Leinster move to third
Leinster scored a bonus-point 30-8 victory against Connacht in their Magners League match on Saturday night.
Last Updated: 01/01/11 8:37pm
Leinster scored a bonus-point 30-8 victory against Connacht in their Magners League match on Saturday night.
The Irish province followed up their win against Ulster with another success at the RDS, albeit one which came after a poor start which also saw flanker Sean O'Brien forced off with an injury.
However, David Kearney's first try of the season helped put the home side 8-3 up at half-time and in a clinical second period, Kearney's second of the evening, together with tries for Fergus McFadden and Niall Morris, powered Leinster to a win which also sees them move to third in the table.
Although committed, Connacht got precious little reward and aside from Ian Keatley's first-half penalty, Eoin Griffin's late try was merely consolation.
Keatley kicked Connacht into a second minute lead from 49 metres out after Nathan Hines was seen going off his feet at a ruck.
Pinned back in their own half for most of the opening quarter, Leinster were at that stage making errors as a result of intense pressure applied by the visitors.
Brett Wilkinson came close to scoring after a clever move involving Keatley and Keith Matthews. However, Leinster defended well and scored in what was their first serious attack.
Isa Nacewa missed a penalty from close to the 10-metre line and, from the restart, good hands from Hines, Shaun Berne and McFadden fashioned an opening on the left for Kearney to cross in the corner.
Nacewa's missed conversion was followed by his first successful penalty, with Conway springing through a midfield gap in the build-up.
Commitment
Both sides were offering plenty in the way of commitment and Keatley missed a late chance to close the gap, drawing a 39-metre penalty to the right and wide just before half time.
Leinster opened the second half in purposeful fashion, with a close-range penalty from Nacewa putting them 11-3 up, with Connacht then guilty of failing to turn a promising maul into a scoring opportunity.
The home side were decisive in their response, countering from deep with flair before Richardt Strauss' pass out of a tackle put Kearney over in the left corner.
Nacewa kicked the extras for a 15-point lead and Leinster assured themselves victory when McFadden plunged over on the right after replacement Morris had been held up short.
The latter was not to be denied, though, and with eight minutes remaining, Morris gathered McFadden's chip over the top and evaded Frank Murphy's attempted tackle to cross.
There was still time for Connacht to score a try of their own - Dermot Murphy, Andrew Browne and Dylan Rogers setting up Griffin in the corner.
