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Leinster rout Ospreys to clinch URC second place
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Leinster scored 11 tries, with a hat-trick from Joe McCarthy, as they demolished the Ospreys 68-14 at the Aviva Stadium to secure second place in the United Rugby Championship.
The home side made a strong start with two tries inside the opening seven minutes. Joe McCarthy barged over under the posts from close range before Max Deegan went through following a drive from a line-out, and Harry Byrne successfully landed both conversions for a 14-0 lead.
Leinster continued their momentum as flanker Josh van der Flier touched down after being picked out on the overlap by Jack Conan before Jimmy O’Brien then ran clear to secure a bonus-point try in the 23rd minute.
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Ospreys finally stemmed the flow just after the half-hour mark when Huw Sutton crashed over from Rhys Davies’ offload, but the Irish province still took a comfortable 28-7 lead into half-time.
Leinster then took the game away from the Ospreys with a ruthless second half. Garry Ringrose ran in, winger Jordan Larmour then chasing down a kick through before McCarthy powered across in the 56th minute.
United Rugby Championship
P
W
L
D
PF
PA
PD
BP T
BP-7
BP
Total
1
Glasgow
18
13
5
0
65
2
Leinster
18
12
6
0
63
3
Stormers
18
12
5
1
60
4
Bulls
18
12
6
0
59
5
Cardiff Rugby
18
11
7
0
55
6
Connacht
18
10
8
0
54
7
Lions
17
10
6
1
53
8
Ulster
18
9
8
1
52
9
Munster
17
10
7
0
51
10
Sharks
18
8
9
1
46
11
Ospreys
18
7
9
2
39
12
Edinburgh
18
7
11
0
38
13
Benetton
18
6
10
2
33
14
Scarlets
18
4
12
2
28
15
Dragons RFC
18
3
11
4
28
16
Zebre
18
2
16
0
15
Larmour added another try just before the hour, running in from his own half, with McCarthy completing his hat-trick and James Lowe scoring from wide for his 69th Leinster try to tie the club record. Ospreys got a late scant consolation try from Dan Edwards.
Meanwhile, a 75th-minute try by Marc Page earned Scarlets a share of the spoils after a thrilling 35-35 draw with Dragons.
In the battle between the two Welsh clubs to avoid the wooden spoon, Dragons were set to leapfrog Scarlets after a try by the departing Aaron Wainwright and a second-half penalty try.
Scarlets had suffered recent defeats in late fashion but flipped the script this time and Page finished off before Joe Hawkins nailed a tough conversion to clinch a dramatic draw in Llanelli.
An enthralling contest started with a bang when Taine Plumtree’s second-minute try for Scarlets was cancelled out by Thomas Young after four minutes.
Plumtree went over again for Scarlets, but Brodie Coghlan and Wainwright scored to ensure Dragons held a narrow 22-14 advantage at half-time.
Angus O’Brien kicked two penalties after the break to give 15th-placed Dragons breathing space before tries for Scarlets duo Josh Macleod and Jarrod Taylor were followed by a penalty try for the visitors, but the final word went to Page to ensure bragging rights were claimed by the home team.
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