The returning Jimmy Gopperth ensured Leinster continued their winning start to 2015 as they battled back from a half-time deficit to down Cardiff Blues 22-13 at the BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park.

Noel Reid, Luke McGrath, Gopperth and Tadhg Furlong all touched down for the defending GUINNESS PRO12 champions in the bonus-point win.

Manoa Vosawai got the Blues’ only try in the first half and Gareth Anscombe kicked eight points as they took an eight-point lead with them into the break.

But a red card shown to Jarrad Hoeata just before half-time proved crucial as the Blues couldn’t quite deal with a determined Leinster outfit with the wind at their backs in the second half.

Leinster made 11 changes to the side that defeat Irish rivals Ulster in Round 11 and it was one of those in the form of Reid who gave the visitors an early lead.

Josh Navidi made a break for the Blues but the ball was turned over and after spotting a gap Gopperth raced through before finding Reid for an easy score on two minutes.

The fly-half, another recall to the starting line-up, was unsuccessful with the conversion on an afternoon where there would simply be no easy kicks thanks to the conditions.

For all their early positivity a lack of conviction cost the Blues any points early on – two poor Cory Allen passes with his side on the front foot were perfect evidence of that.

With a stiff breeze to contend with from the off, Leinster had to get their defence in order from the word go but their much-changed outfit were certainly the more dangerous on the front foot.

A large carry from Leinster’s Ben Te’o on 12 minutes was partially stopped by Sam Warburton and Navidi, with the Wales captain coming off worse with a cut that spelled the early end to his afternoon.

A high tackle by Kane Douglas on Kristian Dacey however on 17 minutes allowed Anscombe the chance to nail a penalty from all of 45 metres for the Blues, using the wind to his advantage.

Just three minutes later and Anscombe was at it again, another kick for near halfway finding its way between the posts for a 6-5 lead.

Cardiff were within touching distance of the Leinster try-line on 26 minutes but some excellent defence by Martin Moore and Michael Bent forced Jack Conan to knock the ball on.

The Blues came back for another go shortly afterwards and after an attacking lineout five metres out, an excellent rolling maul had them over the line for a try that was eventually awarded by the TMO.

Navidi and Hoeta had both had a go before Vosawai was credited with the score, while an excellent kick from Anscombe added the extras for 13-5 with 12 minutes left in the half.

Gopperth was just wide with a penalty on the half-hour but the dynamic of the game changed three minutes later when Hoeana was shown a straight red card for a neck-high tackle on Rob Kearney.

Leinster weren’t able to take any immediate advantage of the extra man, instead the Blues had a chance to stretch their lead on half-time with a monster penalty ten metres inside their own half.

Anscombe stepped up to strike the ball and amazingly was still only just short as his side went in with an eight-point advantage at the break.

Now playing into the wind and a man down you would have assumed the Blues would be weathering an early Leinster onslaught but it was the Welsh side who made the brightest start to the second half.

A break from Joaquin Tuculet set up an attacking position for the Blues inside the Leinster 22 but after several phases of play they could find no way through as Josh Turnbull eventually knocked on.

On 50 minutes the Blues found themselves down to 13 men when Vosawai was sent to the sin bin for using his knee, something that was brought to the attention of the referee by the TMO.

As gaps were appearing it took some desperate defence from the hosts to prevent Leinster from touching down, while a fantastic try-saving tackle from Allen also kept Leinster out.

They did eventually get the breakthrough on 57 minutes through Gopperth, a great turnover from the Leinster pack allowed McGrath to make the quick switch out wide for the fly-half to touch down and then add the extras.

Vosawai returned to the action for the final quarter but Leinster broke through once more on 62 minutes through McGrath after Conan had almost touched down himself.

Gopperth missed the conversion, leaving the score at 17-13, and only a try-saving tackle from Kearney on Alex Cuthbert prevented Cardiff from at least drawing level.

There was still time for Furlong to grab a late try, giving his side the bonus point in the process.

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