Prop Byrne Stands Out In Leinster’s Nine-Try Victory Over Kings

Two tries apiece from Ed Byrne and Noel Reid earned Leinster a 36th-minute bonus point in an eventual 59-19 GUINNESS PRO14 victory over the Isuzu Southern Kings at the RDS.

The Kings briefly led midway through the first half, with Bjorn Basson and Sarel Pretorius scoring in quick succession, but man-of-the-match Byrne’s rapid-fire double and centre Reid’s second of the night gave Leo Cullen’s men a 24-12 interval advantage.

The youthful Leinster side, which included 21-year-old debutant hooker Ronan Kelleher, leaked a third try to Kings full-back Ulrich Beyers but rattled off five more of their own with Barry Daly, Andrew Porter, Max Deegan, RDS debutant Paddy Patterson and fellow replacement Rory O’Loughlin all touching down.

The South Africans fell behind to a fifth minute try from Reid, whose well-timed line took him over beside the posts. Ross Byrne knocked over the first of his seven successful conversions but the Kings hit back to lead 12-7 by the 20-minute mark. Centre Basson crossed in the left corner and scrum half Pretorius burrowed over on the right after captain Michael Willemse had been stopped short from a maul.

It was all Leinster for the next few minutes during which prop Byrne touched down twice. Conor O’Brien and the forwards revelled as the hosts went the direct route and Byrne duly muscled in under the posts. Ross Byrne added the extras and then the seven-point lead was restored after a close range surge made it a double for the 25-year-old front rower.

Some superb interplay between Fergus McFadden, with an offload out the back door, and Daly preceded Reid’s bonus point effort. The home forwards initially pressed from a lineout and Ross Byrne’s well-executed wraparound on the short side put the centre over for a double-scores lead.

into the second half, Bader Pretorius broke a tackle and released the supporting Beyers to finish off his try from the edge of the Leinster 22. The try’s creator converted but Daly profited from Ross Byrne’s one-handed offload to accelerate away from Beyers for a 46th-minute response.

Tighthead Porter struck at the end of a prolonged attack in the 54th minute and the runaway Conference B leaders finished with a three-try flourish in the final 16 minutes. The ever-alert Deegan sprung through a gap and expertly arced his run to register his sixth try of the PRO14 campaign.

Centres O’Brien and O’Loughlin then combined off a scrum to send promising Academy scrum half Patterson over, and O’Loughlin stretched out of a tackle and in under the posts for try number nine. Leinster, who host the Toyota Cheetahs next Friday, remain 22 points clear of second-placed Benetton Rugby in Conference B.

Giving his reaction after the game, Leinster head coach Cullen said: “It was quite tricky in the first half because the wind is strong. You’re trying to play and sometimes you end up playing yourselves into trouble. Even though we scored four tries in the first half, we did play ourselves into trouble at times.

“We know the Kings are dangerous when they have possession. They score a lot of tries themselves. It’s disappointing for us to concede three, but the Kings took their chances well. They probe, particularly with Sarel Pretorius who is very good at probing around the ruck. They exposed us there a few times.

“It was quite a close game but our guys probably get reward at the tail-end of the game because we’re playing in quite an aggressive manner, which means more opportunities present themselves later in the game. It’s definitely a bit of a balance, but overall we’re pleased. We got nine tries and a lot of young guys got some exposure at this level.

“For Ronan making his debut, Jack Dunne, Patrick Patterson, those two in particular coming off the bench for their first outings here at the RDS. And for a number of other young players who I thought did well considering they haven’t played a huge amount at this level. So another positive step in their development overall.”

He added: “It was an all-action display from Ed. He got in obviously for his two tries. Took him off before he got his hat-trick! It’s a very competitive position loosehead, all the guys are working hard. Jack McGrath started last week, Cian (Healy) has been starting for Ireland. Peter Dooley has come off the bench the last couple of weeks. Between the four of them now, it’s a very competitive position.”