Details

Date Time Competition Season
18 November 2022 2:00 pm Men's Senior International 2022/23

Match Report

Leinster young guns topple Chile in Dublin

The Leinster youngsters turned on the style in an impressive 40-3 victory over World Cup bound Chile on Friday afternoon.

A brace for Lee Barron and other tries scored by Cormac Foley, Andrew Smith, Liam Turner and Sean O’Brien topped off a convincing win

The boot of Santiago Videla provided the only score for Chile who will take plenty from the game heading into their preparation for France 2023.

Leo Cullen’s focus will turn back to the URC. He’ll be delighted by the performance of his young players, especially the one of out half Charlie Tector

The conditions were perfect for a good game of open rugby.  There was a good crowd of both Leinster and Chile fans to watch the game in Energia Park 

Chile started the game well putting some early pressure on their opponents. Their early possession was rewarded with a penalty straight in front of the posts which was converted by fullback Videla

In the 9th minute, the Leinster young guns responded in ruthless fashion. They worked their way into dangerous territory and from a lineout maul hooker Lee Barron scored their first try of the game.

In the 15th minute, they found themselves in a very similar situation. This time they had a lineout on the left side of the redzone.

 The set piece paid dividends again with Barron at the back of another rolling maul, scoring his second try of the contest. Tector made up for his earlier miss by slotting the extras.

It wasn’t long before the hosts were in again. They managed to steal the ball in the middle of the pitch. Clontarf’s Cormac Daly made a big carry before they were awarded a penalty and scrum half Foley didn’t wait around. The nippy halfback set off like a rocket, slicing through the Chilean defence and going all the way to score their third try of the afternoon. 

Despite the disappointing opening quarter, the visitors didn’t let their heads drop. They almost got in for their opening try when they managed to work themselves into the right area of the pitch.

Some good carries from their forwards especially tighthead prop Inaki Gurruchaga edged them closer before the ball was spun out wide to influential centre Matías Garafulic who nearly put right wing Lukas Garafulic in for the try in the corner, but he was bundled into touch by the defence.

In the 32nd minute, the South Americans were reduced to just fourteen men as Garafulic was sent to the sinbin for a late hit on Ben Brownlee.

Every time Leinster entered the opposition 22 they looked like scoring and a few minutes shy of the interval they were in again for try number four. 

A beautiful backline move which involved captain Turner and academy talent Chris Cosgrave finished in a try for Clontarf winger A Smith who touched down in the left corner. Tector kicked his third successful conversion of the afternoon. The four times champions of Europe led 26-3 at half time.

The home side extended their advantage not long after the restart. The lineout provided the platform for the perfect attack yet again. Brian Deeney took the ball down and straight from the training ground the ball got to Brownlee who put his centre partner Turner through the gap to run in between the sticks for the try.  

The tries just kept coming as in the 49th minute they crossed the whitewash again. Academy backrow O’Brien storming through the middle to glide in underneath the posts. It was a simple conversion for Tector. 

That would be the last score of the game. The Chileans gave a valiant effort in the second half, making for a more competitive game, substitutes Rodrigo Fernadez and Benjamin Videla made an impact of the bench, with their captain Martín Sigren and Clemente Saaverda putting in strong performances. However, they couldn’t breach the solid blue defensive wall. 

Leinster have bigger games coming up in the URC and Europe but there was plenty to be happy about with that performance. 

Leinster

15Chris Cosgrave Centre
14Robbie Russell 23 Winger
13Liam Turner 22 Winger 43'
12Ben Brownlee Centre
11Andrew Smith Winger 36'
10Charlie Tector Fly-Half 15', 18', 36', 44', 50'
9Cormac Foley 21 Scrum-Half 18'
1Michael Milne 17 Prop
2Lee Barron 16 Hooker 10', 15'
3Tom Clarkson 18 Prop
4Brian Deeny Lock
5Cormac Daly Lock
6Rhys Ruddock 20 Flanker
7Conall Boomer Flanker
8Sean O’Brien Flanker 50'
16John McKee 2 Hooker
17Marcus Hanan 1 Prop
18Thomas Connolly 3 Prop
19Ross Molony Lock
20Scott Penny 6 Flanker
21Nick McCarthy 9 Scrum-Half
22Sam Prendergast 13 Fly-Half
23Colm Hogan 14 Full-Back

Chile

15Santiago Videla Full-Back 7'
14Lucas Carvallo REMOVE Winger
13Matías Garafulic Centre 32'
12Clemente Armstrong 22 Centre
11Gaspar Moltedo Winger
10Diego Warnken Fly-Half
9Nicolás Herreros 21 Scrum-Half
1Salvador Lues Prop
2Diego Escobar 16 Hooker
3Iñaki Gurruchaga 17 Prop
4Pablo Huete 20 Lock
5Javier Eissmann Lock
6Martín Sigren Flanker
7Ignacio Silva Flanker
8Clemente Saavedra 23 No. 8
16Tomás Dussaillant 2 Hooker
17Javier Carrasco 3 Prop
18Matías Dittus Prop
19Santiago Pedrero Lock
20Raimundo Martínez 4 Lock
21Benjamín Videla 9 Scrum-Half
22Rodrigo Fernández 12 Fly-Half
23Joaquín Milesi 8 Forward

Ground

Energia Park
Energia Park, Donnybrook Road, Pembroke West B ED, Dublin, County Dublin, Leinster, D04 T8X2, Ireland