MAGNERS LEAGUE Dragons 16 Leinster 26:LEINSTER SURGED to second in the Magners League table with a hard-fought win in an enthralling encounter at Rodney Parade.
A try from Isaac Boss, 16-points from the boot of Jonathan Sexton and a penalty try awarded by Andy Macpherson was enough to see Joe Schmidt’s men home against a spirited Dragons side.
While all the Welsh region could manage was a try from centre Adam Hughes and 11 points from the boot of Jason Tovey.
The win sees Leinster surge to second in the league table albeit locked on 55 points with Ulster and Ospreys but with the superior points difference as the scramble for the play-offs intensifies.
It was Leinster’s third win on the trot and sees them continue to build pressure ahead of their Heineken Cup quarter-final with Leicester in two week’s time.
They entered the cauldron in Newport short of 11 Ireland internationals, including Eoin Reddan who was a late withdrawal, and without a win at the Dragons’ lair in four years.
But a composed second-half performance was enough to see Joe Schmidt’s men home in a high-charged encounter.
Sexton nudged Leinster into the lead with a penalty after just three minutes. The home side could have almost immediately struck back but Tovey missed a straight-forward shot of his own.
Leinster continued to press the home side and strung together several phases after Sexton fired a penalty into the corner.
The ball came back to Fitzgerald in the left hand corner, with his quick foot-work threatened to break the Dragons defence but his pass missed Sexton running on the loop.
Sexton could have extended Leinster’s lead on 12 minutes but his long-range penalty attempt fell agonisingly short of the posts.
But the hosts took the lead with a try against the flow of the game on 20 minutes. Fitzgerald fielded a Dragons kick inside his own half and evaded the chasers. He then launched a counter-attack deep into the hosts’ half. But he was stopped in his tracks by Welsh international Aled Brew and lost the ball in contact. Wayne Evans scooped the ball to Hughes who went around Kevin McLaughlin before racing 60 metres down the left to score despite the valiant chase of Shane Horgan.
Tovey added the extras to hand the side a 7-3 lead.
Two minutes later Tovey extended that further with a long-range penalty after Leinster were penalised at the scrum.
But the boys in Blue hit back shortly before the half-hour mark. Lewis Evans got caught by Leinster’s chase after fielding a kick close to his own try-line and was penalised. Leo Cullen fancied his side’s chances and Sexton went to the corner. From the ensuing Devin Toner driving lineout Boss burrowed over from close-range.
Sexton slotted the conversion to level the scores but Tovey soon nudged the hosts back in front with his second penalty.
The Dragons could have extended their lead further just before the break had it not been for the sterling defence of Horgan and Heinke van der Merwe.
The home side had worked an overlap and Tovey fed Brew on the switch with the line at his mercy. But he was clattered by the Leinster duo and lost the ball in contact and the scores remained 13-10 at half-time.
It took Sexton just two minutes after the restart to level the scores before he nudged Leinster into the lead on 54 minutes.
Isa Nacewa chipped over the top and into space only to be tripped by Brew. The powerful wing was shown yellow and Sexton stepped up.
Tovey quickly drew the scores level again before Horgan looked to have grabbed a decisive try on 54 minutes following another Nacewa break.
But TMO Tony Rowland adjudged the veteran wing had touched-down short.
Leinster got the crucial score on 57 minutes when Macpherson awarded a penalty try after a succession of scrum re-sets much to the displeasure of the vocal Rodney Parade crowd.
Sexton added the conversion to stretch Leinster’s lead to 23-16.
On 63 minutes Sexton added his sixth successful kick of the afternoon to open up a ten-point advantage and seal the win.
NEWPORT-GWENT DRAGONS: M Thomas; W Harries, A Hughes, T Riley, A Brew; J Tovey, W Evans (J Evans, 77); P Price (H Gustafson, 54, P Price 60, H Gustafson 77) , L Burns (S Jones, 63) , D Way, L Charteris, (capt), A Jones, J Bearman, L Evans, T Faletau.
LEINSTER: Nacewa; S Horgan (D Kearney, 63), E O'Malley, F McFadden, L Fitzgerald; J Sexton, I Boss; H van der Merwe (J McGrath, 69) , R Strauss (A Dundon, 80) , S Wright ( S Shawe, 69) , L Cullen, (capt), D Toner (N Hines, 53) , K McLaughlin, D Ryan, R Ruddock (J Heaslip, 53) .
