Leinster climb to summit
Leinster climbed to the top of the Magners League after claiming a 29-20 victory against Cardiff Blues.
Last Updated: 07/03/10 7:37pm
Leinster surged to the top of the Magners League after claiming a workmanlike 29-20 victory against Cardiff Blues.
The Blues came into the game on a streak of five consecutive wins in all competitions, but were overpowered in the scrum and often failed to convert their attractive moves into points.
Fergus McFadden claimed 21 points, including an early try as the Irish side moved level on points with Edinburgh with two games in hand.
Cardiff now face a struggle to qualify for next season's Heineken Cup as the Scarlets sit two points below them in the table.
The Blues enjoyed a lot of early possession at Cardiff City Stadium but only succeeded in giving the advantage to their opponents.
Lost possession in midfield allowed Leinster fly-half Shaun Berne to send Isa Nacewa up the wing and, although the Irish were temporarily kept at bay, they recycled the ball and McFadden took an excellent angle to cross beneath the posts.
Mistakes
The centre added the conversion, followed by a penalty after the Blues once again spilled the ball in their eagerness to play expansive rugby.
The home side finally got it right and prop Gary Powell, who was to later leave on a stretcher with an Achilles injury, squeezed in at the corner.
However, another McFadden penalty kept Leinster in front.
With the normally reliable Ben Blair off key in his attempts at the posts, the Blues opted to kick for position and it paid off when flanker Sam Warburton dived over and Blair finally succeeded with the conversion.
McFadden slotted home another penalty with the last kick before the break before the Blues began the second half with a sparkling attack which saw left wing Chris Czekaj make it to the flag and the Welsh side were in front.
Break
But the lead did not last as a superb break by Eoin O'Malley took Leinster into the Blues' 22 and the centre found tireless hooker Bernard Jackman on his shoulder for a try, leaving McFadden with a simple conversion.
The Blues then lost fly-half Ceri Sweeney to the sin-bin after he was adjudged to have spear tackled opposite number Berne, but the home side managed to survive the 10 minutes without conceding any further points.
But Berne then dropped a goal which extended Leinster's lead and robbed the Blues of a losing bonus point.
They seemed to have retrieved it when Sweeney kicked a late penalty after Leinster lock Devin Toner was yellow-carded for a deliberate knock-on.
But McFadden had the last laugh as he stepped up and sent over a penalty from halfway with the final kick of the game.
