Leinster salvage hard-earned draw
The opener in Pool Three of the Heineken Cup was a thrilling encounter as reigning champions Leinster had to pull out all the stops to deny Montpellier a famous win at Stade de la Mosson on what was their debut in the competition.
The sides shared 32 points in the south of France after the Top 14 side held a deserved 13-6 advantage at the break thanks in the main to captain Fulgence Ouedraogo's try 21 minutes into proceedings.
Fabien Galthie's unfancied charges got off to the perfect start when scrum-half Benoit Paillaugue converted a penalty after just two minutes.
Leinster hit back with a penalty of their own three minutes later through Jonathan Sexton and the out-half pushed the visitors 6-3 ahead with 16 minutes on the clock.
However, that lead lasted just five minutes - Leinster were on the attack but a handling error from full-back Isa Nacewa saw the ball break loose and Montpellier capitalised much to the delight of the partisan crowd.
Francois Trinh-Duc extended Montpellier’s lead early in the second-half but Leinster re-grouped and rallied in the final quarter, Sean Cronin forcing his way over for a try on 66 minutes after a rampaging run.
Sexton, the province's match-winner in the decider against Northampton at the Millennium Stadium in May, then converted before landing a last-gasp penalty to salvage a share of the spoils for Joe Schmidt's side. - http://www.setanta.com
2 comments:
what happened to New Zealand?? dont hear anything about them lately...
well done Leinster!
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