Another loss for hapless Sharks as Leinster clock first win

MATCH REPORT: Leo Cullen’s real Leinster side is back after recording an emphatic victory in Round Three of the United Rugby Championship beating the Sharks 31-5 in Dublin on Saturday evening.

After Leinster lost both matches in South Africa, Cullen made eight changes to his starting team, with five Lions representatives returning.

It was a disappointing performance by John Plumtree’s Sharks after two heavy losses to Glasgow and Leinster, and a draw with the Dragons. Even after welcoming back some of his Springboks.

The first ten minutes saw Leinster grow in confidence as they started sending the ball coast to coast.

*To recap all the action, CLICK HERE

It took them exactly eleven minutes to get their first try. Jamie Osborne collected a James Lowe’s dink through and touched down for Harry Byrne to convert, which he duly did.

Five minutes later, the Sharks had their first promising opportunity, as Jean Smith burst through to advance the Sharks’ attack.

But captain Josh van der Flier turned possession over.

It was early days, but the penalty count was already mounting against the Sharks, and they quickly found themselves crossing the advantage line from a line-out.

From a throw in the front of the line-out, they caught the Sharks off-guard. A second try was beckoning; however, the Durbanites stood firm.

However, a wonderful passing move by Leinster was finished off by Jimmy O’Brien. Byrne converted once more, and Leinster was off to a good start, leading 14-0 after 20 minutes.

In that time, the Sharks weren’t particularly poor, but also not spectacular.

Leinster was on the hunt again, and they didn’t have to wait long for their third, courtesy of Van der Flier, merely stepping through the Sharks’ defence.

A mistake by Leinster was punished by the Sharks after Ethan Hooker grabbed a high pass and took off for their first try.

Jean Smith couldn’t convert, but grabbing a try would have given the visitors a boost.

The Sharks had a decent 10 minutes in terms of territory after scoring that try, but were unable to convert that into points.

At halftime, trailing 5-21, the Sharks had conceded seven penalties to none by Leinster.

The second half saw much of the muchness by the Sharks, struggling on defence with a narrow setup and some bad reads, allowing Leinster to exploit them.

When Burne sent a touchfinder into the corner, and the Leinster maul started, a fourth bonus-point try was on the cards, and it duly came. Byrne couldn’t convert Deegan’s try.

Siya Masuku replaced Smith, and Ross Braude was on for Jaden Hendrikse in the 50th minute. Could he ignite the Sharks’ backline?

Springbok Bongi Mbonambi also took to the field.

From a lineout, they immediately got the go forward, won a penalty, and found themselves on Leinster’s front porch.

From a few phases, a dink through by Brodie went straight into touch, but the replacements had injected a spark for the Sharks.

On the hour mark, the Sharks won a scrum penalty to march back into Leinster’s half of the field.

But they couldn’t capitalise as Leinster forced the handling error to get the turnover.

It was inevitable, and Leo Cullen’s side scored their fifth try after an overthrow in the line-out.

Gus McCarthy’s try stretched the homeside’s lead to 31-5 after Byrne couldn’t convert.

In the 73rd minute, Jack Boyle was shown a yellow card after an infringement at scrum time.

Not to be deterred by the numerical disadvantage, Leinster continued to rumble on.

The Sharks gave it everything in the closing minutes, but a couple of risky passes handed possession back to Leinster to see out the match and claim their first victory of the new season.

Man of the Match: Harry Byrne exploited the Sharks’ weaknesses and had an overall impressive night.

The scorers:

For Leinster:
Tries: Osborne, O’Brien, Van der Flier, Deegan, McCarthy
Cons: Byrne 3

For Sharks:
Tries: Hooker

Yellow card: Jack Boyle (Leinster, 73’ – infringement)

Teams

Leinster: 15 Jamie Osborne, 14 Jimmy O’Brien, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Ciarán Frawley, 11 James Lowe, 10 Harry Byrne, 9 Fintan Gunne, 8 Max Deegan, 7 Josh van der Flier (captain), 6 Alex Soroka, 5 Ryan Baird, 4 Brian Deeny, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Rónan Kelleher, 1 Paddy McCarthy
Replacements: 16 Gus McCarthy, 17 Jack Boyle, 18 Thomas Clarkson, 19 Diarmuid Mangan, 20 James Culhane, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Hugh Cooney, 23 Joshua Kenny

Sharks: 15 Edwill van der Merwe, 14 Ethan Hooker, 13 Jurenzo Julius, 12 Lukhanyo Am, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Jean Smith, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Vincent Tshituka (c), 7 Emmanuel Tshituka, 6 Phepsi Buthelezi, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Fez Mbatha, 1 Simphiwe Matanzima
Replacements: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Dian Bleuler, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Bathobele Hlekani, 20 Nick Hatton, 21 Ross Braude, 22 Siya Masuku, 23 Francois Venter

Referee: Craig Evans (Wales)
Assistant referees: Keane Davison (Ireland) & Dan Carson (Ireland)
TMO: Keith David (Wales)