Champions Cup: Leinster 47 Bath 21
This was far from vintage Leinster, their famed defence being outflanked twice early and for a third time just before the break, and although they responded assuredly their attack again spluttered for a spell. But the introduction of RG Snyman and Caelan Doris in particular had a transformative effect as Leo Cullen’s side pulled clear against Bath’s 14 men in the final quarter.
Applying a higher tempo and the injection of Snyman’s offloading, and finally finding some rhythm in their phased attack, Leinster’s unanswered 28-point haul ultimately turned a 21-19 half-time deficit into a handsome bonus point win in front of a crowd of 40,196 at the Aviva Stadium.
The net effect is to ensure first place in Pool 2 and their target of a top-two finish provided Toulon don’t beat the Sale Sharks with a bonus point and by a margin of 37 points or more in Sunday’s final game.
Aside from the big two off the bench, Leinster had other encouraging displays, not least from two-try man of the match Robbie Henshaw as well as the returning Hugo Keenan, who reminded us that class is permanent, as of course did Jordie Barrett.
Rabah Slimani had a sizeable impact on the game too, as did Josh van der Flier and the ever-busy Jamison Gibson-Park.
Bath came to play and Johann van Graan’s side landed a few blows before being swept aside and are now consigned to the Challenge Cup.
Much to Jacques Nienaber’s pleasure, Leinster had been conceding less than 12 points per game, but it took the Premiership leaders only eight minutes to better that target.
Finn Russell was the orchestrator-in-chief, as first his hanging restart up the middle was won by Ruaridh McConnochie. Then the Scottish playmaker twice outflanked the Leinster blitz, albeit his crosskick to Joe Cokanasiga was sliced slightly backwards. But his floated pass to Tom de Glanville took out Garry Ringrose and the fullback released McConnochie on the touchline before Alfie Barbeary crashed through Ronan Kelleher’s tackle to score on 70 seconds.
Russell converted and after the Bath blitz stymied a Leinster strike move off lineout ball at the front, Russell was only denied a scooped finish by Sam Prendergast’s boot. But that was at the expense of a five-metre scrum, from which Ben Spencer passed behind Ollie Lawrence to Russell who fed de Glanville to break Jamie Osborne’s tackle and score.
Again Russell converted, but he sliced his touchfinder from the restart, thus giving Leinster an attacking lineout. Barrett and Kelleher made the most significant inroads before Gibson-Park’s long, flat pass found Keenan in space. He passed inside as Bath tighthead Will Stuart failed to fill the space for Henshaw to burst through and score.
Prendergast missed the kickable conversion but Russell soon departed for an HIA as Jack Conan won a vital attacking penalty in the jackal. Cue a Leinster power play and with a penalty advantage Barrett tipped the ball on for Henshaw to finish strongly again. Prendergast converted.
The game took a breather. It had to, and Bath won four turnover penalties, but Spencer kicked a quick penalty dead from inside halfway.
Leinster were turning the screw at scrum time. Slimani _ augmenting his eight provincial front-row team-mates in the Irish squad with his French recall – won a penalty against Beno Obano which was tapped in the corner. That’s why he was signed.
Cue another Leinster power play which culminated in Obano being binned for a head-on-head hit on Gibson-Park, who also required an HIA, and more scrum pressure led to Conan powering off the base to within inches. After van der Flier was held up, Conan plunged over at the second attempt.
Prendergast converted, but Bath responded. Attacking up the middle, wide left and the middle again through Miles Reid’s carry, another fizzed pass by Russell enabled Lawrence to beat Osborne on the inside and then Keenan on the inside before flicking out the back for de Glanville to score again.
Russell even landed the touchline conversion to leave Bath 21-19 ahead at the break and the home crowd palpably stunned.
On the resumption, two Leinster launch plays floundered when the ball to ground in midfield and even when the crowd found its voice after Barrett made inroads off a delayed pass by Prendergast, soon after they failed to link again.
Cue Doris and Synman; the former adding some big, direct carrying and the latter some of that and offloading as Leinster went up a gear and turned to more off the cuff rugby.
Slimani’s tackle led to a turnover off which Andrew Porter carried hard and from Snyman’s offload Prendergast and Gibson-Park combined for Keenan to find Ringrose on the edge. Off the recycle, Gibson-Park went infield where Snyman took the tackles of both Obano and Reid to reach out for the line with his octopus-like right arm. Suffice to say not many players in the world could have scored it.
