VIDEO: Duhan's try not enough as Leinster climb to second
SATURDAY WRAP: A Scott Penny hat-trick proved decisive as Leinster pulled away late to secure a 28–20 United Rugby Championship bonus-point victory over Edinburgh at the Aviva Stadium.
For long periods, this was anything but routine for Leo Cullen’s side. For 70 odd minutes, Edinburgh looked capable of turning pressure into a statement away result. Leinster, fielding a youthful side and missing their Ireland internationals, struggled to impose themselves early and were forced to dig deep.
Leinster did strike first on 13 minutes when Max Deegan powered over from close range after sustained pressure, Charlie Tector converting.
Edinburgh responded impressively. Duhan van der Merwe showed his pace and finishing instincts with a 50-metre score following an Edinburgh blindside break from the base of the scrum, Ben Vellacott providing the assist, though Ross Thompson pushed the conversion wide.
Duhan delivers 🤩👏@EdinburghRugby breakaway brilliantly and van der Merwe finishes 🔥
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— BKT United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) January 31, 2026
Thompson made amends soon after by landing a 23rd-minute penalty and Edinburgh continued to ask questions, not least at the set-piece. Leinster’s front row – which included relative newcomers Jerry Cahir and Andrew Sparrow – were given a baptism of fire against an experienced Edinburgh unit that included Bok loosehead Boan Venter and former England tighthead Paul Hill.
The Scots’ pressure told just before the break when Malelili Satala-Navlivou rounded Deegan to finish sharply in the left corner following a flowing attack down the flank, with Thompson adding the extras to send the visitors into the sheds with a deserved 17–7 lead.
Leinster took their thumb out after half-time. The redoubtable Penny got his first on 44 minutes, dotting down from close range after Brian Deeny’s break opened the defence, Tector converting.
The momentum had shifted. Edinburgh battled gamely, but Leinster’s physicality gradually told.
Penny struck again on 68 minutes, once more from short range, before completing his hat-trick six minutes later with a near-identical finish to seal the bonus point. Tector added the conversions on each occasion.
Edinburgh grabbed a late consolation when replacement scrumhalf Charlie Shiel crossed in the closing moments, but Cammy Scott missed the conversion.
With that win, Leinster moved above the Stormers into second spot in the standings.
*In Saturday’s other games up north, Connacht beat Zebre 31-15 in Parma, while Ospreys edged the Dragons 19-13.
There was also a hard-fought 21-14 win for Ulster over Cardiff in Belfast.
See below for Saturday’s scores and scorers!
Zebre 15-31 Connacht
The scorers:
For Zebre:
Try: Garcia, Stavile
Con: Roger Farias
Pen: Roger Farias
For Connacht:
Tries: Joyce, Jansen 2, McCormack
Cons: Gilbert 4
Pen: Gilbert
Teams:
Zebre: 15 Giovanni Montemauri, 14 Mirko Belloni, 13 Giulio Bertaccini, 12 Marco Zanon, 11 Simone Gesi, 10 Martin Roger Farias, 9 Gonzalo Garcia, 8 Davide Ruggeri, 7 Iacopo Bianchi, 6 Giacomo Ferrari, 5 Leonard Krumov (captain), 4 Matteo Canali, 3 Enrique Pieretto, 2 Giampietro Ribaldi, 1 Paolo Buonfiglio.
Replacements: 16 Shilo Klein, 17 Luca Franceschetto, 18 Juan Pitinari, 19 Franco Carrera, 20 Alessandro Ortombina, 21 Thomas Dominguez, 22 Enrico Lucchin, 23 Bautista Stavile.
Connacht: 15 Sam Gilbert, 14 Shane Jennings, 13 Harry West, 12 Cathal Forde, 11 Chay Mullins, 10 Josh Ioane, 9 Caolin Blade, 8 Sean Jansen, 7 Sean O’Brien, 6 Paul Boyle (captain), 5 Joe Joyce, 4 Josh Murphy, 3 Jack Aungier, 2 Dylan Tierney-Martin, 1 Jordan Duggan.
Replacements: 16 Matthew Victory, 17 Peter Dooley, 18 Fiachna Barrett, 19 David O’Connor, 20 Niall Murray, 21 Ben Murphy, 22 Sean Naughton, 23 Oisín McCormack.
Referee: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
Assistant referees: Fillipo Russo (Italy), Lorenzo Pedezzi (Italy)
TMO: Keith David (Wales)
Leinster 28-20 Edinburgh
The scorers:
For Leinster:
Tries: Deegan, Penny 3
Cons: Tector 4
For Edinburgh:
Tries: Van der Merwe, Satala, Shiel
Con: Thompson
Pen: Thompson
Teams:
Leinster: 15 Andrew Osborne, 14 Joshua Kenny, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Ciarán Mangan, 11 Ruben Moloney, 10 Charlie Tector, 9 Luke McGrath (captain), 8 Diarmuid Mangan, 7 Scott Penny, 6 Max Deegan, 5 Brian Deeny, 4 RG Snyman, 3 Andrew Sparrow, 2 John McKee, 1 Jerry Cahir.
