Athy man Carbery named man of the match as he guides Leinster to victory in first start

It was a dream first start at senior level for Athy youngster Joey Carbery as he led Leinster to a 20-8 victory over Bennetton Treviso in the province's opening Pro12 game of the season.

The 21-year-old scored two tries and was handed the official man of the match award as he pulled the strings from the outhalf position in the absence of Johnny Sexton. It took him just four minutes to cross the whitewash for the game's opening score, but his best moment of the night came after 26 minutes when he sliced through the Treviso defence from inside his own half and raced clear to touch down in the left corner.

Despite playing in the number 10 position, it was Carbery's teammate from Kildare who was on kicking duty off the tee, though Suncroft native Fergus McFadden managed to nail just two of his four kicks on the night.

James Treacy scored a try late on for the Blues to get rid of any lingering nerves on a night where Leinster failed to properly sparkle against average opponents, though Carbery's performance will have left coach Leo Cullen with plenty of positives from the game.