Leinster finish strong against Edinburgh to progress to Champions Cup quarter-final
ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED: Rieko Ioane of Leinster celebrates after scoring his side's seventh try. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile.
They were far from convincing for certain spells of the action, but a second half scoring spree ultimately helped to guide Leinster past a spirited Edinburgh in the European Rugby Champions Cup Round of 16 at the Aviva Stadium on Sunday evening.
Trailing 31-28 with 52 minutes on the clock - after a series of errors and defensive lapses led to them conceding a grand total of five tries - Leinster proceeded to amass 21 points without reply and set themselves up for a quarter-final bout against Sale Sharks in Europe’s top-tier at the same venue next Saturday.
Leinster had enjoyed a dream start as Tommy O'Brien touched down in the right-corner roughly 70 seconds into the contest, after his namesake Jimmy O'Brien had kick-started an early attack with an excellent break into the Edinburgh half.
A confident touchline conversion from Harry Byrne bolstered Leinster's prospects and it got even better in the ninth minute when the in-form Tommy O’Brien doubled his account by diving over in virtually the same spot as his previous effort - via an elaborate Rieko Ioane delivery.
Another impressive bonus strike by Byrne ensured it was all going according to plan for the home team, but they suffered a set-back in the 16th minute when Edinburgh scrum-half Charlie Shiel pounced on a loose pass from Tadhg Furlong that was intended for Jamie Osborne to score an unconverted breakaway try.
This sprung Edinburgh into life and after he was picked out by half-back partner Shiel off an attacking scrum just shy of the first-quarter mark, Ross Thompson burst up the right-wing for a superb individual try that he also converted.
While they reinforced their authority when Byrne put Jimmy O’Brien through for their third try – in advance of once again adding the extras off the kicking tee - further sloppy play in defence by Leinster paved the way for Thompson to sprint over for another intercept effort and his second of the half.
Leinster offered themselves some breathing space as the interval approached when Hugo Keenan rounded off a fast-paced move with a well-earned try, but trouble remained for the eastern province at the opposite end of the pitch.
Following a fumble in possession by Jamison Gibson-Park with just under a minute left in the opening period, Edinburgh remarkably got over for a third intercept try – this time from outside centre Matt Currie.
Thompson’s third conversion of the action meant Leinster were just two points in front (28-26) on the resumption and despite initially being awarded a try when Josh van der Flier stretched for the line in the 42nd minute, referee Luke Pearce ruled out this effort upon reviewing video footage.
This was a let-off for Edinburgh, but Sean Everitt’s charges sensationally moved into the lead for the very first time when Darcy Graham chased down his own chipped kick before getting to the ball ahead of Gibson-Park for a majestic five-pointer.
Leinster were issued with an enormous wake-up call as a result of this score, but van der Flier was eventually awarded a try when he dotted down off a 56th minute attack that was sparked by a ‘tap and go’ penalty from Dan Sheehan.
It was anticipated Leinster would push on inside the closing-quarter after another successful Byrne effort moved them four points clear and the hosts finally re-established daylight over their stubborn opponents when Gibson-Park released Thomas Clarkson for a fine finish over the whitewash – not long after he had replaced Furlong in the front-row.
The introduction of Robbie Henshaw in place of Jimmy O’Brien led to the redeployment of Ioane on the left-wing and he was released in space for Leinster’s seventh try with just under 15 minutes left to play.
This placed the final outcome beyond any doubt, but Blues head coach Leo Cullen will be left with plenty of food for thought ahead of their impending meeting with Sale after an often-indifferent display from his side at Irish Rugby HQ.
T O’Brien 2, J O’Brien, H Keenan, J van der Flier, T Clarkson, R Ioane.
H Byrne 7.
R Thompson 2, C Shiel, M Currie, D Graham
R Thompson 3.
H Keenan; T O’Brien, R Ioane, J Osborne, J O’Brien (R Henshaw 61); H Byrne (C Frawley 69), J Gibson-Park (L McGrath 68); A Porter (A Usanov h-t), D Sheehan (G McCarthy 74), T Furlong (T Clarkson 57); J McCarthy, R Baird (B Deeny 72); J Conan (M Deegan 65), J van der Flier, C Doris.
P O’Conor; D Graham, M Currie, J Lang (M Tuipulotu 30), M Satala (J Brown 75); R Thompson, C Shiel (B Vellacott 67); P Schoeman (B Venter 47), E Ashman (J Blyth-Lafferty 73), D Rae (P Hill 47); M Sykes, G Gilchrist; L McConnell, D Richardson (F Douglas 51), B Muncaster (G Young 53).
L Pearce (RFU).
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