Cardiff stun Leinster

MATCH REPORT: Jarrod Evans held his nerve to fire over a 45-metre penalty with the last kick of the game to give Cardiff their first win over Leinster since 2011 in a thrilling 29-27 United Rugby Championship victory at the Arms Park.

Cardiff looked to have blown their chance when they conceded 14 points while number eight James Botham was in the sin-bin but they finished strongly to pick up a morale-boosting victory.

Owen Lane and Hallam Amos scored Cardiff’s tries with Evans adding four penalties and two conversions with Ben Thomas kicking a penalty.

Adam Byrne, James Tracy and Scott Penny were Leinster’s try-scorers with Ross Byrne kicking two penalties and three conversions.

A penalty from Ross Byrne gave Leinster an early lead but that was the only score of a keenly-contested opening quarter.

The visitors had marginally the better of that period with their more-accurate passing and creative running but both defences held firm.

A drive from the Cardiff pack won a penalty for Evans to succeed with a 40-metre kick before the flyhalf’s superbly judged kick was collected by Lane, who sped past two defenders for an excellent solo try.

The Irish response was immediate as Adam Byrne raced away to score with Ross Byrne’s conversion bringing the scores level.

Evans temporarily left the field for an HIA and in his absence, Thomas regained the lead for his side with a straightforward penalty.

Leinster suffered an injury blow when their flanker Will Connors was forced to leave the field and at half-time they were still trailing 13-10.

Evans returned for the second half and almost immediately kicked his second penalty as his side continued to cause the visitors problems in the scrum and at the breakdown.

Cardiff had certainly come out firing after the interval and deserved to extend their advantage with another Evans penalty.

Leinster showed their fighting spirit with a close-range try from Tracy after Cardiff’s Botham was shown the yellow card for dragging down a line-out drive.

Botham was still absent as the lead changed hands again when Penny broke away from a line-out, 15 metres out to score.

Botham returned in time to see Cardiff grab a lifeline with a stroke of good fortune.

Harry Byrne’s penalty attempt from inside his own half rebounded back off the crossbar for Cardiff to launch a clearance.

Harry Byrne, believing the ball to be going straight into touch, left it to bounce for Aled Summerhill, who raced into the opposition 22 from where Amos scored against a flat-footed defence.

Leinster looked to have won it when Byrne fired over a penalty but Evans had the final say.

Player of the match

Evans was at the heart of a magnificent effort from his side culminating in a superb penalty to win a thrilling match. He also created Lane’s try and finished with a total of 16 points.

Play of the match

Lane was surprisingly not included in Wales' Six Nations squad but he gave head coach Wayne Pivac a timely reminder of his talent with a superb try. He collected a kick from Evans to leave two defenders trailing in his wake on a 45-metre run to the line.

The scorers:

For Cardiff:

Tries: Lane, Amos

Cons: J Evans 2

Pens: J Evans 5

For Leinster

Tries: A Byrne, Tracy, Penny

Cons: R Byrne 3

Pens: R Byrne 2

Teams

Cardiff: 15 Hallam Amos, 14 Owen Lane, 13 Rey Lee-Lo, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Aled Summerhill, 10 Jarrod Evans, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 James Botham, 7 Will Boyde, 6 Shane Lewis-Hughes, 5 Rory Thornton, 4 Josh Turnbull (captain), 3 Dmitri Arhip, 2 Kirby Myhill, 1 Corey Domachowski.

Replacements: 16 Efan Daniel, 17 Rhys Carré, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Teddy Williams, 20 Sam Moore, 21 Jamie Hill, 22 Max Llewellyn, 23 Garyn Smith.

Leinster: 15 Jimmy O’Brien, 14 Adam Byrne, 13 Jamie Osborne, 12 Ciarán Frawley, 11 Rory O’Loughlin, 10 Ross Byrne, 9 Luke McGrath (captain), 8 Scott Penny, 7 Will Connors, 6 Rhys Ruddock, 5 Joe McCarthy, 4 Devin Toner, 3 Michael Ala’alatoa, 2 Seán Cronin, 1 Ed Byrne.

Replacements: 16 James Tracy, 17 Peter Dooley, 18 Vakh Abdaladze, 19 Ross Molony, 20 Max Deegan, 21 Nick McCarthy, 22 Harry Byrne, 23 Tommy O’Brien.

Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland)

Assistant referees: Adam Jones (Wales), Aled Evans (Wales)

TMO: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)