Ringrose hat-trick
The spirit of adventure is triumphant as Ireland stars shine for Leinster
MORE than 15,000 souls braved a freezing afternoon to watch Leinster begin their European campaign in style. Not many would have regretted making the trip through the gates of the RDS yesterday.
As many of those same spectators thawed out in the many watering holes surroundi ng Ballsbridge, you could wager that the same question kept coming up in the post-match debriefs: ‘Why can’t Ireland play like that?’
That debate has raged since Ireland’s recent failure at the World Cup. The likes of Isa Nacewa and Brian O’Driscoll suggesting, in the fallout, that Leinster’s ‘comfortable in chaos’ attacking game – spearheaded by Stuart Lancaster – could even have lead to a supposed split in the Ireland camp.
Joe Schmidt often bristled at suggestions that the national team played conservative, low-risk rugby under his watch, but the evidence was always clear as day on the pitch. When it worked, to great effect for much of that all-conquering campaign of last year, there was little blowback over his rigid approach. When things began to take a nosedive this year, the backlash followed.
Ireland were turgid, error-strewn and devoid of ideas for much of this troubled year. There were many low points along the way, but the shambles in Shizuoka and the Tokyo trouncing at the hands of Japan and the All Blacks were the nadirs.
Fast forward to yesterday and here were a host of the same players (Leinster are bulk suppliers to Ireland, lest we forget) playing with verve, skill and adventure. It wasn’t a perfect performance by any means but you could only admire the endeavour from the hosts.
The opposition have to be taken into account, of course. Treviso have made giant strides in recent seasons and qualified for this year’s European Champions Cup on merit, by dint of making the playoffs of last season’s Pro14. But they remain a limited outfit.
They came here to play though, yet Leinster always looked like they could move up an extra gear when required.
From the opening minute, Leo Cullen’s men showed their intent, moving the ball at a frantic pace, seemingly offloading at will while repeatedly changing the point of attack. There was a late change for the hosts with Joe Tomane dropping out of the starting line-up and Rory O’Loughlin stepping off the bench to fill the void at inside centre.
Robbie Henshaw wasn’t a bad 11th-hour option to provide late bench cover either. They were 19-7 up at the break thanks to a brace from man-of-thematch Garry Ringrose and yet another try for their prolific young hooker Ronan Kelleher. This was Kelleher’s European debut but the 21-year-old played like a seasoned veteran here. He is being tipped to break into Ireland’s Six Nations squad on the back of some breakout performances this season.
There is no doubt that he offers dynamism around the pitch, but his head coach Leo Cullen and Andy Farrell – watching from further afield – will be most pleased with his basics yesterday: hitting his lineout darts and scrummaging effectively, ably assisted by Cian Healy and Andrew Porter.
There is a lot excitement about Caelan Doris as well.
The 21-year-old No 8 looks a serious prospect and is set for a big season, deputising for Jack Conan, who is out of action for the foreseeable future with a fractured foot.
Doris made a storming start to this game, revelling in the high tempo and running some smart lines. A promising European debut came to an end after 16 minutes, however, when he took a blow to the head following a clumsy tackle from Treviso No 8 Nasi Manu. Off Doris came, to be replaced by another young gun in Max Deegan.
Ringrose had shimmied and barged his way over for his double before that stoppage. Dean Budd, the impressive New Zealand-born lock, had muscled his way over the Leinster line between those scores.
Kelleher would score Leinster’s third, his seventh try of the season for good measure, when he spotted an acre of space around the fringes of a ruck. Treviso continued to scrap and get in among Leinster, but the hosts stayed true to form.
The point was rammed home in the dying minutes of the first half when Sexton, backtracking to collect a kick downfield, collected and weighed up his options. Booting the ball into the stands looked the logical decision but the Leinster out-half instead opted to take on the onrushing defence before offloading to Jordan Larmour in support, leading to a flowing attack upfield.
The stark contrast between the Irish and Leinster setups was best exemplified by Sexton’s bonus-point clinching try early in the second half. Shirking off a weak tackle, Sexton charged upfield before
exchanging passes with a rampaging Josh van der Flier to score under the posts. The captain almost looked giddy after finishing off that score as he celebrated in front of the terrace. Again, a home game against Treviso in November and a World Cup quarter-final clash with the All Blacks are poles apart, but so were, seemingly, the attacking philosophies of Ireland and their biggest feeder province.
It was 26-7 at that stage and it was set to be a difficult second half for the visitors. Treviso, to their credit, mounted a resurgence with their hooker Hama Faiva crossing soon after. The Italians set up camp in Leinster territory for the best part of 10 minutes, before Van der Flier lifted the siege with a brilliant turnover. As Ross Byrne – on for Sexton – cleared his lines, on came
Henshaw and Scott Fardy from the bench to add some fresh impetus.
Soon, Ringrose would be strolling through another feeble tackle to complete his hat-trick.
Treviso wing Luca Sperandio finished well in the corner, but it was merely a consolation.
Leinster long had the win in the bag and can look forward to another serious assault on this competition.
LEINSTER: J Larmour; D Kearney, G Ringrose, R O’Loughlin (R Henshaw 64), J Lowe; J Sexton (capt) (R Byrne 57), L McGrath (J Gibson-Park 71); C Healy (P Dooley), R Kelleher (J Tracy), A Porter (M Bent); D Toner, J Ryan; R Ruddock (S Fardy 64), J van der Flier, C Doris (M Deegan 16)
Scorers: Tries Ringrose (3), Kelleher, Sexton, cons Sexton (3), Byrne.
TREVISO: J Hayward; A Esposito, N Brex, A Sgarbi (capt) (T Allan 53), L Sperandio (F Zani 28-38); I Keatley, D Duvenage (T Tebaldi 48); N Quaglio (F Zani 57), H Faiva (E Makelara 53), M Riccioni (T Pasquali 29); I Herbst (M Lazzaroni 65), D Budd (M Fuser 40); G Pettinelli, B Steyn, N Manu (T Halafihi 40)
Scorers: Tries: Budd, Faiva, Sperandio, cons Keatley (2). Yellow card: Quiaglio 28-38
Referee: P Brousset (France)