Joey Carbery and Barry Daly scored two tries apiece as Leinster moved to the top of the Pro12 following a 39-10 triumph over Edinburgh.
The Irish province controlled the first half-hour and took an 8-0 lead through Daly’s try and Carbery’s penalty but Duncan Weir reduced the gap at the break.
Carbery touched down twice after the interval and Daly also completed a double before Dan Leavy made it 32-3. Weir gave Edinburgh a semblance of respectability on the scoreboard with a try of his own, but Bryan Byrne rubberstamped a comprehensive victory.
Leo Cullen’s men have enjoyed an excellent campaign and are in contention for both domestic and European honours.
This period, with internationals away on Six Nations duty, could decide who finishes in the top-four, but it was the hosts that opened impressively and scored the first try after 10 minutes.
Leinster were dealt a blow when Dominic Ryan was forced off but his replacement, Leavy, made an immediate impression. The flanker surged off the back of a scrum, off-loaded to Luke McGrath before the ball was shifted wide for Daly to score. Carbery missed the conversion but the fly-half was on target off the tee in the second quarter as the Irishmen moved eight points clear.
Weir’s penalty brought the gap back to within a losing bonus-point territory and the visitors had an opportunity to at least level matters on the stroke of half-time, but Tom Brown failed to take Chris Dean’s pass 10 metres from the line.
That profligacy proved costly at the beginning of the second period when Carbery touched down from close range. The fly-half repeated the trick five minutes later as excellent work down the right hand side gave the Ireland international a simple finish.
Cullen’s team were now rampant and Daly secured the bonus-point, receiving the ball on the left, stepping the final defender and crossing the whitewash unopposed. To their credit, Edinburgh continued to battle and were rewarded with a try for Weir, but they were ultimately outclassed and Byrne completed the scoring.
The scorers:
For Leinster:
Tries: Daly 2, Carbery 2, Leavy, Byrne
Cons: Byrne 3
Pens: Carbery
For Edinburgh:
Tries: Weir
Cons: Weir
Pens: Weir
Leinster: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Dave Kearney, 13 Rory O’Loughlin, 12 Noel Reid, 11 Barry Daly, 10 Joey Carbery, 9 Luke McGrath (c), 8 Jack Conan, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Dominic Ryan, 5 Mike McCarthy, 4 Ross Molony, 3 Mike Ross, 2 James Tracy, 1 Peter Dooley
Replacements: 16 Bryan Byrne, 17 Andrew Porter, 18 Michael Bent, 19 Mick Kearney, 20 Dan Leavy, 21 Jamison Gibson-Park, 22 Ross Byrne, 23 Adam Byrne
Edinburgh: 15 Glenn Bryce, 14 Damien Hoyland, 13 Chris Dean, 12 Phil Burleigh, 11 Tom Brown, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 8 Cornell Du Preez, 7 Jamie Ritchie, 6 Magnus Bradbury, 5 Ben Toolis, 4 Fraser McKenzie, 3 Murray McCallum, 2 Neil Cochrane (c), 1 Jack Cosgrove
Replacements: 16 George Turner, 17 Derrick Appiah, 18 Nick Beavon, 19 Grant Gilchrist, 20 Lewis Carmichael, 21 Nathan Fowles, 22 Jason Tovey, 23 Blair Kinghorn
Referee: Ian Davies (Wales)
Assistant Referees: Simon Rees (Wales), Leo Colgan (Ireland)
TMO: Neil Hennessy (Wales)
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