Leinster ‘A’ Secure Home Win In Interpro Series

A brace by Aitzol Arenzana-King guaranteed Leinster a bonus-point win over Munster in Round Two of the IRFU ‘A’ Interprovincial Championship at Terenure College RFC on a cold, crisp Friday evening.

Ciarán Mangan, John McKee and Arenzana-King (2) returned the tries on the back of a solid set-piece platform.

Leinster were quicker to settle, Connor Fahy’s fend doing the damage before the centre nicely released left-wing Mangan into the corner in the third minute.

The boys in blue moved clear of their half when Harry Byrne’s monster up-and-under was lost forward by Gordon Wood. The scrum on halfway was the basis for Byrne to orchestrate the next attack in which the out-half poked the ball through on the floor.

The vigilance of Eoghan Smyth prevented further damage as Arenzana-King closed in for a big hit. The home side turned to the forwards to generate game-breaking momentum from Byrne‘s penalty to the left corner. McKee’s throw was taken in by Alan Spicer and the hooker sheared off from the maul to double the lead to 10-0 in the 11th minute.

The first glimpse of real positivity for Munster came from centre Gene O’Leary-Kareem snatching a penalty at the breakdown only for the set-piece to malfunction.

Neat short passes by the forwards narrowed the Leinster defence and Ruadhan Quinn popped up on the left to make headway. A failure to gather by Ruben Moloney allowed Munster to grow into the game, putting Brian Gleeson on the ball as often as possible. For the second time, the visitors coughed up a lineout deep inside the 22 to release the pressure.

Leinster were not as generous, seizing on a loose ball in midfield for King to kick the ball not once, but twice for the third try, converted by Byrne, for a 17-point cushion in the 25th minute. At this point, Munster started to limit the mistakes, by applying sustained pressure through Gordon Wood’s footwork, Gleeson’s charge and Tom Ahern’s lunge for the line, Tony Butler converting for 17-7 at the break.

Leinster playmaker Byrne showed a variety of skills in navigating a way forward, mixing in his passing, kicking and running. Nonetheless, Cormac Foley had to be in the right position to control Butler’s kick and avoid Shay McCarthy’s chase. A scrum penalty powered up by the front five and Ben O’Connor’s overcooked kick invited Leinster to open up.

The flow of the game was impeded by the game lurching from scrum to scrum with Leinster having the upper hand in that department. An excellent box-kick by scrum-half Fintan Gunne duped full-back O’Connor into giving up a lineout just outside the 22. Ben Brownlee’s incision and Adam La Grue’s support line were used by Byrne to create a chance that Moloney couldn’t convert. Out-half Byrne’s angled ball inside the 22 was made to work by a posse of chasers clamping down for a penalty at the breakdown.

Byrne took the option of going to the corner. A smooth lineout activated a series of drives, led by Billy Corrigan, which King translated into the bonus-point try in the 62nd minute. Ben O’Connor’s counter and chip was picked off by Brownlee before replacements Dylan Hicks and Oisin Pepper engineered a dangerous Munster breakout. Wing King’s night was undermined by a yellow card. But, Leinster replacement Casper Gabriel’s work at the ruck earned a penalty.

Leinster were content to keep the game between the 22-metre lines, while Munster needed to make something happen with O’Leary-Kareem their main danger. However, the blues peppered in runners with replacement Aaron O’Brien unable to ground the ball over the line in the last meaningful action.

Scorers. Leinster: A King 2 tries; C Mangan, J McKee try each; H Byrne con. Munster: T Ahern try; T Butler con.

RUGBY ‘A’ 15. Ruben Moloney; 14. Aitzol Arenzana-King, 13. Connor Fahy, 12. Ben Brownlee, 11. Ciarán Mangan; 10. Harry Byrne, 9. Cormac Foley; 1. Alex Usanov, 2. John McKee, 3. Niall Smyth, 4. Alan Spicer, 5. Conor O’Tighearnaigh, 6. Alex Soroka, 7. Liam Molony, 8. Scott Penny (Capt). Replacements: Rory McGuire for Smyth 17 mins; Billy Corrigan for Molony 26 mins; Ben Howard for Corrigan 37 mins – temp; Fintan Gunne for Foley 45 mins; Adam La Grue for Mangan 49 mins; Stephen Smyth for McKee 58 mins; Casper Gabriel for Byrne 60 mins; Mahon Ronan for Spicer 63 mins; Aaron O’Brien for Soroka 67 mins; Charlie Molony for Brownlee 73 mins.

MUNSTER RUGBY ‘A’ 15. Ben O’Connor; 14. Gordon Wood, 13. Gene O’Leary-Kareem, 12. Eoghan Smyth, 11. Shay McCarthy; 10. Tony Butler, 9. Paddy Patterson; 1. George Hadden, 2. Eoghan Clarke, 3. Ronan Foxe; 4. Tom Ahern, 5. Evan O’Connell (Capt), 6. Jack Daly 7. Ruadhán Quinn, 8. Brian Gleeson. Replacements: Conor Ryan for Ahern ht; Scott Buckley for Clarke, Conor Bartley for Hadden, Emmet Calvey for Foxe, Sean Edogbo for Quinn all 45 mins; Oisín Pepper for McCarthy 48 mins; Jack Oliver for Patterson, Dylan Hicks for Butler both 53 mins Referee: P Roux, French Rugby Union.