Sorry one final addition, Johnny Watterson’s match report.
[ Johnny Watterson's watches a famous winOpens in new window ]
Right that’s all from me. Thank you for your company on a great day for Leinster and their supporters. Munster are going gallant in La Rochelle, leading 22-10 after 52 minutes and worth every point.
It’s 10-7 at La Rochelle at half-time at the Stade Marcel Deflandre.
It’s La Rochelle 7 Munster 7 after 29 mins in France. The Irish province are dominating while a man up with West in the sin bin.
Just looking through the stats, Doris with a team leading 17 tackles and top carries 24 carries, a captain’s contribution, Osborne and Lowe beat six defenders each, and also had identical offloading numbers, with four apiece.
Johnny Watterson’s match report should be here shortly.
Keenan was imperious, Osborne and Lowe a catalyst for the best attacking moments, Ringrose was very sharp in all facets of the game in a Leinster three quarter line that all had their moments. James Lowe was probably the pick, although it was a close run race. Prendergast had some lovely touches, demonstrated vision and touch, while there is still a bit of work to do on the other side of the ball. Place-kicking was tough in a capricious wind. Jamison Gibson-Park also had some outstanding and one or two that he’d like back. Every single member of the pack had standout contributions in a hardnosed, unrelenting display on both sides of the ball. Sheehan’s were eye-catching but no one should dispute Josh van der Flier’s right to man of the match.
There are the visuals on most of the tries.
The plus points for Leinster were some outstanding individual performances, a statement that runs deep through the team. Leo Cullen and his coaches deserve credit for the way they set up the team, Jamie Osborne had a fine game on the right wing, Jack Conan was a force of nature in his ball carrying at blindside flanker. The home side weathered an indifferent, fractured and messy opening 15-minutes to find an attacking rhythm against a Harlequins side that looked shell-shocked by the physical intensity. Tadhg Furlong got game time in his legs and the bench kept up the momentum.
Leo Cullen: “It is turn a page quite quickly. The one we are most interested in is the Glasgow v Leicester match. The players were very keen to put on a good show. There was lots of good attacking (rugby) and attacking intent over the 80-minutes. There were guys who were unlucky to miss out on selection today; it’s nice headaches to have. We will watch the game tonight and try and put together a plan for Friday. You just have to make sure that we are looking after each other. It is trying to not get carried away and prepare for next Friday. Tickets are available.
Leinster have works-on, beloved of coaches, the scrum, some of the passing, decision-making and option-taking, which seems a little ludicrous to point out given the final score-line, but despite holding their opponents to nil, some of the first up tackling won’t hold up to scrutiny with tougher tests ahead.
Right before I forget, David Gorman will be blogging Munster’s game against La Rochelle at the Stade Marcel Deflandre (5.30, Irish) and he deserves your undivided attention. We still have plenty to chat about here and Johnny Watterson’s match report will be in soon and I’ll put the link up.
[ Munster v La Rochelle BlogOpens in new window ]
The likelihood is that Leinster will play at the Aviva Stadium on Friday night against either Glasgow Warriors or Leicester Tigers. That match will be played at 8.0pm tonight.
10 tries: James Lowe (2), Sam Prendergast, Joe McCarthy, Jamie Osborne, Josh van der Flier, Garry Ringrose, Dan Sheehan, Ross Byrne, penalty try. Six conversions: Sam Prendergast 3, Ross Byrne 2, penalty try.
79 mins: TRY LOWE. Two in two minutes Deegan with the turnover and Leinster play a bit of Barbarians footie. Byrne’s conversion brings an end to what has been a tough afternoon for Harlequins in Dublin.
Fulltime: Leinster 62 Harlequins 0
77 mins: TRY LOWE. A fitting reward for the Leinster wing. He’s had a marvelous game. Byrne misses the conversion. Van der Flier a deserved man of the match. Superb all game.
Leinster 55 Harlequins 0
74 mins: Harlequins replacement Jamie Benson gets a yellow card for an early tackle on Barrett. Quins down to 14 men.
65 mins: TRY Ross Byrne, on as a replacement for Keenan is on the end of some lovely hands Lowe and Barrett in particular squeezes over in the corner and then kicks a brilliant conversion.
Leinster 50 Harlequins 0
65 mins: PENALTY TRY. Northmore denies Leinster or Deegan a try by going for a one-handed intercept as the last defender three metres from his line. The Harlequins player gets a yellow card for his troubles too. Barrett with a lovely chip and catch in the build-up and then he escapes down the wing again with another superb break. Should have been a second yellow card as ‘Quins Riley transgressed as the ruck.
Leinster 43 Harlequins 0
63 mins: Max Deegan on for Joe McCarthy.
Leinster 36 Harlequins 0
Leinster: 128 carries for 475 metres.
