Kirchner gets Leinster over the line
Zane Kirchner's late try at the RDS Arena made sure Leinster got revenge for their early season defeat to Connacht with a 21-11 Pro12 win on Friday.
Leinster – who were beaten 10-9 at the Sportsground on the opening day of the season – were in control from the off but struggled to kill off a spirited Connacht side who made the home team sweat.
The hosts went into the final stages ahead but a late try from George Naoupu moved the visitors to within three points, setting up a nervy finish.
But Kirchner showed quick thinking to steal in and dot down with moments left to ensure Leinster picked up their sixth win of the season.
Leinster probed early and almost had a try over in the right-hand corner on six minutes as the home side swung the ball wide but Luke Fitzgerald was stopped just short of the line.
The Pro12 champions won a penalty moments later but they opted against the kick and signalled their intent by going for the corner.
The visitors were down to 14 soon after as Aly Muldowney saw yellow but Leinster were struggling to capitalise on their dominance as Pat Lam's men were resolute in defence.
Despite their best efforts the visitors were undone on 12 minutes when Leinster forced their way over, Shane Jennings getting the score with Jimmy Gopperth wide with the conversion.
Gopperth however was on target shortly after when he kicked a simple penalty to give Leinster an 8-0 lead.
It was a kick that woke Connacht from their sluggish start as they went in search of their first points of the night.
They were given that chance on 23 minutes but it was squandered as Jack Carty's penalty flew wide but he made amends on 30 minutes as Connacht got on the scoreboard.
With five minutes to go in the half Connacht picked up a penalty inside the Leinster 22 and they opted against a simple three points in favour of a game-tying try.
And they came agonisingly close when Danie Poolman was all alone on the right-hand side and picked up a cross-field kick in the corner, only for his right foot to just be in touch as he dotted down.
Leinster went down to 14 shortly after and this time the visitors took the points to go in at the half 8-6 down.
Gopperth was again on target immediately after the restart kicking from just inside the Connacht half to restore the five-point gap.
And Gopperth was on the board again after 50 minutes as Leinster stretched their lead to eight with little sign that Connacht would mount a comeback.
The hosts were holding firm and allowing Connacht very little time in their 22 as they pressed forward and looked to kill the game off.
A Leinster scrum five yards out signalled trouble for the visitors but they couldn't take advantage and were struggling to kill off the tie.
It looked like they were going to rue their missed opportunities on 73 minutes when Naoupu barged over and got his side to within a penalty – Carty however was unable to convert.
But as Connacht went in search of the winner Leinster got the score to kill the game off – Kirchner capitalising on sloppy play and Gopperth as reliable as ever with the boot.
* In other Friday action Sam Hidalgo-Clyne showed his promise in an Edinburgh shirt from minute one as he scored his first Pro12 try for the club in a thumping 48-0 victory over Treviso.
* And Josh Navidi's brute force was enough to get Cardiff Blues over the line against the Scarlets after the No.8 scored two first-half tries to seal a 21-9 win, giving his side consecutive Pro12 victories for the first time this season.
All Friday's scores and scorers!
Cardiff Blues 21-9 Scarlets
The scorers:
For Cardiff Blues:
Tries: Navidi 2
Con: Anscombe
Pens: Anscombe 3
For Scarlets:
Pens: Priestland 3
Yellow cards: Johan Snyman (Scarlets, 41), Filo Paulo (Cardiff Blues, 41), Josh Navidi (Cardiff Blues, 74)
The teams:
Cardiff Blues: 15 Joaquin Tuculet, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Cory Allen, 12 Adam Thomas, 11 Lucas Amorosino, 10 Gareth Anscombe, 9 Lewis Jones, 8 Josh Navidi, 7 Sam Warburton, 6 Josh Turnbull, 5 Lou Reed, 4 Filo Paulo, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Kristian Dacey, 1 Gethin Jenkins (captain).
Replacements: 16 Matthew Rees, 17 Sam Hobbs, 18 Taufa'ao Filise, 19 Macauley Cook, 20 Manoa Vosawai, 21 Tavis Knoyle, 22 Gareth Davies, 23 Tom Isaacs.
