BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | Celtic | Leinster too strong for Bridgend

Celtic League - Pool B
Bridgend 18-39 Leinster

Defending Celtic League champions Leinster brought the curtain down on their campaign for this season with an emphatic win at the Brewery Field.

Three defeats earlier in the pool stages when they were hit by international calls had ended Leinster's hopes of reaching the quarter-finals.

Match details

Bridgend (15) 18
Tries: D James (2)
Cons: Warlow
Pens: Warlow (2)

Leinster (10) 39
Tries: D Hickie (2), O'Driscoll, Horgan, O'Kelly
Cons: O'Meara (4)
Pens: O'Meara (2)

Att: 1,000

However with all their stars back in the fold they finished with a flourish, carrying on where they left off at Swansea in the Heineken Cup the previous week.

Bridgend, also out of contention for the knockout stages led 15-10 at the interval thanks to two tries from Lions threequarter Dafydd James.

James had a point to prove to the Welsh selectors after controversially being omitted from the squad for next month's Test matches against Romania, Fiji, Canada and New Zealand.

Leinster try scorer Shane Horgan
Shane Horgan was always a threat
Shane Horgan scored Leinster's first-half try and both sides were reduced to 14 men when home lock Mike Powell and visiting centre Brian O'Driscoll were sin-binned following a mass brawl.

Bridgend also lost international Andy Moore with a suspected fracture of the eye socket.

In the second period Leinster cut loose and Bridgend had no answer as the visitors scored 29 points with wing Denis Hickie scoring two tries and O'Driscoll and Malcolm O'Kelly one apiece.

Referee Andy Ireland also brandished two more yellow cards, to Bridgend flanker Richard Bryan and Leinster prop and captain Reggie Corrigan.

Bridgend: Matt James; Richard Mustoe, Dafydd James, John Funnell, Paul Jones; Craig Warlow, Huw Harries; Phil Booth, Ben Phillips, Chris Horsman, Andy Moore, Mike Powell, Richard Bryan, Jamie Ringer, Shawn Van Rensburg.
Reps: Nathan Budgett, Maama Molitika, Deiniol Jones, Jon Thiel, Christian Loader, Sililo Martens, Anthony Carter.

Leinster: Girvan Dempsey; Denis Hickie, Brian O'Driscoll, Shane Horgan, Gordon D'Arcy; Brian O'Meara, Brian O'Riordan; Reg Corrigan (capt), Shane Byrne, Emmett Byrne, Aidan Kearney, Mal O'Kelly, Aidan McCullen, Keith Gleeson, Victor Costello.
Reps: Niall Treston, Peter Smyth, Gissing, Des Dillon, Ben Willis, Matthew Leek, Adam Magro.

Referee: Andrew Ireland (Scotland).


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