Edinburgh 28 - 36 Leinster: Enterprising Edinburgh made to pay heavy penalty for lapses

EDINBURGH lit up Murrayfield with some terrific tries last night, but they were undone by a plethora of penalties that handed Leinster victory in an exciting last quarter.

The lead changed hands seven times in what was an engrossing affair played out in front of a healthy 3,500 crowd, but Edinburgh’s inability to hold onto the ball, particularly after scoring, was a crucial factor in the see-saw nature of the game. The packs enjoyed a great battle in the set-piece, that swung one way then the other, and Leinster always looked dangerous when they moved the ball wide with a dangerous back three of Rob and Dave Kearney and Luke Fitzgerald.

But Edinburgh marshalled them well with returning World Cup performers Allan Jacobsen, Ross Ford and Geoff Cross bringing their skills to bear in the tight and about the field, Chris Paterson lively at the back and Nick de Luca a constant menace in the midfield. When Tim Visser and back row David Denton got on the ball the Edinburgh attack had a punchy direction but they just failed to hold onto ball long enough to dominate in the way they might have. Edinburgh coach Michael Bradley said: “It is very disappointing not to get anything out of the match. It had the potential to go either way.”

“There are a lot of positives in how our game is developing, but for it to change in terms of the results we are talking to the boys about accuracy and discipline. With 13 games in this period it’s important we have to be sharp and disciplined and tonight we were a bit off which made it a bit easy for Leinster.

“Harry [Leonard] is only 19 but he didn’t look out of place and we played well off ten and probably made the same number of line-breaks as Leinster. But we tried to force a pass and didn’t have the patience Leinster did when they got in behind us, and that’s something we can learn from them.”

Edinburgh were in front after just four minutes when referee Leigh Hodges awarded the hosts a scrum penalty, which Greig Laidlaw converted.

When Edinburgh were penalised at the breakdown, allowing Jonny Sexton to level matters with a penalty, it came as light relief as Leinster were beginning to find holes in the home defence and, while Paterson superbly denied a surprisingly nimble Mike Ross, it came at the cost of another penalty which Sexton kicked to put Leinster in front for the first time.

With 18 minutes played, Visser sent the noisy home support delirious with his first try. The wing took a neat delayed pass from Laidlaw at a ruck on the 22, escaped the tackle of Sean Cronin and then danced through Rob Kearney’s tackle to dive in by the posts. A penalty for offside from the restart let Leinster back in as Sexton converted.

With 20 minutes played, Leinster had been in the home half three times and scored three penalties. Isaac Boss then exploited a gap when Leonard was held into a ruck near the posts, to score an easy try, Sexton converting for a 16-10 lead, and though Laidlaw pulled back a penalty, Edinburgh conceded another penalty from the restart and Sexton kicked the visitors into a 19-13 half-time lead.

Visser then minced the Leinster defence with a stunningly audacious try three minutes after the interval. The winger took a long pass from Paterson, stepping in at first receiver, and seemed well guarded on the left flank by Dave Kearney.

His big brother Rob was keeping watch around ten metres behind, but Visser slowed then accelerated past the first Kearney, stepped in off his left foot to birl the second into a spin and then burst into the 22. Sexton was close enough to tackle but slid down Visser’s legs and was left thumping the turf as the Edinburgh man skipped away and over the try-line. Laidlaw’s conversion put the home side 20-19 up.

However, Edinburgh’s propensity for handing Leinster a way back in continued and Sexton kicked the Irish back in front from the right touchline in the 50th minute. A Leinster attack was thwarted with huge hits by de Luca and Visser on the Kearneys and then Ford played a neat lineout to Laidlaw at the front of a lineout on the Edinburgh 22 and took it straight back, and, reminiscent of his back-row days, charged at left wing Fitzgerald and stepped him, and continued to beat defenders on a great run to the visitors’ 22.

He was finally halted, but assistant referee David Changleng spotted Leo Cullen pulling Cross back off the ball, and Laidlaw kicked the home side 23-22 ahead with 24 minutes remaining. A burst by Leinster replacement hooker Richardt Strauss exposed Edinburgh’s defence again and set up a try on the right for Leo Auva’a and Sexton nudged the lead to 30-23 with another penalty.

As Leinster picked up the pace and intensity of their play, Edinburgh’s attack was losing theirs and Sexton pushed the lead out to ten points with a drop-goal. Laidlaw was wide with a 40-metre penalty with seven minutes left, but then Leonard superbly played in 21-year-old Scott with a superb grubber kick, the centre picking up the bouncing ball to go over for a second try in successive games. Laidlaw missed the conversion and in a frenetic finale Leinster held their nerve for Fergus McFadden to seal the win with a penalty.

Scorers: Edinburgh: Tries – Visser 2, Scott; Pens – Laidlaw 3; Cons - Laidlaw 2. Leinster: Tries – Boss, Auva’a; Pens – Sexton 6, McFadden; Drop-goals – Sexton; Con - Sexton.

Edinburgh: C Paterson; S Webster, N de Luca, M Scott, T Visser; H Leonard, G Laidlaw; A Jacobsen, R Ford, G Cross, E Lozada, S Turnbull, D Denton, R Grant, S McInally. Subs: G Gilchrist for Turnbull, N Talei for McInally, T Brown for Webster, all 64mins, J Thompson for Paterson 70, S Lawrie for Ford 71, L Niven for Cross 73.

Leinster: R Kearney; D Kearney, E O’Malley, F McFadden, L Fitzgerald; J Sexton, I Boss; H van der Merwe, S Cronin, M Ross, L Cullen, D Toner, K McLaughlin, D Ryan, L Auva’a. Subs: N White for Ross, R Strauss for Cronin, R Ruddock for McLaughlin, both 58mins.