Details

Date Time Competition Season
18 February 2023 7:35 pm United Rugby Championship 2022/23

Match Report

Leinster keep marching on in URC

Sixteen points from Harry Byrne steered Leinster to a clinical, 43-14 BP, win over Dragons as they extended their league atop of the URC standings.

With fourteen places separating the sides, Dragons always had it all to do to take any points home.

They made life harder for themselves, pushed back from kick-off and conceding a seven-pointer as Byrne wormed through weak tackles and converted his own try for 7-0, just five minutes in.

To their credit however, Dragons replied by dominating possession but were wasteful in the final third, fly half Will Reed having a few minutes to forget.

First, he shanked a penalty wide before in the twenty-sixth minute, he made a much costlier error with his pass read, pounced upon and intercepted by the wily Luke McGrath who sprinted home with ease, his third try in two games.  Byrne converting to give the score a very unfair reflection of play.

Again though, the Welsh province roared back and after jack Dixon rescued the dying embers of another botched attacking lineout, scrum-half Rhodri Williams sniped over from close range, Reed halving the deficit.

Leinster, as they often do, took a concession hard and Captain Rhys Ruddock restored their two-score lead.  The flanker unstoppable after following up Scott Penny’s drive for 19-7.

With the clock in red, Byrne bagged the bonus point, showing composure to muscle in and convert for a disheartening, for Dragons, 26-7 gap at the break.

An innovative tightrope sprint on the touchline from the unobstructed Jordan Larmour extended the advantage before Dragons, mirroring the first half, penned their hosts in but to no reward.

Ironically, the score they merited was fluky with former Munster man JJ Hanrahan, off the bench, taking Steffan Hughes’ pass to his face and collecting the bouncing ball to score under the sticks, an easy two points added by Reed.

With the clock ticking, Leinster flexed their squad depth as Jimmy O’Brien’s lung-busting break from full back, slick interplay with replacement hooker Lee Barron and great line running from Robbie Russell saw Leinster’s sixth score register.

Charlie Tector converted that and then, fittingly given Byrne’s performance, the fly half, touched down Dave Kearney’s chip ahead to mark a memorable moment, his first senior Leinster try.

Despite missing the kick, seven more points to his career tally and a result for the RDS to be reassured of the upcoming bright future of Leinster rugby. 

Leinster

15Jimmy O’Brien Full-Back
14Jordan Larmour 23 Winger 46'
13Liam Turner Centre
12Jamie Osborne Centre
11Dave Kearney Winger
10Harry Byrne 22 Fly-Half 4', 40+1'
5', 27', 40+2'
9Luke McGrath 21 Scrum-Half 26'
1Michael Milne 17 Prop
2John McKee 16 Hooker
3Michael Alaalatoa 18 Prop
4Ross Molony 19 Lock
5Brian Deeny Lock
6Rhys Ruddock Flanker 36'
7Scott Penny 20 Flanker
8Max Deegan No. 8
16Lee Barron 2 Hooker
17Jack Boyle 1 Prop
18Tom Clarkson 3 Prop
19Jason Jenkins 4 Lock
20Will Connors 7 Flanker
21Nick McCarthy 9 Scrum-Half
22Charlie Tector 10 Fly-Half 80'
73'
23Robbie Russell 14 Winger 72'

Dragons

15Angus O’Brien Full-Back
14Sio Tomkinson 22 Winger
13Steffan Hughes Centre
12Jack Dixon 23 Centre
11Ashton Hewitt Winger
10Will Reed Fly-Half 34', 64'
9Rhodri Williams 21 Scrum-Half 33'
1Rhodri Jones 17 Prop
2Brodie Coghlan 16 Hooker
3Lloyd Fairbrother 18 Prop
4Matthew Screech Lock
5Ben Carter 20 Lock
6Ben Fry 19 Flanker
7Taine Basham Flanker
8Ross Moriarty No. 8
16James Benjamin 2 Hooker
17Aki Seiuli 1 Prop
18Chris Coleman 3 Prop
19Sean Lonsdale 6 Lock
20Ryan Woodman 5 Flanker
21Lewis Jones 9 Scrum-Half
22JJ Hanrahan 14 Fly-Half 63'
23Jordan Williams 12 Full-Back

Past Meetings

(Round 2)
6 - 7
United Rugby Championship
Rodney Parade

Dragons v Leinster

(Round 12)
29 - 35
PRO14
Rodney Parade

Dragons v Leinster

(Round 1)
35 - 5
PRO14
Royal Dublin Society

Leinster v Dragons

Ground

Royal Dublin Society
Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, D04 W9H6, Ireland

QUB Student, passion for Sports Journalism Editor @ The Gown QUB Newspaper Reporter for @ FinalWhistle