57 mins: SHEEHAN TRY. Lineout. Snyman. Sheehan with help from van der Flier powers over. It’s his last act as Gus McCarthy is introduced at hooker. Jack Boyle is on for the excellent Porter, Ryan Baird for the imperious Snyman. Prendergast can’t make the conversion. Sam Riley is on for Walker at hooker.
Leinster 36 Harlequins 0
52 mins: Northmore on for Halfpenny. Andrew Porter wins a scrum penalty. Prendergast with a stunning 50 metre spiral line-kick that gives Leinster a five metre lineout.
51 mins: Jordie Barrett, four tries in eight Leinster appearances is on for Ringrose, who was excellent.
Leinster 31 Harlequins 0
47 mins: TRY RINGROSE. Leinster win turnover ball, Conan and Osborne batter holes through the Harlequins bodies and then Leinster sweep back to the open side, Lowe, Keenan and van der Flier shift the ball to Ringrose on the opposite touchline. He dances past a tackle and then accelerates to the line. Prendergast kicks the conversion. Luke McGrath is on for the excellent Gibson-Park. Inre Herbst is on for Kenningham.
Leinster 31 Harlequins 0
44 mins: VAN DER FLIER TRY. Prendergast kicked a penalty to the corner, Snyman caught the lineout and the Leinster maul powered over. Prendergast missed the conversion. Van der Flier deserved that for his display to date. Tadhg Furlong is on for Slimani.
Leinster 24 Harlequins 0
44 mins: Snyman’s grounding of the ball goes to the TMO Tual Trainini, Brousset wants to call it as held up. Kenningham does brilliantly. On the law of probability it was a try but the referee’s initial line of questioning made it impossible to overturn without clear evidence.
Leinster 19 Harlequins 0
41 mins: No changes to either side. Beard is back on and gets a thumping welcome back from Sheehan in a tackle. Scrum. Lovely from Leinster, fluently handling and running and it should have been a try if Henshaw had given the try-scoring pass to Conan. Van der Flier with another bullocking run in the build-up, Lowe and Prendergast with some great hands.
Leinster 19 Harlequins 0
A look at the other tries.
Right time to unpick that half. Leinster were sluggish and a little off colour for 15-minutes but then clicked into gear. Sam Prendergast, Joe McCarthy and Jamie Osborne have scored the tries, Josh van der Flier and Garry Ringrose have had huge games, while Jamison Gibson-Park, one or two passes/choices aside has been superb.
Leinster’s defence has been aggressive and heavy hitting as several Harlequins players will attest. The English club started brightly enough but were subsequently shut down, harried and hassled into throwing 30/70 passes and putting themselves in trouble, while also not helped by injuries. The scrum has been a bit of an issue for Leinster with Slimani pinged a few times.
HALFTIME: Leinster 19 Harlequins 0
37 mins: Lovely range in Prendergast’s passing but Slimani drops one as Leinster cranked up another attack. Leinster have made 10 handling errors to Harlequins 3. The home side have certainly pushed the pass on occasion, but it’s been productive. Slimani penalised at a scrum, a second against him.
Leinster 19 Harlequins 0
34 mins: A little sloppiness has crept into the Leinster play, Prendergast is the latest with a basic handling error. The home side then concede a scrum free-kick. Attendance: 55,600, most of whom are happy.
Leinster 19 Harlequins 0
31 mins: Lovely slick attacking gambit from Leinster but Ringrose gets tap tackled from behind, as he was about to step and score and the visitors turn over the ball at the ruck as the Leinster clear-out wasn’t quick or accurate enough. ‘Quins penalty. Northmore is back on this time for centre Oscar Beard.
Leinster 19 Harlequins 0
31 mins: Nick David returns for Harlequins. Leinster win a scrum penalty. Fin Baxter pinged. A bit harum-scarum from the home side but they have a scrum inside the ‘Quins 22. The Leinster defence has been so aggressive and for all bar the first 10-minutes superbly on point.
Leinster 19 Harlequins 0
27 mins: OSBORNE TRY. Superb from Gibson-Park, rescues the ball after Harlequins turns over Leinster ball, races away, throws a long pass to Garry Ringrose who makes another break, van der Flier and Osborne link up with the latter who chose a great angle to power over. Harlequins scrumhalf Will Porter caught a boot to the face and has received prolonged treatment and is gone for a HIA. Danny Care is on. Will Evans is going for a HIA too so George Hammond is on. Prendergast kicked the conversion.
Leinster 19 Harlequins 0
24 mins: Brilliant GAA style take by Prendergast under Smith’s high ball, van der Flier’s carries with tremendous effect again but Lowe’s decision to grubber is not the right option and the wing in contesting the next high ball, knocks on.
Leinster 12 Harlequins 0
18 mins: Nick David has picked up a facial injury to Luke Northmore is on for ‘Quins on the wing.
