Jack’s the lad as Leinster slay Chiefs
LEINSTER Rugby maintained their 100% start to their Champions Cup campaign on Sunday thanks in no small part to Bray’s Jack Conan.
The beast landed the insurance try with the scores delicately poised at 8-11 in Leinster’s favour to allow Leo Cullen’s men to go on and claim a 8-18 victory against Exeter Chiefs.
There were 10 minutes left on the clock when Conan touched down to ease nerves and sent Leinster six points clear of Exeter and Montpellier at the top of pool three. It was a compelling contest at Sandy Park but it was Conan’s 70th minute touchdown - which came at the end of an exhausting 44 phases - that silenced the Chiefs and assured victory for Cullen’s troops. Exeter are the top side currently in the Aviva Premiership and the tie remained in the balance until Conan burrowed under a couple of tackles for the third and final try of the evening.
Wicklow’s Josh van der Flier also impressed after entering the fray two minutes into the second period as both men put their hands up Joe Schmidt with the Six Nations looming. Conan enjoyed a fruitful Autumn international as he bossed proceedings against Fiji but he remains locked in a battle with CJ Stander for Ireland’s number eight jersey.
On Sunday, Conan’s 10 carries yielded 33 metres as he put in 10 tackles. Van der Flier managed four tackles in his 38 minutes as his fresh legs helped to get Leinster over the line.