitors' account, powering down the left wing to dot down after the ball was moved quickly through the hands of Prendergast and then James Ryan.
That was O’Brien’s last involvement in the contest as he limped off to be replaced by Rob Russell.
It wasn’t long before Leinster forged in front, with Edinburgh complicit in their own downfall. Price’s box kick into the rain lacked sufficient distance and Charlie Tector was quickest to react, plucking the ball out of the air, using Russell on the outside to enable the dummy, before cantering across the line to score at ease.
It was a rollicking start to the new season and a second Edinburgh try quickly followed to level the scores. Thompson was the instigator, skipping past an attempted tackle before feeding the ball to Wes Goosen who found Jamie Ritchie.
The one-time Scotland captain's pass out the back of the hands was perfect for the stampeding Duhan van der Merwe who charged over in the left corner.
That left the teams level, 12-all, at the half-time break.
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Edinburgh struck first in the second half, hooker Cherry finding Marshall Sykes with the line-out then collaring the ball at the back of the maul before collapsing over the line.
Again, though, the home side couldn’t hold on to their lead as Leinster landed a third of their own after good work by Tector and Prendergast created the opening for Jordan Larmour.
The visitors were in control by this point and soon claimed their fourth try and the bonus point with it. It was all down to the quick thinking of Gibson-Park who darted through a gap before fending off van der Merwe to score.
Edinburgh looked like a beaten team and a fifth Leinster try gave credence to that feeling - the maul teeing up Jack Conan to score from close range.
However, a second Van der Merwe score in the left-hand corner secured the home side's first bonus point, with a Matt Scott score with the clock in the red landing their second.
The scorers
For Edinburgh
Tries: Schoeman, Van der Merwe 2, Cherry, Scott
Cons: Thompson 2, Healy
For Leinster
Tries: O'Brien, Tector, Larmour, Gibson-Park, Conan
Cons: Prendergast 4
Yellow card: Ross Byrne (Leinster, 77 - foul play, contact with opponent in the air)
Teams
Edinburgh: 15 Wes Goosen, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Mosese Tuipulotu, 12 Matt Currie, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Ross Thompson, 9 Ali Price, 8 Ben Muncaster, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Grant Gilchrist (captain), 4 Marshall Sykes, 3 Paul Hill, 2 Dave Cherry, 1 Pierre Schoeman.
Replacements: 16 Ewan Ashman, 17 Boan Venter, 18 D’arcy Rae, 19 Jamie Hodgson, 20 Magnus Bradbury, 21 Ben Vellacott, 22 Ben Healy, 23 Matt Scott.
Leinster: 15 Jamie Osborne, 14 Tommy O’Brien, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Charlie Tector, 11 Jordan Larmour, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Jack Conan (captain), 7 Scott Penny, 6 Max Deegan, 5 James Ryan, 4 Conor O’Tighearnaigh, 3 Thomas Clarkson, 2 Gus McCarthy, 1 Michael Milne.
Replacements: 16 John McKee, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Rabah Slimani, 19 Brian Deeny, 20 James Culhane, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Ross Byrne, 23 Rob Russell.
Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Assistant referees: Jonny Perriam (Scotland), Michael Todd (Scotland)
TMO: Stefano Roscini (Italy)