Leinster maintained their perfect form in the United Rugby Championship with a 12th straight 42-24 win at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
There were tries for John McKee, Jack Boyle, Max Deegan, Luke McGrath, Charlie Tector and Rob Russell for what was their ninth bonus point performance of the campaign.
Leinster was keen to play on the frontfoot, moving the point of attack to stretch Cardiff until scrum-half Johan Mulder forced a penalty on the floor.
Andrew Osborne fielded a high ball and Hugh Cooney retrieved another one to keep the visitors on their heels until Osborne was wrapped up and openside Thomas Young wrestled away a turnover.
Centre Tector followed a rattling tackle on Ray Lee-Lo by carrying over the top of Rory Jennings.
In-form scrummager Rabah Slimani looked powerful and Max Deegan’s burst beyond the gainline was the spark for swift passing that ended with Deegan unable to gather Osborne’s pass.
A penalty at the ruck allowed Ross Byrne to immaculately plumb the corner for a five-metre lineout.
Hooker McKee’s throw to Deegan was the starting point. A maul motored to the line for McKee to claim the try, converted by Ross Byrne in the 16th minute.
Cardiff struck back spectacularly. Full-back Cameron Winnett shot through a hole and fired a pinpoint pass for Harri Millard to fly to the corner. Callum Sheedy missed the conversion to leave the score at 7-5 to the home side.
The refusal of Will Connors to give in at the breakdown earned a scrum which Slimani turned into a penalty. Scrum-half McGrath did well to tame a grubber inside the 22 but it led to nothing.
Mulder’s pressure forced a rushed clearance by Jimmy O’Brien and Cardiff came quickly off the lineout. Josh McNally was just short but Young was able to twist to the line to score. Sheedy made no mistake with the conversion this time to give Cardiff a 12-7 lead on the half hour.
The length of Byrne’s line-kicking was putting Leinster deep inside their opponents’ 22. There, the maul was the preferred mode of transport. McKee sheared off once again and barrelled his way over the line, only to be held up by Millard.
The footwork of the elusive Cooney and the angle of O’Brien onto the ball put Leinster close to glory but they could not make it count.
An unsympathetic pass opened the door for Cardiff’s Lee-Lo to come away and give to Millard, who was taken down from behind by Tommy O’Brien to prevent Cardiff from adding to their lead.
Just as it looked like the Welsh side would go into half-time with the advantage, a sharp line by Tector onto McKee’s throw beyond the tail of the lineout secured the gain line and McGrath was the architect of Boyle’s try in the left corner, converted by Byrne to put Leinster up 14-12 at the break.
Leinster blasted out of the gates to start the second half. Jimmy O’Brien’s step and burst paved the way for Cooney to race towards the line. He just could not get away from Millard and was brought down just shy of the whitewash.
Alex Mann was deemed to be offside from the resulting ruck and sent to the sin bin. Leinster were more than happy to take advantage of the man advantage.
Max Deegan crossed the line to score after just one recycle from a quick tap penalty. Byrne converted in the 42nd minute to open the gap to 21-12.
Alex Soroka’s dexterity at the ruck and pressure at the lineout were good for two steals. Centre Cooney’s knack for beating the first man, Byrne’s lovely miss pass to O’Brien on the tramline and Osborne playing it safe on the ball drew a penalty for Leinster.
Byrne kicked down the line. Brian Deeny took the lineout and McKee peeled away from the back of the maul to trouble the line once more. He was just short but McGrath saw his chance and sniped over to secure the bonus point. Byrne converted to put Leinster in control at 28-12 in the 52nd minute.
Cardiff were restored to 15 men but the Leinster pressure did not stop. An airborne Osborne captured a high ball and sweet, short passes by Byrne and Osborne put Tector in position to show his power and pace from outside the 22. Byrne converted Tector’s try in the 54th minute to make it 35-12.
It looked like Millard was in for his second try when O’Brien appeared out of nowhere to stop him in his tracks with a superb tackle into touch.
Millard did grab his second try a few minutes later as Winnett slipped in a left foot kick that bounced kindly for the Cardiff winger to make it 35-17 in the 57th minute.
Indiscipline entering the ruck cost Leinster a penalty but Ross Byrne’s outside-of-the-boot kick recovered the lost ground.
The Welsh club had enough in the wide channels for Gabriel Hamer Webb to slip a tackle and find replacement Ellis Bevan on his inside for a third try, converted by Tinus de Beer in the 70th minute.
The introduction of Ivan Soroka and Oliver Coffey for their debuts was special, especially for Soroka, joining his brother Alex in the pack.
Another replacement Rob Russell showed one or two nice touches before leaping into the air for the sixth try, converted by Byrne to round out the scoring.
Scorers:
Leinster Rugby: Tries: John McKee, Jack Boyle, Max Deegan, Luke McGrath, Charlie Tector, Rob Russell. Conversions: Ross Byrne (6).
Cardiff Rugby: Tries: Harri Millard (2), Thomas Young, Ellis Bevan. Conversions: Callum Sheedy, Tinus de Beer.
Teams
Leinster Rugby: 15 Jimmy O’Brien, 14 Tommy O’Brien, 13 Hugh Cooney, 12 Charlie Tector, 11 Andrew Osborne, 10 Ross Byrne, 9 Luke McGrath, 8 Max Deegan, 7 Will Connors, 6 Alex Soroka, 5 Brian Deeny, 4 Diarmuid Mangan, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 John McKee, 1 Jack Boyle. Replacements: 16 Stephen Smyth, 17 Ivan Soroka, 18 Rory McGuire, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Scott Penny, 21 Oliver Godfrey, 22 Liam Turner, 23 Rob Russell.
Cardiff Rugby: 15 Cam Winnett, 14 Gabe Hamer-Webb, 13 Rey Lee-Lo, 12 Rory Jennings, 11 Harri Millard, 10 Callum Sheedy, 9 Johan Mulder, 8 Alun Lawrence, 7 Thomas Young, 6 Ben Donnell, 5 Rory Thornton, 4 Josh McNally, 3 Rhys Litterick, 2 Liam Belcher, 1 Danny Southworth. Replacements: 16 Efan Daniel, 17 Rhys Barratt, 18 Will Davies-King, 19 Seb Davies, 20 Alex Mann, 21 Ellis Bevan, 22 Tinus de Beer, 23 Regan Grace.