Pro14: Leinster 64-7 Southern Kings

Ciaran Frawley capped his first start for Leinster with a try

Leinster emphasised the gulf in class between the top and bottom teams in Conference B of the Pro14 after thrashing the Southern Kings.

Bryan Byrne, Nick McCarthy and Barry Daly scored two tries apiece while Dave Kearney, Ciaran Frawley, James Lowe and Jordan Larmour also crossed the line.

Frawley was man of the match as he added seven conversions for a 19-point haul on his first senior start.

Mike Williemse scored the Kings' only try as they remain without a Pro14 win.

Leinster are now eight points clear of Scarlets in their battle for the top spot in the conference standings, with the Welsh side taking on Ulster on Saturday.

Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt will also be pleased to see Garry Ringrose complete a successful 55-minute cameo on his return from an ankle injury and the centre could now force his way into the national side for the final two rounds of the Six Nations.

Following their success against Scarlets in round 15, Leinster have now taken control of Conference B and the four-time winners will travel to Parc y Scarlets on 3 March looking to maintain their advantage over the defending champions.

• Friday's Pro14 reports: Munster 21-10 Glasgow

• Dragons 12-25 Edinburgh

Leinster score at pace

Garry Ringrose marked his return from injury by playing 55 minutes for Leinster

Leinster attacked at a ferocious pace at the RDS, racking up a point per minute in the opening half of the contest and taking the lead inside four minutes when Ringrose's run set up Bryan Byrne's opening score.

McCarthy quickly doubled Leinster's lead with a break from an attacking scrum but the South African visitors were briefly lifted by captain Willemse's 14th-minute maul try, which was converted by Martin du Toit.

Normal service quickly resumed and Leinster had secured the bonus point by the 22nd minute thanks to tries from Daly and Kearney, with Byrne involved in the creation of both scores.

The powerful young hooker capped an outstanding first-half display with his second try in the 27th minute, bursting onto a pass to score from close range.

Frawley kicked the conversion and shortly afterwards the fly-half was adding the extras to his own score after Will Connors had been hauled down just short of the line as Leinster led 40-7 at the break.

Blues show ruthless streak

Barry Daly has scored 10 tries in 11 appearances for Leinster this season

The home side showed no inclination to ease up during the second half and it took just two minutes for McCarthy to claim his second try as the scrum-half darted through a gap after a Leinster maul had collapsed.

That score prompted head coach Leo Cullen to replace his front-row unit, with prop Adam Coyle earning his debut alongside returning Irish international James Tracy.

The visitors suffered another setback in the 53rd minute when tight-head prop Pieter Scholtz was sin-binned for taking out Ringrose off the ball.

Leinster immediately made use of their numerical advantage as Lowe gathered Frawley's cross-field kick to score in the left corner.

The scoring rate began to ease but Daly was able to notch his second try of the night just after the hour mark before substitute Larmour rounded off the scoring when he pounced on a bouncing ball under the posts.

Leinster: Kearney; Daly, Ringrose, Nacewa, Lowe; Frawley, McCarthy; E Byrne, B Byrne, Bent; Kearney, Nagle; Murphy, Connors, Deegan.

Replacements: Tracy (B Byrne, 51), Dooley (E Byrne, 51), Coyle (Bent, 51), Molony (Connors, 57), Timmins (Deegan, 44), Gibson-Park (McCarthy, 65), Reid (Nacewa, 44), Larmour (Ringrose, 55).

Southern Kings: Penxe; Makase, Klaasen, Vulindlu, Volmink; Du Toit, Gouws; Ferreira, Willemse (capt), Scholtz; Greeff, De Wee; Bredenkamp, Burger, Ntsila.

Replacements: Coetzee (Willemse, 69), Smith, Pupuma (Ferreira, 76), Welemu (Greeff, 69), Lerm (Burger, 19), Smith (Gouws, 52), Van Rensburg (du Toit, 63), Nel (Penxe, 69).