Scarlets: 15 Steffan Evans, 14 Harry Robinson, 13 Regan King, 12 Scott Williams (captain), 11 Michael Tagicakibau, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Aled Davies, 8 Rob McCusker, 7 James Davies, 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 Johan Snyman, 4 Jake Ball, 3 Samson Lee, 2 Emyr Phillips, 1 Rob Evans.
Replacements: 16 Kirby Myhill, 17 Wyn Jones, 18 Rhodri Jones, 19 Lewis Rawlins, 20 Will Boyde, 21 Rhodri Williams, 22 Steven Shingler, 23 Hadleigh Parkes.
Referee: Dudley Phillips
Assistant referees: Neil Hennessy, Sean Brickell
TMO: Gareth Simmonds
Edinburgh 48-0 Benetton Treviso
The scorers:
For Edinburgh:
Tries: Hidalgo-Clyne, Coman, Nel, Hart, Grant, Denton
Cons: Hidalgo-Clyne 3, Heathcote 3
Pens: Hidalgo-Clyne 2
For Benetton Treviso:
None
Yellow cards: Francesco Minto (Benetton Treviso, 54), Grayson Hart (Edinburgh, 65)
Red card: Romulo Acosta (Benetton Treviso, 65)
The teams:
Edinburgh: 15 Jack Cuthbert, 14 Dougie Fife, 13 Sam Beard, 12 Andries Strauss, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Greig Tonks, 9 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 8 David Denton, 7 Roddy Grant, 6 Mike Coman (captain), 5 Ben Toolis, 4 Anton Bresler, 3 John Andress, 2 Neil Cochrane, 1 Alasdair Dickinson.
Replacements: 16 James Hilterbrand, 17 Grant Shiells, 18 Willem Nel, 19 Fraser McKenzie, 20 Stuart McInally, 21 Grayson Hart, 22 Tom Heathcote, 23 Joaquin Dominguez.
Benetton Treviso: 15 Jayden Hayward, 14 Simone Ragusi, 13 Luca Morisi, 12 Sam Christie, 11 Ludovico Nitoglia, 10 Joe Carlisle, 9 Alberto Lucchese, 8 Dean Budd, 7 Francesco Minto, 6 Simone Favaro, 5 Corniel Van Zyl (captain), 4 Tomas Vallejos, 3 Matteo Muccignat, 2 Davide Giazzon, 1 Matteo Zanusso.
Replacements: 16 Albert Anae, 17 Josè Novak, 18 Romulo Acosta, 19 Marco Fuser, 20 Mat Luamanu, 21 Enrico Bacchin, 22 Ruggero Trevisan, 23 James Ambrosini.
Referee: David Wilkinson
Assistant referees: David Changleng, Sam Grove-White
TMO: Iain Ramage
Leinster 21-11 Connacht
The scorers:
For Leinster:
Tries: Jennings, Kirchner
Con: Gopperth
Pens: Gopperth 3
For Connacht:
Try: Naoupu
Pens: Carty 2
Yellow cards: Aly Muldowney (Connacht, 9), Tadgh Beirne (Leinster, 39), Devin Toner (Leinster, 73)
The teams:
Leinster: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Zane Kirchner, 13 Luke Fitzgerald, 12 Noel Reid, 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Jimmy Gopperth, 9 Isaac Boss, 8 Jamie Heaslip (captain), 7 Shane Jennings, 6 Kevin McLaughlin, 5 Kane Douglas, 4 Devin Toner, 3 Tahdg Furlong, 2 Aaron Dundon, 1 Michael Bent.
Replacements: 16 Sean Cronin, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Nicolaas Van Dyk, 19 Jack Conan, 20 Jordi Murphy, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Cathal Marsh, 23 Gordon D'Arcy.
Connacht: 15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Danie Poolman, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Matt Healy, 10 Jack Carty, 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 George Naoupu, 7 Eoin McKeon, 6 John Muldoon (captain), 5 Aly Muldowney, 4 Quinn Roux, 3 Rodney Ah You, 2 Tom McCartney, 1 Denis Buckley.
Replacements: 16 Dave Heffernan, 17 Ronan Loughney, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 Ultan Dillane, 20 Willie Faloon, 21 Caolin Blade, 22 Craig Ronaldson, 23 Darragh Leader.
Referee: Ian Davies
Assistant referees: Leo Colgan, Andy Brace
TMO: Marshall Kilgore
