Tries from Leo Auva'a, Fionn Car and Eoin O'Malley helped Leinster to a hard-earned 30-20 victory over Treviso in Italy.
The victory extended Leinster's undefeated run in all competitions to eight matches.
The visitors got off to the best possible start with Auva'a grabbing a try in the very first minute of the match. Fergus McFadden was on target with the boot.
Treviso responded almost instantly through a Tobias Botes penalty. His kicks would keep the hosts in touch for the entire game, but in no time the Italians found themselves nine points behind.
Carr was the man to put daylight between the sides, crossing following a swift counter-attack from Leinster, and McFadden added the extras.
Botes' boot narrowed the gap for Treviso, adding his second and third penalties of the afternoon as the game moved into the second quarter.
The final twenty minutes before half-time were uneventful. McFadden's penalty on 23 minutes made it 9-17, but Botes kept Treviso within a converted try with another penalty, and that's how it remained until the interval.
The first points of the second half went to Treviso and were came via yet another Botes penalty. And though McFadden restored the the advantage minutes later, the Italians were level on 51 minutes when Manoa Vosawi crossed for a try.
Botes was unable to add the extras and give Treviso the lead.
The hosts weren't level for long. On 53 minutes a McFadden penalty put Leinster in front and with little over 15 minutes left Eoin O'Malley put the game beyond their opponents when he crashed over.
The scorers:
For Treviso:
Try: Vosawai
Pens: Botes 5
For Leinster:
Tries: Auva'a, Carr, O'Malley
Cons: McFadden 3
Pens: McFadden 3
Benetton Treviso: 15 Luke McLean, 14 Benjamin De Jager, 13 Tommaso Benvenuti, 12 Alberto Sgarbi, 11 Brendan Williams, 10 Kristopher Burton, 9 Tobias Botes, 8 Robert Barbieri, 7 Alessandro Zanni, 6 Paul Derbyshire, 5 Valerio Bernaḅ, 4 Antonio Pavanello (c), 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Enrico Ceccato, 1 Michele Rizzo.
Replacements: 16 Franco Sbaraglini, 17 Matteo Muccignat, 18 Ignacio Fernandez Rouyet, 19 Benjamin Vermaak, 20 Manoa Vosawai, 21 Francesco Minto, 22 Fabio Semenzato, 23 Alberto Di Bernardo.
Leinster: 15 Luke Fitzgerald, 14 Fergus McFadden, 13 Eoin O'Malley, 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Fionn Carr, 10 Ian Madigan, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Leo Auva'a, 7 Shane Jennings (c), 6 Rhys Ruddock, 5 Devin Toner, 4 Damian Browne, 3 Jamie Hagan, 2 Sean Cronin, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements: 16 Aaron Dundon, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Nathan White, 19 Kevin McLaughlin, 20 Jamie Heaslip, 21 Isaac Boss, 22 Noel Reid, 23 Brendan Macken.
Referee: George Clancy
Comments
crunchfit says...
I'm not sure about McFadden's suitability at 12. He has great straight line speed, but when he tries to break the line and jink and jive and all that stuff he seems to get caught and usually wins an extra metre or two fighting through the tackle. He reminds me of D'Arcy in that sense. If there was a Spence at Leinster, I'd give him D'Arcy's jersey, but as the situation currently stands, I wouldn't really be sure what to do.
Posted 17:35 30th November 2011
staph_glorious says...
Sorry, pogmahon, but I can't read. The match you didn't see was the away fixture to Treviso. Edit out the relevant parts accordingly. Again, my bad!
Posted 15:33 30th November 2011
staph_glorious says...
Firstly, have you seen the Glasgow match between Monday and today, or are your D'Arcy-McFadden comparisons paraphrased from some match report(s)? (If the latter, which journals?)
'Stood out' - right. 'Clearly noticeable' or 'exceptionally good'. None of which describe D'Arcy's performance against Glasgow, but many claimed it to be, which I speculate was born of a solid defensive show paired with, primarily, his preceding reputation.
'Fact', 'fact', 'obvious evidence', 'facts'. Hey, man, thanks for getting rid of even my toughest dirt and stains. You're the best!
Now, if you could ditch the schoolyard rhetoric and return with something substantial concerning at least the two aforementioned Clongowes alumni, that'd be swell!
My contribution: McFadden has the equal of D'Arcy's distribution, work-in-contact and breakdown expertise, but is superior to the veteran in terms of pace, defence and, at a push, tactical kicking (though this is seldom employed by either Leinster Rugby or Ireland). D'Arcy's 'talent' is merely an accrual of experience in his position which he merited as a *then* outstanding international centre in the early part of this century, but *now* this 'talent' has a near negligible effect for province and country.
It is true there is a dearth of quality at centre, not only in Ireland but the world over, and appraisal of 'new blood' necessitates that pinch of salt. But at Leinster, there surely is a stronger candidate for the #12 jersey, and in flesh and blood it's the Kilkenny man, McFadden.
Posted 15:28 30th November 2011
staph_glorious says...
There are few 'outstanding' performances in rugby. The hyperbole in modern punditry and, sadly now, in modern sports journalism contributes to the escalation of player profiles and, often, to the detriment of others - a fine example being the performances of Aviva Premiership sides in the Heineken Cup. (Though to that example I can only cite Sky Sports praises pre-tournament).
I saw the Glasgow match at the RDS and then from my comfortable suite a day later, and he was good. You wouldn't say he had gone to the pits, no. But he wasn't outstanding, and he was an afterthought in a fixture where others would sooner merit credit. There are step-ups from Glasgow, but if he's channeling and improving that mould of 'Dorce', then his midfield partner would do well for it. I can only think back to much of his malaise this past year or so and doubt such a turnaround.
Posted 12:42 29th November 2011
staph_glorious says...
O'Malley's defence is still a work in progress, but there's no suggestion he'll balk at that task. He is a beautiful runner, and you can see elements of his 'master' in him.
Meanwhile, D'Arcy's gone to pits. It would be a brave call to line-up both McFadden and O'Malley for Leinster's crunch matches this season, but it's made easier every week by the thirty-one year old's performances of late.
Posted 14:58 28th November 2011
D4tress says...
@Crunchfit - I agree. EOM should hold that position for both club & country. He's also a nice lad too.
Posted 14:32 28th November 2011
crunchfit says...
His defence is pretty solid. His attack is his strong point though. BOD's replacement in my opinion, for Ireland and Leinster.
Posted 13:50 28th November 2011