United Rugby Championship: Cardiff 29-27 Leinster

Jarrod Evans struck a superb long-range penalty with the final kick of the game to give Cardiff victory over Leinster.

Owen Lane's fine finish helped the hosts lead 13-10 at half-time, with Adam Byrne crossing for Leinster.

With Cardiff's James Botham sin-binned in the second half, the visitors surged ahead with two tries in 10 minutes by James Tracy and Scott Penny.

Cardiff hit back with Hallam Amos' try and, after Ross Byrne nudged Leinster back in front, Evans had the final say.

It was a magnificent kick, wide on the left on Leinster's 10-metre line and, as Evans ran to celebrate, he was mobbed by his team-mates in an impromptu pile-on on the halfway line.

The joyous scenes demonstrated what a momentous victory this was, ending a run of 16 consecutive defeats for Cardiff against Leinster stretching back to 2011.

Edinburgh's defeat at Ospreys earlier on Saturday opened the door for Leinster to reclaim their place at the top of the United Rugby Championship but, for once, the reigning champions could not seize their opportunity.

Leinster have won the past four editions of this competition, with much of their success based on their peerless strength in depth. Even with several players away on Six Nations duty, as ever the perennially resource-rich Irish province were able to field a team stacked with international talents in the Welsh capital.

While not on the same scale as their opponents, Cardiff still had 14 internationals in their match-day squad, and it was two of those who combined for the game's opening try.

With Leinster's defence still not fully reassembled after a turnover, Evans chipped into space on the right wing, where Lane hurtled on to the ball and sped past the helpless covering defenders to touch down.

The lead was short-lived as, less than two minutes later, Adam Byrne pierced through the Cardiff midfield for a try which his namesake Ross converted to make it 10-10.

Although the visitors were not at their imperious best, they remained formidable opposition - abrasive in defence and a menace at the breakdown.

Wales wing Owen Lane scores a first-half try for Cardiff

Cardiff more than matched them. Their forwards' burrowing industry earned the penalties which Evans kicked to rebuild their lead to 19-10 in the second half.

Occasionally, however, they were a little too enthusiastic. The impressive Wales flanker James Botham was sin-binned for hands in a ruck on his own try line, and it proved to be a costly 10 minutes for Cardiff with a man down.

Tracy forced his way over for a try shortly after Botham's yellow card and, before his return, Leinster scored another as Penny ran in from the back of a maul.

Just as the away side looked to be taking control, Cardiff responded with a brilliant team try - including some marvellous handling from Aled Summerhill and Rey Lee-Lo - finished by Amos in the corner.

It seemed like there would be another sting in the tail when Byrne's penalty put Leinster back in front at 27-26 but, faced with the immense pressure of a testing long-range kick to win the game, Evans rose to the challenge with a flourish.

Cardiff director of rugby Dai Young: "I thought it was a pretty good performance for most of tonight. We stood toe-to-toe with the champions.

"We had some good phases in the game and some poor phases but, if you can stick in the arm wrestle, these games can go either way.

"It was a fantastic kick by Jarrod. He showed a lot of bottle to get it over. Hopefully this can give the squad a lot of confidence because we haven't beaten them for 11 years.

"This is a fantastic win but we've set ourselves some standards now. The important thing now is to maintain those standards."

Cardiff: Amos; Lane, Lee-Lo, Thomas, Summerhill; Evans, L Williams; Domachowski, Myhill, Arhip, Turnbull (capt), Thornton, Lewis-Hughes, Boyde, Botham.

Replacements: Daniel, Carre, Lewis, T Williams, Moore, Hill, Llewellyn, Smith.

Leinster: J O'Brien; A Byrne, Osborne, Frawley, O'Loughlin; R Byrne, McGrath (capt); E Byrne, S Cronin, Ala'alatoa, Toner, J McCarthy, Ruddock, Connors, Penny.

Replacements: Tracy, Dooley, Abdaladze, Molony, Deegan, N McCarthy, H Byrne, T O'Brien.

Match officials

Referee: Mike Adamson (SRU)

Assistant referees: Adam Jones and Aled Evans (WRU)

TMO: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)

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