Returning Ringrose Plays His Part As Leinster Cruise Past Kings

Garry Ringrose made a successful return from ankle surgery as Leinster ran in ten tries in a facile 64-7 GUINNESS PRO14 win over the Southern Kings at the RDS.

Sidelined since the early January derby victory over Ulster, Garry Ringrose’s 54-minute workout against the South Africans could propel him back into the green jersey over the remainder of the Six Nations.

Leo Cullen’s men scored a point per minute in the first half, claiming the bonus point inside 22 minutes with Bryan Byrne (2), Nick McCarthy, Barry Daly, Dave Kearney and Ciaran Frawley sharing out the tries. Out-half Frawley, the man-of-the-match on his first start, landed all but one conversion for a 40-7 interval lead.

The winless Kings were briefly lifted by captain Michael Willemse’s 14th-minute maul try, but second half scores followed from McCarthy, James Lowe, Daly and replacement Jordan Larmour, with Frawley finishing with 19 points, as the province stayed ahead of the Scarlets at the top of Conference B. Three points separate the sides ahead of next Saturday’s showdown in Llanelli.

The hosts were ahead inside four minutes, returning centre Ringrose threatening on a diagonal run before excellent hooker Byrne muscled over from McCarthy’s snappy pass. The 20-year-old Frawley quickly converted.

McCarthy broke from a close-in scrum to notch Leinster’s second seven-pointer, but successive infringements from the province allowed the Kings to build for a well-taken try from Willemse off a close-in lineout.

Ringrose and Byrne opened up the visitors’ defence for winger Daly to cut in past Yaw Penxe and grab his ninth try in 11 appearances this season, and then Byrne turned provider again, his pass inviting Kearney through a gap for a smart finish to the left of the posts.

Byrne completed his brace by the half hour mark, bursting onto a McCarthy pass after Max Deegan had gone close. It was a similar story in the 33rd minute when Will Connors was hauled down short before Frawley supplied the finishing touches from a few metres out, also adding his fifth successful kick from six attempts.

Early pressure from Leinster on the resumption then led to McCarthy sniping through a gap for his second try after a maul had been grounded. 21-year-old prop Adam Coyle came on for his debut before Kings tighthead Pieter Scholtz was sin-binned in the 53rd minute for taking Ringrose out without the ball.

In Scholtz’s absence, Frawley’s classy cross-field kick was collected by Lowe who dotted down in the left corner. The Kings defence was sucked in again in the 64th minute when Daly was freed up for his tenth try of the campaign, while Larmour got in on the act five minutes from the end, reaching for the ball after a Noel Reid grubber had bounced in his favour.

Skerries man Frawley, who landed seven conversions to add to his try, said afterwards: “It was a huge honour once I had heard that (I’d be making my first start) earlier on in the week. It was just a real special moment for friends and family too. They were delighted to hear it.

“Just last week, playing against the Scarlets, it was a huge help having Ross (Byrne) inside me at ten, learning from him, seeing how he managed the game. I just felt comfortable around the other lads as well, so it was good to learn from them as well.

“This is just a great opportunity for lads – lads like myself in the Academy – with the big boys gone on international duty. You get that chance, you get that opportunity, and when you’re called in you have to take it. Everyone’s expected to play at the same standard, and I just think with the lads around you, they make it a lot easier for you.

“It’s the composure you feel coming onto the pitch. The nerves aren’t too edgy, you’re going with the flow. You know the system, the boys are really handy around you so it makes your life a lot easier. It’s a great block (of matches) for us (younger) boys to have a crack at it.

“They’re up to the standard, they’re able to step up as you can see. We’re putting 60 points on a good team and a physical team. And the young lads are able to step up physically, so definitely huge credit to them and the other boys around us definitely pushing us on and keeping us grounded.”