Edinburgh ‘A’ finish strongly in entertaining Leinster clash

The visitors had plenty of senior experience in their matchday 23. Peter Dooley, with more than a century of senior caps, joined captain Charlie Tector, Alex Soroka and Andrew Osborne in the line-up.

That experience showed in the second half, as Leinster’s power began to tell. Edinburgh emptied their bench after the break, which gave the club’s young talent a chance to test themselves against top-tier opposition. The hosts kept battling to the final whistle, and two late tries showed how much fight there was in the side.

Harry Paterson and Rhys Litterick both made welcome returns from injury. Young back Henry Kesterton and No 8 Ollie Duncan caught the eye throughout.

Edinburgh started brightly and used the width of the pitch from the first whistle. Kesterton was quickly into the action, Duncan carried with real power on the edges, and Ross Wolfenden showed some lovely touches and soft hands in midfield.

Leinster struck first. After eight minutes the visitors worked the ball cleverly to the right, and a two-on-one sent full-back Hugo McLaughlin over in the corner. Caspar Gabriel’s fine conversion made it 0-7.

Edinburgh’s response was swift. Straight from the restart they won a lineout deep in Leinster territory, and a rolling maul earned a penalty advantage. A clever cross-field kick found Kesterton, and although that attack fizzled out, Edinburgh went again from a lineout five metres out.

The pack got a shift on, and hooker Jack Utterson found the whitewash on 13 minutes. Charlie McCaig converted from the right touchline to level the scores at 7-7.

Leinster then began to show their power at scrum time. Another scrum penalty sent them to the Edinburgh 22, and they made it count. The visitors worked the ball through the close quarters before swinging it wide to replacement Andrew Doyle, who had the simple task of dotting down. Gabriel added another touchline conversion to make it 7-14 after 20 minutes.

The Irish side kept up the pressure. A messy penalty at the breakdown gave them an easy kick into the Edinburgh 22, and a strong drive took them within metres. Slick hands then put Jack Deegan through on a sharp inside line for a simple finish. Gabriel converted again to make it 7-21 after 24 minutes.

Edinburgh reclaimed the restart and went wide once more. Kesterton was hugging the Main Stand touchline and beat his man time and again, making hard yards. He was just as effective without the ball. When Leinster broke down the short side, he raced up to flatten his opposite number and forced a scrum.

Edinburgh scored straight from that scrum. Loosehead James Whitcombe drove in, and Matthew Fick, sharp as a tack, picked from the base and fed Kesterton. The winger broke the line once more, and McCaig was on his shoulder.

The outside centre showed a good turn of pace to finish out wide. His conversion drifted just wide, leaving the score at 12-21 after 31 minutes.

With their tails up, Edinburgh pushed for more. Soft hands from Whitcombe and Rob Carmichael got them moving in midfield, and Kesterton took the ball at pace in the wide channel, beat his man and gained another 15 metres.

One of the moments of the afternoon came in the 39th minute. Rhys Litterick was making his first appearance in more than 12 months, and when he left the field at a Leinster scrum, the friends and family in attendance rose to applaud his efforts and his comeback. It was 12-21 at the break, with both sides showing plenty of fight.

Edinburgh scored the first points of the second half. A long kick was allowed to bounce in the Leinster 22, causing chaos, and Edinburgh’s chase forced a hurried clearance. Paterson gathered at full-back and launched a counter-attack with the visitors on the back foot.

Henry Widdowson whipped the ball wide to Kesterton, who fed Wolfenden. The centre returned the ball to Kesterton, who dived in for a try his performance had deserved. McCaig’s conversion went wide, but Edinburgh were within four points at 17-21 after 45 minutes.

Leinster responded on 49 minutes. A series of penalties gave them an easy entry into the Edinburgh 22, and their pack showed plenty of grit to wrestle over. Replacement Andrew Sparrow was at the bottom of the pile, and Gabriel’s conversion made it 17-28.

The visitors then had a spell of physical dominance and stretched their lead. On 58 minutes, with Edinburgh short of numbers on the short side, Leinster worked a reverse play to skipper Charlie Tector. He hit the inside line and raced in, and Gabriel’s conversion made it 17-35.

Edinburgh kept fighting. They scrambled superbly in the wide channels to deny Leinster another try. The visitors kept up the pressure, though, and after a sustained spell on the Edinburgh five-metre line, McLaughlin twisted over for his second try to make it 17-40 after 69 minutes.

Edinburgh’s young side refused to fold, and replacement Harry Clark played a big part in their late fightback. His quality 50:22 put Edinburgh in a promising position. He then produced another fine kick, a cross-field nudge to Fin Doyle, who gathered and powered past his opposite man for a deserved try. Clark converted to make it 24-40 after 79 minutes.

Edinburgh still had the last laugh. With the clock in the red and the ball inside their own 22, they shipped it wide to replacement Nairn Moncrieff, who chipped over his man and finished. That made the final score 29-40.

The result went Leinster’s way, but Edinburgh had much to take from the afternoon. Two experienced players returned from injury, several young players stood out, and the club’s next generation got valuable minutes against high-quality opposition.

Edinburgh Rugby ‘A’ scorers:
Tries: Utterson, McCaig, Kesterton, F Doyle, Moncrieff
Cons: McCaig, Clark

Leinster Rugby ‘A’ scorers:
Tries: McLaughlin (2), A Doyle, Deegan, Sparrow, Tector
Cons: Gabriel (5)

Edinburgh Rugby ‘A’: Harry Paterson; Fin Doyle, Charlie McCaig, Ross Wolfenden, Henry Kesterton; Henry Widdowson, Matthew Fick; James Whitcombe, Jack Utterson, Rhys Litterick, Christian Lindsay, Rob Carmichael, Tom Dodd, Connor Boyle, Ollie Duncan.

Replacements: James Roberts, Ben White, Jackson Rennie, Hamish Mather, James Dalrymple, Harry Jackaman, Sam Byrd, Adam McKenzie, Harry Soboil, Harry Clark, Nairn Moncrieff.

Leinster Rugby ‘A’: Hugo McLaughlin; Andrew Osborne, Jack Deegan, Charlie Tector (capt), Joshua Kenny; Caspar Gabriel, Tadhg Brophy; Max Doyle, Stephen Smyth, Alex Mullan, Alan Spicer, Jonny Ginnety, Dylan McNeice, Ben Blaney, Alex Soroka.

Replacements: Joe Christle, Peter Dooley, Andrew Sparrow, Paul Neary, Andrew Doyle, Ciarán Mangan, Hugh Cooney, Charlie Molony, Cian Butler.