URC: Leinster 68 Ospreys 14
A hat-trick of tries from Joe McCarthy was the highlight at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday evening as defending champions Leinster secured second spot in the United Rugby Championship, and a home run to any potential final, with a comprehensive 10-try hammering of Ospreys.
There was a late addition to the Leinster starting line-up for this game, with James Lowe making his first competitive appearance in almost three months replacing Tommy O’Brien, who picked up a knock on Thursday. Lowe took up his customary left-wing position with Jordan Larmour switching to the right.
This did little to weaken Leo Cullen’s side and with just under seven minutes played the hosts established a 14-point buffer. Following up a breakthrough try courtesy of secondrow McCarthy in the fourth minute, Max Deegan – on the pitch as a temporary replacement for Diarmuid Mangan – added his name to the scoresheet with a routine finish off a subsequent attack.
How Leinster and Ulster warmed up for their European showdowns
Leinster were in for a third converted effort when Josh van der Flier was released by Jack Conan for a simple finish on the first-quarter mark. The bonus point was secured in the 23rd minute when fullback Jimmy O’Brien sprinted over for his second try in as many games.
RM Block
Ospreys finally fired back with a well-worked score under the posts by lock Huw Sutton, but even though Dan Edwards was on hand to add the extras, Leinster still held a commanding 28-7 interval cushion.
In fact, just under four minutes into the second half, Leinster reinforced their authority when Garry Ringose claimed his side’s fifth try of the night.
The gap between the teams became even larger when Larmour, who was also returning from a lengthy lay-off, touched down on 53 minutes for a well-worked try, and he went on to extend his personal account with an intercept score just shy of the hour mark.
In between these efforts from Larmour, McCarthy also bagged his second try of the game following a neat Leinster move on the left flank and the player of the match proceeded to seal his hat-trick with minimal fuss on 63 minutes.
Although the final outcome was well beyond doubt, there was a significant cheer when Lowe crawled over in the left corner for Leinster’s 10th try of the game.
An outclassed Ospreys did round off the scoring in the closing moments with a seven-pointer from Edwards, but Leinster remained in high spirits upon the final whistle and their attention will now turn to their latest European Champions Cup decider against Bordeaux Bègles in Bilbao next weekend.
SCORERS – Leinster: J McCarthy 3 tries; J Larmour 2 tries; M Deegan, J van der Flier, J O’Brien, G Ringrose, J Lowe try each; H Byrne 4 cons; C Frawley 5 cons. Ospreys: D Edwards try, 2 cons; H Sutton try.
LEINSTER: J O’Brien; J Larmour, G Ringrose, R Henshaw, J Lowe; H Byrne, J Gibson-Park; J Cahir, G McCarthy, R Slimani; J McCarthy, D Mangan; J Conan, J van der Flier, J Culhane.
Replacements: M Deegan for Mangan (4-15 mins); C Frawley for Byrne, F Gunne for Gibson-Park (both h-t); R Kelleher for van der Flier, A Usanov for Cahir, T Furlong for Slimani (all 46); M Deegan for Conan, H Cooney for Ringrose (both 50); C Doris for J McCarthy (63).
OSPREYS: J Walsh; K Giles, E Boshoff, O Watkin, I Hopkins; D Edwards, R Morgan-Williams; G Phillips, E Daniel, B Warren; R Davies, H Sutton; J Ratti, J Morgan, R Moriarty.
Replacements: C Jones for Phillips, K Hire for Warren (both 47 mins); L Lloyd for Daniel (49); L Morgan for Walsh (57); H Deaves for Moriarty, P Cokanasiga for Watkin (both 59); K Hardy for Morgan-Williams, G Phillips for Jones (both 68); B Roberts for Sutton (70).
Referee: R Campbell (SRU).