Replacements: 16 Gus McCarthy, 17 Alex Usanov, 18 Niall Smyth, 19 Conor O’Tighearnaigh, 20 Josh Ericson, 21 Will Connors, 22 Fintan Gunne, 23 Hugo McLaughlin.
Edinburgh: 15 Harry Paterson, 14 Malelili Satala, 13 Wes Goosen, 12 James Lang, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Ross Thompson, 9 Ben Vellacott, 8 Magnus Bradbury (captain), 7 Freddy Douglas, 6 Ben Muncaster, 5 Glen Young, 4 Callum Hunter-Hill, 3 Paul Hill, 2 Jerry Blyth-Lafferty, 1 Boan Venter.
Replacements: 16 Harri Morris, 17 Mikey Jones, 18 Ollie Blyth-Lafferty, 19 Tom Dodd, 20 Connor Boyle, 21 Charlie Shiel, 22 Cammy Scott, 23 Piers O’Connor.
Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Assistant referees: Eoghan Cross (Ireland), Shane Gaughan (Ireland)
TMO: Matteo Liperini (Italy)
Ospreys 19-13 Dragons
The scorers:
For Ospreys:
Tries: Morgan-Williams, Lloyd, Giles
Cons: Walsh 2
For Dragons:
Try: De Beer
Con: O’Brien
Pens: O’Brien 2
Teams:
Ospreys: 15 Iestyn Hopkins, 14 Dan Kasende, 13 Phil Cokanasiga, 12 Keiran Williams, 11 Keelan Giles, 10 Jack Walsh, 9 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 8 Morgan Morse, 7 Ross Moriarty, 6 James Ratti, 5 Ryan Smith, 4 James Fender, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Sam Parry (captain), 1 Gareth Thomas.
Replacements: 16 Lewis Lloyd, 17 Steffan Thomas, 18 Rhys Henry, 19 Marco de Witt, 20 Gwilym Evans, 21 Cormac Foley, 22 Max Nagy, 23 Harri Houston.
Dragons: 15 Angus Obrien (captain), 14 David Richards, 13 Fine Inisi, 12 Aneurin Owen, 11 Rio Dyer, 10 Tinus de Beer, 9 Che Hope, 8 Harri Keddie, 7 Harry Beddall, 6 Ryan Woodman, 5 Seb Davies, 4 Levi Douglas, 3 Robert Hunt, 2 Brodie Coghlan, 1 Wyn Jones.
Replacements: 16 Oli Burrows, 17 Jordan Morris, 18 Debo Dlamini, 19 Shane Lewis-Hughes, 20 Evan Minto, 21 Rhodri Williams, 22 Fetului Paea, 23 Cai Evans.
Referee: Ben Connor (Wales)
Assistant referees: Ben Breakspear (Wales), Carwyn Sion (Wales)
TMO: Jenny Davies (Wales)
Ulster 21-14 Cardiff
The scorers:
For Ulster:
Tries: Wilson, Bell, Irvine
Cons: Murphy 3
For Cardiff:
Tries: Mulder, Emmanuel
Cons: Sheedy 2
Teams:
Ulster: 15 Ethan McIlroy, 14 Werner Kok, 13 James Hume, 12 Ben Carson, 11 Zac Ward, 10 Jack Murphy, 9 Conor McKee, 8 David McCann, 7 Marcus Rea, 6 Matthew Dalton, 5 Charlie Irvine, 4 Iain Henderson (captain), 3 Scott Wilson, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Angus Bell.
Replacements: 16 James McCormick, 17 Sam Crean, 18 Bryan O’Connor, 19 Harry Sheridan, 20 Lorcan McLoughlin, 21 David Shanahan, 22 Jake Flannery, 23 Ben Moxham.
Cardiff: 15 Cam Winnett, 14 Ioan Lloyd, 13 Harri Millard, 12 Steffan Emanuel, 11 Tom Bowen, 10 Callum Sheedy, 9 Johan Mulder, 8 Taine Basham, 7 Dan thomas, 6 Alun Lawrence, 5 George Nott, 4 Josh Mcnally, 3 Javan Sebastian, 2 Evan Lloyd, 1 Thys Barratt.
Replacements: 16 Daf Hughes, 17 Danny Southworth, 18 Joe Cowell, 19 Rory Thornton, 20 Lucas de la Rua, 21 Aled Davies, 22 Aligjah Evans, 23 Leigh Halfpenny.
Referee: Hollie Davidson (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Robbie Jenkinson (Ireland), Sam Holt (Ireland)
TMO: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
