Three first half tries helped Edinburgh defeat Leinster 27-16 in Friday night’s Magners League clash at Murrayfield…Michael Cheika Post Match Reaction…
Speaking after the game, Leinster Coach Michael Cheika said: “It was a bad result which has pretty much killed our chances of (retaining) the league.
“In the first half we just weren’t ready for action. You’ve got to be on the hammer from the start, but we only took 50% of our opportunities. We fought our way back in the second half, but it wasn’t enough and there are a lot of disappointed players in the dressing-room.
“A few of the guys who came on did well. I was pleased with Kevin McLaughlin and Fergus (McFadden) did well. We know that (winning) games like these can make us a great team.”
Tries by Ally Hogg, John Houston and Simon Webster helped Edinburgh into a commanding 21-3 half-time lead.
John Fogarty got Leinster’s first try just before the hour mark after some excellent work involving Paul O’Donohoe and the Ireland ‘A’ hooker ploughed through a hole in the Edinburgh defence to touch down after 58 minutes.
Fergus McFadden’s penalty brought the visitors to within eight points of Edinburgh, but Chris Paterson, who kicked 12 points, had the last word with a penalty in the 63rd minute.
The result came at a further cost for Leinster as Simon Keogh picked up a knee strain which will be assessed in the coming days.
EDINBURGH SCORERS: A. Hogg / J. Houston / S. Webster (1 try each), C. Paterson (2 penalties, 3 conversions)
LEINSTER SCORERS: J. Fogarty (1 try), F. McFadden (3 penalties, 1 conversion)
EDINBURGH:
15: Chris Paterson
14: John Houston
13: Ben Cairns
12: Nick De Luca
11: Simon Webster
10: Phil Godman
9: Mike Blair CAPTAIN
1: Kyle Traynor
2: Ross Ford
3: Geoff Cross
4: Craig Hamilton
5: Jim Hamilton
6: Scott Newlands
7: Alan MacDonald
8: Allister Hogg
REPLACEMENTS:
16: Andrew Kelly
17: Ryan Grant
18: Scott MacLeod
19: Matt Mustchin
20: Greig Laidlaw
21: David Blair
22: Andrew Turnbull
LEINSTER:
15: Girvan Dempsey
14: Shane Horgan
13: Fergus McFadden
12: Gordon D’Arcy
11: Simon Keogh (Gary Brown, 22)
10: Isa Nacewa
9: Chris Keane (Paul O’Donohoe, 56)
1: Ronan McCormack (Stephen Knoop 45-52, blood)
2: John Fogarty (Brian Blaney, 76)
3: Stephen Knoop (Ollie le Roux, half-time)
4: Leo Cullen CAPTAIN
5: Trevor Hogan (Devin Toner, 53)
6: Cameron Jowitt (Kevin McLaughlin, 56)
7: Sean O’Brien
8: Stephen Keogh
REPLACEMENT NOT USED: Ian McKinley
REFEREE: Tim Hayes (WRU), ASSISTANT REFEREES: John Steel (SRU), Peter Carruthers (SRU), TMO: Jim Yuilles (SRU)