Slimani won a couple more penalties as Obano again clearly folded and twisted to the ground, yet the ensuing second yellow seemed harsh against the young Bath loosehead.
But it was the cue for Leinster to dip their bread. Prendergast left three would-be tacklers in his wake and offloaded to Henshaw, and from the recycle Gibson-Park fed Ringrose for him to saunter over.
The surfeit of comings and goings for replacements and HIAs at least meant the popular and returning Ross Molony was afforded two ovations in quick succession.
When Keenan chased and competed for a Ross Byrne up-and-under, Gibson-Park snaffled the loose ball and scampered away from 45 metres out with a posse of chasers in pursuit, like a cheeky little thief in the schoolyard. Healy was then launched off the tail of another attacking lineout before Snyman ploughed over again like a schoolyard bully, before Leinster forced one pass too many when another seven pointer was in the offing.
Still, job done, and they’ve set a good target.
SCORING SEQUENCE – 1 min: Barbeary try, Russell con 0-7; 6: de Glanville try, Russell try 0-14; 9: Henshaw try 5-14; 15: Henshaw try, Prendergast con 12-14; 36: Conan try, Prendergast con 19-14; 39: de Glanville try, Russell con 19-21; Half-time 19-21; 51: Snyman try, Prendergast con 26-21; 60: Ringrose try, Prendergast con 33-21; 67: Gibson-Park try, Byrne con 40-21; 76: Snyman try, Byrne con 47-21
LEINSTER: H Keenan; G Ringrose, R Henshaw, J Barrett, J Osborne; S Prendergast, J Gibson-Park; A Porter, R Kelleher, R Slimani; J McCarthy, J Ryan; M Deegan, J van der Flier, J Conan (capt).
Replacements: L McGrath for Gibson-Park (35-40 mins), RG Snyman for Ryan, C Doris for Deegan (both 45), G McCarthy for Kelleher, T Clarkson for Slimani, R Byrne for Prendergast (all 62), C Healy for Porter, J O’Brien for Keenan (both 74).
BATH: T de Glanville; J Cokanasiga, O Lawrence, M Ojomoh, R McConnachie; F Russell, B Spencer (capt); B Obano, N Annett, W Stuart; Q Roux, R Molony; T Hill, M Reid, A Barbary.
Replacements: O Bailey for Russell (15-27 mins) and for Ojomoh (64), F van Wyk for Barbeary (35-45) and for Molony (64), T du Toit for Stuart (49), C Ewels for Roux (51), T Dunn for Annett (55), J Coetzee for Barbeary, J Bayliss for McConnochie (both 62), Molony for Ewels (64), Bailey for McConnochie (65), L Schreuder for Spencer (73), McConnochie for Reid (74).
Yellow card: B Obano (34-44 mins).
Red card: B Obano (59 mins).
Referee: L Ramos (France).
END OF LIVE BLOG
Stay here for all the post match reaction including Gerry Thornley’s match report and all the reaction.
A remarkable game, Bath led 14-0 after five minutes and Leinster won the remaining 75-minutes 47-7. Leinster mixed the good and the bad in the first half, trailed 21-19 at half-time, but the impact of the bench and a little more accuracy and cohesion after the interval allowed them to score four second half tries. The sending off of Beno Obano for a second yellow card allowed them to pull away on the scoreboard.
The bench was superb and none better than Snyman, two tries but so much more; a real virtuoso individual contribution.
Conan: “We were nice and calm and we said we would stick to the process. We were probably a little bit loose in the first half chasing things. Credit though to Bath they put it up to us. They are top of the Premiership for a reason.”
Leinster finish top of the pool and should have a top two seeding that would see them have home advantage up to and including the semi-final should they progress.
Full-time: Leinster 47 Bath 21
75 mins: TRY, Snyman. The Springbok international gets his second try. Penalty to the corner. Healy with the first charge from the lineout and then Snyman’s telescopic arm reaches over the human traffic to touch down. Byrne converts.
Leinster 47 Bath 21
75 mins: Man of the match, Leinster’s Robbie Henshaw. A worthy winner.
