ON TOP OF a bonus point win, a clean bill of health and signs of composure from his charges gave Leo Cullen reason to smile after this evening’s 52-10 win over the Dragons.
Despite the eastern province unleashing a fleet of big names on the still-developing Welsh region, the visitors frustrated their illustrious hosts for long periods of the first half.
Leinster sought width early and got the crowd excited with line-breaks and offload attempts. However, at such an early point in the season there consistently seemed to be a link missing somewhere in the chain and so the first-half scores instead came through relatively direct set-plays dotted down by Sean Cronin and Josh van der Flier.
“There were a lot of near-misses,” Cullen said post-match, possibly with a Cronin offload directly to Josh Lewis in his mind’s eye.
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“We maybe forced passes a couple of times and we had that (Garry Ringrose) try disallowed when we went back for the neck roll.
“I thought Dragons were very competitive around the ruck, slowed us down a few times… but the ball was in play for long periods.
We know if we stay at it, stick to the plan, that some of those opportunities will come later on which thankfully they did.
“That try just on half-time was a big moment as well so to get over then was good. It just gives us that bit more separation going into the break. I thought guys were pretty clinical in terms of taking opportunities when they came in the second half.
“There were things in the first half that we could have done better. As you would expect at this time of year, still plenty to work on.”
Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
Overall then, a positive evening as the champions rose once again to the top of the Pro14′s Conference B. First-half injury concerns to Johnny Sexton (neck) and Jack Conan (HIA) were dispelled by the duo playing on through tie as Leinster pulled clear. The same can’t be said for the losing side as the Dragons lost wing Hallam Amos for the final 15 minutes with a dislocated elbow, and their inability to replace him at that stage made it relatively straightforward for Leinster to clock up a sixth and seventh try.
“We were pretty disappointed with the way we went last week. A number of the guys have come back in o, to get them through the game, get the bonus point and we’re pretty good on the injury front as well so we’ve plenty of positives from the day.
“Overall, pretty pleased.”
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'We know if we stay at it, stick to the plan, that those opportunities will come'
ON TOP OF a bonus point win, a clean bill of health and signs of composure from his charges gave Leo Cullen reason to smile after this evening’s 52-10 win over the Dragons.
Despite the eastern province unleashing a fleet of big names on the still-developing Welsh region, the visitors frustrated their illustrious hosts for long periods of the first half.
Leinster sought width early and got the crowd excited with line-breaks and offload attempts. However, at such an early point in the season there consistently seemed to be a link missing somewhere in the chain and so the first-half scores instead came through relatively direct set-plays dotted down by Sean Cronin and Josh van der Flier.
“There were a lot of near-misses,” Cullen said post-match, possibly with a Cronin offload directly to Josh Lewis in his mind’s eye.
“We maybe forced passes a couple of times and we had that (Garry Ringrose) try disallowed when we went back for the neck roll.
“I thought Dragons were very competitive around the ruck, slowed us down a few times… but the ball was in play for long periods.
“That try just on half-time was a big moment as well so to get over then was good. It just gives us that bit more separation going into the break. I thought guys were pretty clinical in terms of taking opportunities when they came in the second half.
“There were things in the first half that we could have done better. As you would expect at this time of year, still plenty to work on.”
Overall then, a positive evening as the champions rose once again to the top of the Pro14′s Conference B. First-half injury concerns to Johnny Sexton (neck) and Jack Conan (HIA) were dispelled by the duo playing on through tie as Leinster pulled clear. The same can’t be said for the losing side as the Dragons lost wing Hallam Amos for the final 15 minutes with a dislocated elbow, and their inability to replace him at that stage made it relatively straightforward for Leinster to clock up a sixth and seventh try.
“We were pretty disappointed with the way we went last week. A number of the guys have come back in o, to get them through the game, get the bonus point and we’re pretty good on the injury front as well so we’ve plenty of positives from the day.
“Overall, pretty pleased.”
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Dragons Leinster Leo Cullen normal service resumed pro14