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Sean Cronin bursts away for a first-half try. Dan Sheridan/INPHO
back on track

Nine-try rout of Treviso gets O'Connor's Leinster back to winning ways

Noel Reid spearheaded an impressive attacking performance by the Pro12 leaders.

Leinster 62

Treviso 7

LEINSTER’S NINE TRIES against Treviso at a sunny RDS ensured they got back to winning ways following recent defeats to Toulon and the Ospreys. Matt O’Connor’s side were impressive in bursts to go nine points clear at the top of the Pro12 overnight.

The Italians failed to offer any convincing defence to the focused and accurate Leinster attack, as Noel Reid’s superb, rounded midfield display led the way.

Jimmy Gopperth’s penalty began the scoring, before Leinster’s first meaningful attack led to the opening try of the game. Man of the match Darragh Fanning trucked the ball up in midfield, before Leinster shipped possession wide to the right.

Rob Kearney’s delicate inside pass then put Jordi Murphy over from close range, although Gopperth’s conversion was wide. Hooker Sean Cronin burst away to score five minutes later, benefiting as Treviso’s line-out malfunctioned and the ball bounced loose.

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The Ireland international showed excellent pace to get clear, allowing Gopperth to convert from under the sticks. A lengthy injury delay ended with Treviso centre Christian Loamanu being stretchered off, but that incident failed to halt Leinster’s momentum.

Again, Fanning carried strongly in the build-up to the next score, before Devin Toner got stopped metres short. Cian Healy was on hand to take a pass from Isaac Boss close to the ruck, stepping one defender before barging his way over the whitewash.

Gopperth converted again, before releasing Zane Kirchner to score with a neat break and offload. Treviso managed to boost their morale just before the break, when a clever line-out move led to a surging maul from 10 metres out.

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Barbieri got over the line, but was held up. However, referee Neil Paterson indicated the penalty try after Boss came in from the side in his desperation to prevent the score. The scrum-half was binned and Mat Berquist converted to leave the scoreline at 29-7 at the interval.

Leinster rode out their period of numerical disadvantage, before a raft of substitutions around the 50-minute mark resulted in a stop-start period of play. A burst from Kearney down the right in the 59th minute led to a line-out just five metres from the Treviso try-line and Dominic Ryan barged over within a minute.

A yellow card for Jack McGrath delayed the next score, but lively replacement scrum-half Luke McGrath broke through from a line-out in the 68th minute to pop the ball up to Reid. The centre ran over the top of the last defender for a fully deserved try.

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Treviso’s interest and effort evaporated thereafter, as Heaslip and McGrath went over for straightforward tries. Reid broke from deep in injury time, exchanged passes with his No. 8 and scored his second try to finish off a high-quality individual display.

Leinster scorers:

Tries: J Murphy, S Cronin, C Healy, Z Kirchner, D Ryan, N Reid (2), J Heaslip, L McGrath.

Conversions:  J Gopperth (7)

Penalty: J Gopperth

Treviso scorers:

Tries: Penalty try

Conversions: M Berquist

LEINSTER: Rob Kearney; Zane Kirchner (Brendan Macken), Brian O’Driscoll (Ian Madigan), Noel Reid, Darragh Fanning; Jimmy Gopperth, Isaac Boss (Luke McGrath); Cian Healy (Jack McGrath), Sean Cronin (Richardt Strauss), Martin Moore (Michael Bent); Devin Toner (Tom Denton), Mike McCarthy; Rhys Ruddock, Jordi Murphy (Dominic Ryan), Jamie Heaslip (capt.).

TREVISO: Luke McLean; Ludovico Nitoglia (James Ambrosini), Michele Campagnaro, Christian Loamanu (Brendan Williams), Angelo Esposito; Mat Berquist, Tobias Botes (Fabio Semenzato); Matteo Muccignat (Ignacio Fernandez-Rouyet), Leonardo Ghiraldini (capt.) (Giovanni Maistri), Lorenzo Cittadini (Pedro Di Santo); Marco Fuser, Valerio Bernabò; Marco Filippucci, Paul Derbyshire (Antonio Pavanello), Robert Barbieri (Dean Budd).

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