Cardiff Blues 13 Leinster 22
After a largely forgettable first half of the season for Leinster, the New Year has brought a rejuvenated look to the reigning Pro12 champions.
What could have been a nightmare trip to Cardiff instead brought a bonus-point victory and some much-needed momentum as Matt O’Connor’s side head into two crucial European Champions Cup fixtures.
The early signs had not been good. Two failed landing attempts at Cardiff Airport on the flight over to the Welsh capital, the first when the team’s plane was just feet from the tarmac, forced a diversion to Bristol and added three hours to their journey.
It had scared some players enough that they were rushing to send messages back home to family members and could easily have been used as an excuse had they slipped to a first defeat against Cardiff Blues since 2007.
But having come from behind to beat Ulster the previous week, Leinster are now showing signs that they are not going to let go of their Pro12 title without a fight.
A third-straight Pro12 crown had looked unlikely at the beginning of the season as Leinster began life without Brian O’Driscoll but their victories over Ulster and the Blues will have caught the eye of their rivals at the top of the table.
The Blues might not have troubled Leinster much in recent years but it was the kind of win league champions often look back upon as being crucial to their success.
“It’s a massive victory,” said prop Marty Moore, who made his first start after four months out through injury. “We’ve had a couple of really tough games but against Ulster we started to build a bit of positivity within the squad and we want to take that forward.
“We feel we are turning a corner, there is always pressure on us because of the players we have in the squad but we know when we get our basics right we can be a very good team.”
Whether that positivity can carry them through in the league and Europe remains to be seen but O’Connor was pleased with the way his men stood up to an improving Blues side under New Zealander Mark Hammett.
Hammett was let down by another former All Black, Blues lock Jarrad Hoeata, who was shown a first half red card for a dangerously high tackle on Leinster captain Rob Kearney, which left the home side with a mountain to climb having already lost influential flanker Sam Warburton to an eye injury.
The Blues were resolute after the sending off but it was when they went down to 13 men seven minutes into the second half when Manoa Vosawai, a first half try-scorer, was shown a yellow card that Leinster took control.
Jimmy Gopperth had been restored to outside half for Leinster just days after announcing he will leave the club at the end of the season to join Aviva Premiership side Wasps and he put his hand up for a starting berth against Castres will an excellent display.
Johnny Sexton’s return from France next season means Gopperth’s departure will not be such a hammer blow to Leinster but he provided a timely reminder of his worth.
A 40 metre burst in the opening minute put centre Noel Reid over for the game's opening try before Gopperth grabbed a crucial score for himself to bring Leinster back to within one point.
Tries from Gopperth's impressive half-back partner Luke McGrath and replacement Tadhg Furlong secured the bonus point and set them up nicely for next week's visit of Castres.
Leinster coach O’Connor said: “Another win is important building into Europe and we are pretty happy with how things are going at the moment.
“There’s an awful lot to play for next week. We will be looking for maximum points.
“When we get opportunities we have to take them and if we can do that we give ourselves the best opportunity going into the final game.”
Leinster could also be boosted by the return of captain Jamie Heaslip, who was forced out of the Ulster game early on with shoulder injury and missed Saturday’s trip to Cardiff but should be available this weekend.
CARDIFF BLUES: J Tuculet; ACuthbert, C Allen, G Evans (A Thomas 50), L Amorosino; G Anscombe, T Knoyle (L Williams 63); G Jenkins (c), K Dacey 6 (M Rees 33), A Jones (T Filise 63); L Reed, J Hoeata; Jo Turnbull (M Normandale, 78), S Warburton 6 (M Vosawai 13), J Navidi.
Replacements not used: S Hobbs, G Davies
Tries: Vosawai
Conv: Anscombe
Pens: Anscombe (2)
Yellow card: Vosawai (dangerous play)
Red card: Hoeata (high tackle)
LEINSTER: R Kearney; F McFadden, B Te'o (D Fanning 63), N Reid, D Kearney; J Gopperth, L McGrath (E Reddan 63); M Bent (J Hagan 55), S Cronin (R Strauss 57), M Moore (T Furlong 50); M McCarthy (B Marshall 69), K Douglas; D Ryan (J Flier 57), J Murphy, J Conan.
Replacements not used: I Madigan
Tries: Reid, Gopperth, McGrath, Furlong
Conv: Gopperth
Referee: Neil Patterson (SRU)
Attendance: 7,053
Man of the match: Jimmy Gopperth (Leinster)
