Jacob Umaga sinks Leinster

Jacob Umaga’s late, late penalty sealed a dramatic victory for Benetton Rugby in the BKT United Rugby Championship at Stadio Monigo on Saturday evening.

Conor O’Tighearnaigh, Josh van der Flier, Jamison Gibson-Park and Ciaran Frawley provided the four tries that delivered two losing bonus points for Leinster.

A lacerating attack by the Italians up the right saw Lorenzo Cannone to almost make the line early on but he lost the ball in contact at the posts.

Benetton’s desire to play fast and loose almost burned them when a stray pass was picked off the turf by Jimmy O’Brien, who was closed down by Jacob Umaga.

Dan Sheehan was bundled into touch by Paolo Odogwu. Conor O’Tighearnaigh ambushed Alessandro Garbisi.

It took the pace of Tommy O’Brien to prevent Umaga from touching down as he chased a kick down over his own line to get ahead of the Benetton out-half.

The home side were full of running and got their breakthrough when Odogwu found a gap. Jack Conan did superbly to corral him, but scrum-half Garbisi was there in support to finish on the left in the ninth minute.

Leinster responded quickly. A nice play, using Tommy O’Brien at the tail of a lineout, drew a penalty which Harry Byrne dispatched to the corner.

Brian Deeny, Harry Byrne, Tadhg Furlong and Jack Conan all had a pop at the line. Finally, O’Tighearnaigh rode a tackle to score his first senior try. Byrne converted as Leinster took a 7-5 lead in the 15th minute.

Tommy O’Brien competed in the air. Van der Flier picked up the loose ball. Jimmy O’Brien claimed a difficult bomb. Ciarán Frawley nudged a kick deep inside the 22.

The scavenging skills of Tommy O’Brien allied to accurate passing by the backs exhausted the Italians as Frawley strolled home for what looked to be the second Leinster try. Unfortunately, the score was rubbed out due to a forward pass by Conan in the build-up several phases earlier.

Benetton flashed the ball left, where a tap tackle by Frawley saved a certain try.

The loss of Furlong to injury was mitigated by Thomas Clarkson leading a scrum penalty. Tommy O’Brien was almost through for a try.

Impressive continuity from Leinster between backs and forwards was undone by faulty passing but they stayed inside the 22. Caelan Doris came at a rate of knots from a lineout. Van der Flier followed suit with the try, converted by Byrne to push Leinster 14-5 ahead in the 37th minute.

Ed Byrne dominated a scrum for a penalty, which Harry Byrne turned into a lineout inside the 22. Clarkson latched onto a loose ball, but Leinster came up short on the half-time whistle.

Benetton were quick to explode into life after the break, sweeping right only for Tomasso Menoncello’s kick to carry too much weight.

The sublime Sheehan was the creator for Gibson-Park to be the finisher, cutting back inside Matt Gallagher for the third Leinster try in the 44th minute.

But the hosts hit back when wing Ignacio Mendy sped away on the right to score out wide. Umaga’s conversion whittled the lead down to seven points in the 48th minute.

A mistake by Tommy O’Brien and Umaga’s line kick were countered by the same O’Brien’s long kick and Gibson Park’s lung-bursting chase and capture of Gallagher.

Tommy O’Brien was twice secure in the air as the game deteriorated into a kicking duel, with each side waiting for the other to make a mistake.

Benetton were pushing the pace, Fekitoa’s offload and Gallagher’s penalty to touch taking them to a lineout inside the Leinster 22.

The maul manoeuvred forward for ten metres, replacement hooker Nicholas Gasperini blasting over for the try, with Umaga’s conversion levelling the scores at 19-all.

Sheehan picked off an interception to make many metres. Sam Prendergast and Fintan Gunne got on the ball. Van der Flier was nearly in. Frawley fielded a high pass to cross for the fourth try to secure the bonus point. Prendergast converted as Leinster moved back in front at 26-19 in the 66th minute.

The home club was still full of energy and invention. Odogwu looked dangerous. The Benetton maul would not be denied, Gasperini claiming his second try for Umaga to split the posts with a conversion to make it all-square again with nine minutes left on the clock.

A scrum on halfway went the way of the Italians for a penalty. The ball was rifled inside the 22 for a lineout. Alex Soroka disrupted the maul. Jerry Cahir grabbed a loose ball on the floor.

Leinster cleared their lines but not thoroughly enough. Fekitoa carried menacingly. Another penalty came the home side’s way. Another lineout was chosen ahead of the points. Alex Soroka made a nuisance of himself once more to steal the throw.

There were two minutes on the clock. Leinster had a scrum on their 22-metre line. They squeezed out a penalty for Prendergast to drill the kick to halfway.

As Leinster searched for the winning points, they conceded a penalty for an illegal clearout at the ruck to allow Umaga to shoot the winning points with the clock in the red.