73 mins: Jimmy O’Brien on for Keenan, who has been excellent on his return from injury.
Leinster 40 Bath 21
69 mins: The Leinster bench have made a huge impact, particularly Doris, McCarthy and Snyman. Leinster win another penalty from a Byrne kick through, kick to the corner but then cough up a lineout penalty after Ringrose, THAT’s NOT a MISTAKE is lifted by Henshaw to win the lineout. Leinster pinged for blocking. McGrath back on for Gibson-Park who has had a super game and Healy is on for the indefatigable Porter, who has also been excellent. Snyman pinches the Bath throw.
Leinster 40 Bath 21
67 mins: TRY, Gibson-Park. Keenan contests a high ball, when it goes loose on the Leinster side, Gibson-Park was quickest to react and he outpaced the cover for a try. Ross Byrne converts.
Leinster 40 Bath 21
63 mins: Molony is back within a minute as Ewels has to go off for a HIA. Gus McCarthy is on for Kelleher. Thomas Clarkson for Slimani.
Leinster 33 Bath 21
60 mins: TRY, Ringrose. Superb from Prendergast, dummy, two sidesteps and then linking with Henshaw. Ringrose sweeps late from open to blind to take Gibson-Park’s pass and step the final defender. The young Leinster outhalf has had some ropey moments but he continues to show up, take responsibility and keep playing. It’s a testament to his character and mettle. His last action is to kick the conversion.
Leinster 33 Bath 21
59 mins: RED CARD, Obano. Leinster won another scrum penalty, Obano the guilty party again. Referee Ramos brandishes a yellow card, his second and therefore in becomes a red card.
Leinster 26 Bath 21
54 mins: Prendergast decides to bring an end to some kick tennis and then immediately regrets it as he gets isolated and concedes a penalty at the breakdown. Russell kicks the ball into the Leinster 22, Bath win the lineout, but Ringrose produces a superb tackle on Barbeary to force the ball from the Bath player’s grasp eight metres from the Leinster line. The home side then promptly concede a free-kick. Replacement hooker Tom Dunn forgets to tap the ball and Leinster are awarded a scrum. Here we go again. Leinster win the scrum penalty. Slimani again, forcing Obano to fold in.
Leinster 26 Bath 21
51 mins: TRY, Snyman. Best bit of rugby in the match from the home side, lovely handling, and offloading, especially Snyman and then Prendergast. Ringrose does superbly to take over four defenders and then Snyman reaches over the top of defenders to touch down. Prendergast converts.
Leinster 26 Bath 21
47 mins: Prendergast with another loose pass, that doesn’t go where it’s intended. It’s so ragged from Leinster but Bath have been nicely nuggety in defence. Thomas du Toit is on for Stuart at tighthead. Leinster need their pack to get some front foot ball, get Bath to narrow up in defence before they go wide. A decent passage of play but another handling error, van der Flier can’t hold Osborne’s pass.
Leinster 19 Bath 21
44 mins: Barrett again prominent but once again a Leinster move breaks down because Leinster’s passing breaks down under pressure. Prendergast’s pass goes astray. RG Snyman on for Ryan, Caelan Doris on for Deegan. That’s hard on Deegan. He’s been one of the livelier Leinster players. Obano is back from the bin.
Leinster 19 Bath 21
Henshaw drops a pass, takes his eye off the ball. The sloppiness persists. Bath are still down a man.
Gibson-Park is back on the pitch. Leinster once again ragged in possession, Osborne rescues another pass that hits the turf.
Leinster 67 per cent territory, 61 per cent possession but trail 21-19. Second half is under way.
Leinster’s defence this season has been top class this season but they are losing collisions and once Bath get that momentum they have been able to deliver tries. Rabah Slimani has won a couple of scrum penalties but the home side are relying on individuals rather than collective cohesion and their alignment and passing has been out of kilter. Bath are value for their lead.
Three tries apiece but Bath will be far happier at the interval. The English club started the game brilliantly with a brace of tries, the first for Barbeary and then de Glanville’s first of two. Leinster dragged themselves into the game, Robbie Henshaw powering over for a brace before Bath prop Obano was binned for head contact on Jamison Gibson Park, that left the scrumhalf with a nasty gash. Conan grabbed Leinster’s third try but Bath finished with a flourish with de Glanville’s second try.
