Leinster (7) 27 Tries: Penalty try, Nacewa, D'Arcy, O'Driscoll Cons: Sexton 2 Pens: Sexton Brive (0) 10 Tries: Uys, Spedding
 Isa Nacewa evades the challenge of Jamie Noon to score in the corner |
Leinster secured a bonus-point victory over Brive at the RDS to move clear at the top of Heineken Cup Pool Six. The champions were awarded a penalty try on 26 minutes, with Jonathan Sexton adding a conversion and penalty to make it 10-0 to Leinster at half-time. Isa Nacewa, Gordon D'Arcy and Brian O'Driscoll scored second-half tries, with Retief Uys and Scott Spedding replying with tries for Brive. Leinster's final game is against London Irish at Twickenham next Saturday. The visitors could have taken the lead after two minutes but Luciano Orquera missed a penalty for Brive. After a scoreless first quarter, Leinster were awarded a penalty try in the 26th minute, which Sexton converted. Sexton and Shane Horgan then both went close to crossing the Brive line but were kept out by determined defence from the visitors. They finally extended their lead when Nacewa finished off a fine move involving D'Arcy, O'Driscoll and Rob Kearney four minutes after the break to claim his first Heineken Cup try. A minute before the hour mark, Uys bundled over for a try for Brive but Horacio Agulla missed with his conversion attempt. Leinster then piled on the pressure and were rewarded when D'Arcy breached the Brive defence and dived over beside the posts after 65 minutes. Sexton converted to make the score 22-5 to Leinster but Scott Spedding raced clear in the 76th minute to reduce Brive's deficit, Agulla again missing the conversion. But the reigning Heineken Cup champions secured a bonus point with their fourth try of the game in the final minute. Sexton, Kearney and Horgan all played their part, with Horgan's sublime reverse pass out of the back of his hand setting O'Driscoll free to race over in the corner for a cracking try. Sexton was unable to convert but the victory moves Leinster clear at the top of the Pool Six table with next weekend's crunch clash with London Irish, who play the Scarlets on Sunday, still to come.
Leinster: R Kearney; S Horgan, B O'Driscoll, G D'Arcy, I Nacewa; J Sexton, E Reddan; C Healy, J Fogarty, S Wright, L Cullen (capt), N Hines, K McLaughlin, S Jennings, J Heaslip. Replacements: B Jackman, M Ross, CJ van der Linde (for Wright 55), M O'Kelly, S O'Brien (for Jennings 47), P O'Donohoe, S Berne (for D'Arcy 75), G Dempsey Brive: S Spedding, N Jeanjean, J Noon, L Mackay, H Agulla, L Orquera, J Pejoine, P Henn, S Thompson, P Idieder, R Uys, D Browne, A Popham, F Domingo, A Claassen. Replacements: G Ribes (for Thompson 61), P Toderasc (for Henn 41), C Short (for Browne 61), S Azoulai (for Domingo 61), S Perry (for Pejoine 41), V Waqaseduadua (for Noon), R Bianco (for Orquera 55), P Barnard (for Idier 41) Referee: Andrew Small (RFU) Attendance: 17,836
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