Leinster ease to victory against the Dragons in the Magners League
Leinster produced a convincing display as they beat the Dragons 27-6 in the Magners League at the RDS on Friday.
The Irish province secured an important bonus point as they scored four tries in the match.
Tries from out-half Shaun Berne, scrum-half Isaac Boss and a brace from Irish international winger Shane Horgan was enough to guarantee Leinster maximum points.
The Dragons' only answer was two Jason Tovey penalties as the Irish side over powered them in every aspect of the game.
Leinster got off to a blistering start and they took the lead after just three minutes when Shaun Berne scored the opening try of the game. Full-back Isa Nacewa added the conversion to put the Irish side into a 7-0 lead.
Minutes later, Nacewa increased Leinster’s lead after the Dragons conceded a penalty. In the 12th minute, the Dragons scored their first points of the evening with a penalty of their own to reduce the deficit to 10-3.
Nacewa missed his next penalty opportunity, but Horgan powered over the line and Nacewa added the conversion to atone for his earlier penalty miss.
Leo Cullen gave the visitors a chance to get back into the game as the Leinster captain was sin-binned after he was given a yellow card.
However, the Dragons failed to take advantage of the extra man and Leinster managed to hold on until half-time to lead 17-3 at the interval.
The Welsh side started the second half brightly and Tovey added his second penalty after a Leinster infringement.
Yet, any chance of a Dragons come-back was ended when Horgan dashed over the line to score his second try of the night. Nacewa missed the conversion, but it put Leinster into 22-6 lead.
Leinster put the game beyond doubt in the 69th minute when Boss made a sniping run to cross the line and score Leinster’s fourth try. Nacewa was again unsuccessful with the conversion, but the match was over as a contest with the scrum-half’s
try.
The Dragons tried to rally, but it was clear that they were not going to threaten the Leinster line. The former Heineken Cup Champions were content to play out the remaining 11 minutes in second gear.
The win moves Leinster into fourth position and after a bad start to the Magners League, they are beginning to look ominous.
The Irish province are now only four points adrift of their rivals and league leader’s Munster who play the Scarlets on Sunday.
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