Leinster overcame a belligerent Cardiff Blues side at the RDS, eventually converting long periods of pressure to win 23-15. An error-strewn first half meant that the home side were unable to build a lead in their GUINNESS PRO12 clash despite Jack Conan’s try. The second half followed a similar pattern, as Leinster couldn’t convert possession into points for the most part, until a concerted effort in the corner eventually led to a penalty try. A late missed drop goal by the otherwise immaculate Rhys Patchell meant Cardiff leave Ireland without even a losing bonus point. Cardiff had made the stronger start of the two sides in glorious conditions, and an early penalty at the scrum gave Patchell a chance to give the Blues the lead after just three minutes. While he converted his opportunity, Isa Nacewa, captaining the side for the first time in Kevin McLaughlin’s absence, struck the upright with a penalty two minutes later. Another infringement, this time at the ruck, saw Patchell extend the lead from his own half, but after a poor first ten minutes, Leinster were soon in the ascendancy. First, Nacewa went past the 400-point mark for Leinster, avenging the error of his first kick at goal after the Blues were blown for a high tackle, before his side scored the only try of the first half. Ben Te’o, after a quiet first 15 minutes, started to bulldoze his way through tackles, and Leinster soon found themselves inside the five-metre line, where Conan forced his way over and Nacewa added the extras to make it 10-6. The Irish side continued to knock on the door, but Cardiff chased and tackled admirably to hold out, although neither side were clinical in their work with ball in hand or on boot. Cardiff did concede a kickable penalty, but another Nacewa effort slid wide, while Patchell showed him the way by slotting his third of the match just before the break. Incredibly, the Blues ran in just a point behind, despite having just 24 per cent possession, mostly in the first ten minutes, while Leinster were left wondering how they weren’t home and hosed. The beginning of the second half felt much like the end of the first, as both sides turned the ball over too much to create any concerted pressure. Patchell and Nacewa traded penalties twice, although the Cardiff kicker’s both went over far more convincingly, while Nacewa’s second was lucky to make it over the crossbar. With ten minutes left and the Blues visibly tiring, the Leinster crowd, sensing the opportunity, cranked up the noise, and thought they had produced a try with ten minutes left, but replacement hooker Bryan Byrne was adjudged to have been held up over the line. However, three energy-sapping scrums on the Cardiff five-metre line led to a penalty, and the resulting maul was dragged down illegally by Josh Navidi, who was promptly sin-binned. There was no let-up in the pressure, and eventually the Cardiff resistance was broken, in the form of a somewhat inevitable penalty try. Follow us on Facebook, join the conversation on Twitter, sign up to our YouTube channel for extensive match highlights and sign up for our newsletter for regular updates on the GUINNESS PRO12
