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Lowe opened his Leinster account with a finish from close-range. Elena Barbini/INPHO

Two tries and man of the match! James Lowe makes big impact on Leinster debut

Leo Cullen’s side strolled to a bonus-point win in Italy this afternoon.

Benetton Rugby 10

Leinster 36

LEINSTER FANS HAVE had to wait patiently to see their marquee signing of the summer line out in blue, but Jame Lowe wasted little time in making an impact as he ran in two tries during the province’s rout of Treviso this afternoon.

The Kiwi, signed from the Chiefs at the end of last season, opened his Leinster account after just 16 minutes, a score which set Leo Cullen’s side on their way to an emphatic bonus-point victory at the Stadio di Monigo.

By the time Lowe crossed for his second in the final quarter, Leinster had done all the hard work in dispatching the hosts with a clinical and professional display under the lights.

Jordi Murphy added Leinster’s second try to open up a 17-3 lead at the interval, and although Juan Ignacio Brex brought his side back into the contest after the break, the visitors found another gear to pull away.

Garry Ringrose, on his first appearance of the season, crashed over before Lowe was again involved to set captain Luke McGrath away for the bonus point try after Brex had been sent to the bin for a late hit on Scott Fardy.

The final act belonged to Lowe, who capped a fine debut with a second on a near-perfect afternoon for Leinster in Italy.

They return to second place in Conference B and head into the back-to-back games against Exeter Chiefs with momentum and confidence.

Benetton scorers:Tries: Nacho Brex
Conversions: Tommaso Allan [1 from 1]
Penalties: Tommaso Allan [1 from 1]

Leinster scorers:

Tries: James Lowe [2], Jordi Murphy, Garry Ringrose, Luke McGrath
Conversions: Ross Byrne [4 from 5]
Penalties: Ross Byrne [1 from 1]

BENETTON RUGBY: 15. M Banks, 14. T Benvenuti, 13. I Brex, 12. A Sgarbi (captain), 11. L Sperandio, 10. T Allan, 9. G Bronzini, 1. R Barbieri, 2. N Manu, 3. W Douglas, 4. I Herbst, 5. A Zanni, 6. T Pasquali, 7. T Baravalle, 8. C Traore.

Replacements: 16. H Faiva, 17. N Quaglio, 18. A De Marchi, 19. F Ruzza, 20. M Lazzaroni, 21. S Negri, 22. E Gori, 23. L Morisi.

LEINSTER: 15. Jordan Larmour, 14. Dave Kearney, 13. Garry Ringrose, 12. Noel Reid, 11. James Lowe, 10. Ross Byrne, 9. Luke McGrath (captain); 1. Jack McGrath, 2. James Tracy, 3. Andrew Porter, 4. Ian Nagle, 5. Scott Fardy, 6. Jordi Murphy, 7. Josh van der Flier, 8. Jack Conan.

Replacements: 16. Sean Cronin, 17. Ed Byrne, 18. Vakh Abdaladze, 19. Mick Kearney, 20. Max Deegan, 21. Nick McCarthy, 22. Fergus McFadden, 23. Rory O’Loughlin.

Referee: David Wilkinson (IRFU).

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