Leinster beat Cardiff 29-5 on return to revamped Laya Arena

Leinster claimed their first victory of the 2026-27 United Rugby Championship season with a 29-5 win over Cardiff on their return to the redeveloped Laya Arena. According to BBC Sport’s match report, the defending champions scored five tries in front of a sell-out crowd of 20,600, securing a bonus point and handing Cardiff their first defeat of the campaign.

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The result followed a difficult opening trip to South Africa for Leo Cullen’s side, who had taken three bonus points from losses to the Lions and Sharks. Several Ireland internationals made their first appearances of the season in Dublin. The occasion also marked Leinster’s return to the ground formerly known as the RDS Arena after two seasons playing at the Aviva Stadium during the redevelopment.

Hugo Keenan, Jimmy O’Brien and Jack Conan all crossed inside the opening quarter as Leinster established control. Keenan opened the scoring after receiving the ball on the left, kicking ahead and collecting it himself. Cardiff scrum-half Aled Davies was then shown a yellow card for killing the ball near his own line, with O’Brien and Conan adding tries as the hosts extended their advantage.

Cardiff responded while still down to 14 players. Fly-half Callum Sheedy used a penalty opportunity to send a cross-kick towards Mason Grady, whose try reduced the deficit to 15-5. Leinster nevertheless secured their fourth try before the break: a set move created space for O’Brien to score again in the 37th minute. Sam Prendergast added his first successful conversion to make the half-time score 22-5.

The second half brought a prolonged break in the scoring. Cardiff gained territory and reached Leinster’s 22 on several occasions but could not turn those opportunities into points. The home defence kept the visitors from adding to Grady’s try, before centre Jamie Osborne scored from close range with five minutes remaining. Prendergast finished with two conversions as Leinster completed their five-try victory.

Cardiff left Dublin without a league point, something that had happened only once during their play-off campaign last season, BBC Sport reported. Their next assignment is away to Northampton in the Champions Cup on 18 October. That fixture is followed by a five-day turnaround before a home URC match against the Sharks.