Leinster’s new look backline has looked oddly disconnected and lacking cohesion, the work-rate and accuracy of the pack hasn’t been where it needs to be and they’ve coughed up several penalties at the breakdown where Bath have been superior. Russell has picked apart the home side with his passing but it’s all been rather easy as Leinster fail to number up correctly.
39 mins: TRY, de Glanville. Playing on penalty advantage, Bath engineer a superb try, Lawrence goes around Osborne and his one-handed flick to de Glanville is finished by the fullback. Russell kicks a doozy of a touchline conversion. Bath scored that while a man down.
Half-time: Leinster 19 Bath 21
37 mins: TRY Conan. Leinster number eight and captain surges off the back of a scrum and while he is stopped short, his next intervention, one ruck later is to power over from close range. Prendergast kicks the conversion.
Leinster 19 Bath 14
35 mins: Slimani wins a second scrum penalty, this time from the new loosehead Francois van Wyk. Leinster elect for another scrum, which goes around and is re-set. The home side have pushed all their chips in here. Bath centre Ollie Lawrence is on the side of the Bath scrum.
Leinster 12 Bath 14
34 mins: Leinster overplay the front door option two metres from the line. That needed to go to the backs, and they would have walked in the try. A knock-on gives Bath the possession. Jamison Gibson-Park picks up a nasty facial injury, hit by Bath loosehead prop Beno Obano. That’s a card. Obano is blessed. It’s yellow. Referee Luc Ramos says it’s mitigation on the sidestep but the prop was way too high. Gibson-Park has a nasty gash. Luke McGrath is one.
Leinster 12 Bath 14
29 mins: Leinster’s clearing out at the breakdown needs to be sharper and technical more accurate. This time it’s Leinster old boy and Bath secondrow Ross Molony who is penalised. Prendergast brings play down to the Bath 22. Prendergast takes a quick tap penalty and no one is alive to it, Keenan was receiving medical attention but the move peters out when Keenan drops a poor pass from Prendergast. It’s ragged again from Leinster. BUT they win a scrum penalty.
Leinster 12 Bath 14
26 mins: Leinster being fleeced at the breakdown, two penalties in a row.
Leinster 12 Bath 14
24 mins: There are 40,195 in the Aviva Stadium who may not have drawn breath at this point. That’s sloppy from Leinster but they are rescued for a tackle off the ball and get a penalty. Finn Russell is back having passed his HIA. Prendergast takes play to the Bath 22.
Leinster 12 Bath 14
20 mins: Bath openside Miles Reid wins a breakdown penalty. IT’s been a remarkable opening quarter, four tries, two each and a two-point lead for Bath. Brilliant from Barrett to force a turnover. Max Ojomoh concedes a penalty at a ruck. Rónan Kelleher is penalised for a double movement in the lineout throw. A free kick. Keenan grabs a high ball superbly, Osborne makes a break but the home side concede another breakdown penalty. Breathless.
Leinster 12 Bath 14
14 mins: TRY, Henshaw. Leinster nearly grab a second try, Barrett stopped short, and his offload doesn’t go to a team-mate. Bath are penalised, Prendergast kicks to the corner, Josh van der Flier is stopped but the home side recycle the ball and Henshaw brushes off a couple of tackles to power his way over. IN the maelstrom, Russell had gone off for a HIA to be replaced by Orlando Bailey.
Leinster 12 Bath 14
9 mins: TRY, Henshaw. Jordie Barrett gets over the gain-line, James Ryan too, Hugo Keenan with a lovely inside pass to Robbie Henshaw and he rides a couple of tackles to cross for a try, Prendergast hooks the conversion wide.
Leinster 5 Bath 14
5 mins: Bath are almost in again. Lawrence forces a handling error from Jamie Osborne. Sam Prendergast rescues but at the expense of a five-metre scrum to the English side. Fullback Tom de Glanville wriggles over for a try. What a try. De Glanville rides Osborne’s tackle and crashes over. Russell adds the conversion.
Leinster 0 Bath 14
1 min: TRY, Barbeary. Superb work from Bath who regain Finn Russell’s kickoff, twice get the edge on Leinster out wide and when Garry Ringrose, playing in the unfamiliar position of the right wing, gets caught looking at the ball for a split second, Ted Hill races down the touchline and Alfie Barbeary powers through a tackle to dot down for a try. Russell kicks the conversion and the Aviva is silent.
