United Rugby Championship: Leinster claim win over Lions, Bulls run riot at Zebre Parma

Adam Kyriacou 25 Feb 2022 4:05 PM

Leinster were made to work for their 21-13 victory over the Lions in their United Rugby Championship clash at the RDS Arena on Friday.

Crossings from prop Michael Ala’alatoa and back-row Scott Penny gave Leinster a handy lead before the Lions crossed late on via flanker Jaco Kriel.

Dave Kearney’s sixth-minute score had put the hosts 7-6 ahead at half-time, with Jordan Hendrikse landing two penalties for the South Africans.

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On his return from injury, fly-half Hendrikse was off target with two early penalty attempts as the Lions left points behind them.

Leinster punished them with a free-flowing try, Tommy O’Brien popping up in midfield for a key pass out of a tackle before Jamie Osborne and Max O’Reilly sent Kearney over in the left corner.

Reliable number 10 Ross Byrne floated over the difficult conversion but the Lions proved tough to break down.

Ruben Schoeman forced a turnover penalty, which Hendrikse sent through the uprights in the 12th minute.

Kearney was stopped a few metres out after combining again with O’Reilly and then a promising lineout opportunity for the visitors was bundled into touch.

Lions scrum-half Morne van den Berg then threatened on a brilliant side-stepping run before Dan Leavy came to Leinster’s rescue.

Quan Horn pinched a pass as the home side looked destined for a try and Hendrikse’s 36th-minute penalty punished Devin Toner for not rolling away.

Kriel did very well to deny Leavy a try just before the break but Leinster resumed in the ascendancy.

Prop Ala’alatoa drove over in the 47th minute after Leinster had played with successive penalty advantages and Byrne’s conversion made it 14-6.

Kearney and O’Brien carved through on counter-attacking runs, the home pack using the resulting lineout to send flanker Penny over.

Byrne’s boot pushed the margin out to 15 points but Leinster were forced back on the defensive and Stean Pienaar’s breakaway effort was foiled by a terrific O’Brien tackle.

The Lions got their reward in the 78th minute, Van den Berg reacting quickest after the ball had squirted out of a Leinster scrum.

Kriel was fed for the score which replacement Tiaan Swanepoel converted.

Bulls run riot against Zebre Parma

The Bulls ran in six tries to beat Zebre Parma 45-7 and ensure the Italians’ winless run in the United Rugby Championship will extend to over a year.

Tries from Johan Grobbelaar, Embrose Papier, Marcell Coetzee, Arno Botha, Lionel Mapoe and Kurt-Lee Arendse secured a comfortable bonus-point win as the Bulls scored 45 unanswered points.

Chris Smith, stepping in for the suspended Morne Steyn at fly-half, produced a flawless goal-kicking display, adding 15 points with a penalty and six conversions.

Zebre have now lost 20 consecutive games, with their last URC win coming against the Dragons on February 27 last year.

Madosh Tambwe thought he had opened the scoring in the ninth minute but Bulls centre Mapoe had knocked on in the build-up.

The Bulls were reduced to 14 men after 21 minutes when Marcello Violi’s kick was deflected skywards.

Jacopo Trulla got there first but he was caught in by mid-air by Bulls skipper Coetzee, who was sent to the sin bin for 10 minutes.

Zebre instantly made the most of their one-man advantage as a driving maul snaked infield to give Violi options right and left.

Violi darted to his right and fed Antonio Rizzi, who stepped inside Tambwe for a score he converted.

Smith replied with a penalty and the Bulls took command after being restored to their full complement by Coetzee’s return.

Hooker Grobbelaar squirmed over as a forward drive appeared to be heading for the touchline.

The Bulls established a 17-7 half-time lead when Mapoe, with a superb one-handed offload, and Arendse combined to send Papier over.

The visitors continued to dominate after the break and kept the ball in hand well for Coetzee to stretch out and reach the line.

The Bulls celebrated a bonus point just before the hour as Botha benefited from more forward power to drive over from close range.

Mapoe then sliced through from a well-worked set-piece before Arendse kept the best for last.

Elrigh Louw’s footwork and back-of-the-hand pass freed Arendse, who scorched down the touchline to leave several Zebre defenders trailing in his wake.

Bulls