DUBLIN, Ireland, February (ANA) – THE Kings were subjected to a humiliating 64-7 hiding in Dublin on Friday night in a one-sided Pro14 fixture in the Irish capital.
Leinster, despite missing 11 players away on duty with the Irish national team, were still able to score 10 tries against a Kings team that barely fired a shot. In short, the Kings were terribly poor and offered virtually nothing to the contest.
In the opening quarter, the Kings did little more than tackle, and it was fortunate that they conceded just 14 points in a period that entirely belonged to Leinster.
The siege on the Kings’ red zone yielded tries to hooker Bryan Byrne and scrumhalf Nick McCarthy, both converted by flyhalf Ciarán Frawley.
It looked like the Dubliners were going to overwhelm the Kings but there was a false dawn when the visitors responded with a series of penalties kicked to the corner that resulted in a try for hooker Michael Willemse, converted by Michael du Toit.
But that was it from the kings. They hardly touched the ball again.
Leinster instantly retorted with a double strike by rightwing Barry Daly and fullback Dave Kearney.
On the half-hour mark, hooker Byrne nailed his second off a lineout drive from a penalty to the corner and the conversion put the Kings in serious trouble at 33-7.
The rout was on the cards when five minutes before the break, relentless pressure saw flyhalf Ciarán Frawley stroll over untouched for his team’s sixth try.
Five minutes into the second half the humiliation for the Kings went past the 50-mark when scrumhalf McCarthy sauntered through for his second try, and a minute later the scoreline for the Kings became seriously distressing when wing James Lowe scored his team’s eighth try.
Wing Daly scored his second try 15 minutes into the half and then five minutes from time, the sorry tale was completed when substitute centre Jordan Larmour scored after a Kings’ fumble at the back.
Scorers:
Kings 7 (7): Try: Michael Willemse. Conversion: Michael du Toit.
Leinster 64 (40): Tries: Bryan Byrne (2), Nick McCarthy (2), Dave Kearney, Barry Daly (2), Ciarán Frawley, James Lowe, Jordan Larmour. Conversions: Ciarán Frawley (7).
– African News Agency (ANA)