Leinster 0 Bath 7
Hello, John O’Sullivan here, fresh from an absolute belter at Franklin’s Gardens, a game for the ages in terms of entertainment. Saints just about hung on for a 34-32 victory. Two tries for Calvin Nash and a brace for Diarmuid Kilgallen took Munster so close to another storied win.
Right we’re ready to go at the Aviva Stadium.
We’re now 15 minutes out from kick-off at the Aviva.
Meanwhile in Pool 3, Munster have been beaten 34-32 by the Northampton Saints.
[ Northampton v Munster live updates: Champions CupOpens in new window ]
In the earlier Pool 2 clash, there was a tight finish between Clermont Auvergne and the Bristol Bears at Stade Marcel-Michelin.
The visitors fought back from 12-0 down at half-time to level the game 26-26 at 76 minutes through a try from Kieran Marmion, but Thomas Ceyte had the final say, crossing the line to claim a bonus-point try for the hosts and ending things 33-26.
Ideal rugby conditions in Dublin. Crisp and clear in the capital.
Let’s take a look at the lay of the land in Pool 2.
Here’s how things stood ahead of this weekend’s final round:
Leinster – 13pts
La Rochelle – 10pts
Bath – 7 pts
Benetton – 7pts
Clermont Auvergne – 5pts
Bristol Bears – 5pts
Clermont Auvergne and Bristol are already in action in the 3.15pm start, the French side 19-7 ahead with 54 minutes on the clock, before Leinster v Bath and Benetton v La Rochelle from 5.30pm.
Back to Leinster.
We’re one hour out from kick-off at the Aviva.
For anyone with split allegiances, Munster are 15-12 up away to the Northampton Saints at the break.
[ Northampton v Munster live updates: Champions CupOpens in new window ]
Calvin Nash dotted down two tries for the province, Jack Crowley adding a conversion and a penalty, in response to Tom Seabrook’s opener for the hosts.
Curtis Langdon reduced the deficit for the Saints just before the half-time whistle with a try from the back of a maul, Fin Smith adding the extras.
Munster will start the second half with 14 after Gavin Coombes was shown a yellow at 40 minutes.
“Leinster have won every game this season, yet everyone is still awaiting that razzle dazzle which was once a part of their attacking DNA. New players, coaches and systems take time to bed in but today would be timely to rediscover that heritage.”
Ahead of kick, have a read of our match preview.
A win this evening would guarantee Leinster remain top of the pool heading into the knockout Round of 16, but a draw (without a bonus point) or a loss for Leo Cullen’s men would leave the door open for La Rochelle to snatch the No 1 spot.
The top four from each of the four pools will qualify for the Round of 16, the top two from each pool also earning a home draw.
There are permutations aplenty to consider, so if you need a run through have a read of our explainer:
Good afternoon and welcome along to The Irish Times live blog for Leinster v Bath in Pool 2 of the Champions Cup.
Kick-off is at 5.30pm and the game will be televised live on RTÉ2 and Premier Sports 1. Follow along here for live updates on all the action from the Aviva Stadium.
Going into the final round of pool games this weekend, Leinster sit top of Pool 2 on 13 points after three wins from three. Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle are second in the pecking order with 10 points, followed by Bath and Benetton (who host La Rochelle in the day’s second 5.30pm start) both on seven points.
Here are our two teams:
LEINSTER: H Keenan; G Ringrose, R Henshaw, J Barrett, J Osborne; S Prendergast, J Gibson-Park; A Porter, R Kelleher, R Slimani; J McCarthy, J Ryan; M Deegan, J van der Flier, J Conan (capt).
Replacements: G McCarthy, C Healy, T Clarkson, RG Snyman, C Doris, L McGrath, R Byrne, J O’Brien.
BATH: T de Glanville; J Cokanasiga, O Lawrence, M Ojomoh, R McConnachie; F Russell, B Spencer (capt); B Obano, N Annett, W Stuart; Q Roux, R Molony; T Hill, M Reid, A Barbary.
Replacements: T Dunn, F van Wyk, T du Toit, C Ewels, J Bayliss, L Schreuder, O Bailey, J Coetzee.