17 mins: TRY JOE McCARTHY. Two tries in two minutes from Leinster as the home side hit their attacking straps, Osborne makes an initial break on one side of the pitch and then van der Flier does brilliantly to bounce a couple of tacklers on the other. Leinster on penalty advantage keep playing and Prendergast casually flicks a lovely weighted try scoring pass to Joe McCarthy. The outhalf adds the conversion.
Leinster 12 Harlequins 0
15 mins: TRY Prendergast. The Leinster outhalf made and finished that try to some degree. A lovely delay on a pass sent Jack Conan through a gap and racing into the Harlequins 22. From a ruck, Gibson-Park with a lovely floated cut-out pass to Sheehan who powers through two tackles and even though grounded short, Prendergast times his run onto his scrumhalf’s pass to dive over. The outhalf can’t convert.
Leinster 5 Harlequins 0
13 mins: Leinster win a scrum penalty and Prendergast kicks his team into the Leinster 22. Slimani picked up an ankle knock and is having it strapped. Brousset penalises Leinster because van der Flier comes in to lift having been nominated as a lifter. Sloppy.
Leinster 0 Harlequins 0
10 mins: Harlequins drive over the Leinster line but are held up and from the goal-line drop out Smith snatches at a long range drop goal. Keenan clears.
Leinster 0 Harlequins 0
9 mins: Almost a brilliant intercept from Jamie Osborne inside his 22. Great tackle by Hugo Keenan. ‘Quins with second scrum put-in. Tyrone Green finds a soft shoulder inside Sam Prendergast. The visitors go through nine phases before Jack Conan is penalised for not releasing before going for a poach. A fourth penalty against them and a five-metre Harlequins lineout.
Leinster 0 Harlequins 0
6 mins: Harlequins fullback Leigh Halfpenny takes on the penalty from inside his own half, but it drops well short. For me it should have been a Leinster scrum penalty but Pierre Brousset has had an issue with Slimani in the past when it comes to the scrum. Leinster concede two more penalties in quick succession. Marcus Smith goes to the corner. Harlequins in the Leinster 22.
Leinster 0 Harlequins 0
2 mins: Sam Prendergast kicked off and Harlequins clear. Leinster with a trick play for the first lineout, Josh van der Flier takes, RG Snyman and James Lowe with some muscular carries. The home side though went nowhere and eventually a knock-on from Snyman gives them the first scrum of the game. Harlequins get some penalty. Rabah Slimani penalised.
Leinster 0 Harlequins 0
Game on.
Teams are out.
Harlequins head coach Danny Wilson: “We will go for it? Yes we will. The breakdown is one of their weapons but it is one of ours. We have a couple of sevens in the backrow.”
Leo Cullen on Croke Park: “This is an amazing stadium for lots of reasons in Irish sport and it is a real privilege for us to be here.”
Leinster hooker Dan Sheehan offers a few thoughts: “They’re obviously a team that don’t go away. We’ve seen it throughout the season. They’ve been down quite considerably in a good few games and then came back and managed to win them.
“They score a lot of tries. They have eight try bonus points out of 13 games in the Premiership, so they’re an incredibly dangerous attacking team. They have a big pack and they rely on a few individuals to front up physically for them.
“It’s one of those games where you actually enjoy the prep because they’re quite an enjoyable team to watch. They have a bit of flair about them. We need to make sure that we’re on our game defensively but we also need to make sure that our attack is humming to get on top of them.”
A few stats to iIlluminate or lean on.
Caelan Doris leads the competition with 9 turnovers won.
Josh van der Flier has hit 121 rucks, the second-highest in the competition, and made 5 clean breaks in 4 matches.
Leinster averages 28.2 points per game and concedes fewer penalties (10.5) compared to Harlequins (8.2). They have a high lineout success rate (81.2%) and scrum success rate (91.71%) but Harlequins have similar figures.
Right we are heading to the half an hour warning to kickoff.
[ A few thoughts about the gameOpens in new window ]
Here’s the man at the centre of the Bloodgate controversy, TOm Williams, talking about that day.
In the early match Saracens-lite scored 42 points away to Toulon and lost by 30. Final score at the Stade Felix Mayol: Toulon 72 Saracens 42
‘QUINS BY NUMBERS
1 - Harlequins have beaten Leinster once in their previous three Champions Cup meetings, those two defeats came by margins of just a single point.
3 - Quins have won three of their last five knockout stage games in the Champions Cup.
4 - Quins have scored four tries from the scrum in the Champions Cup, the joint-most in the tournament.
21 - Jack Kenningham still tops the turnover won charts in the Premiership with 21 while Will Evans is just four behind him.
100 - Harlequins are one of just four clubs in the Champions Cup to boast a 100% success rate at scrum time, winning all 32 of their put ins.
495 - Harlequins average of 12 clean breaks and 495 metres per 80 minutes in the Investec Champions Cup this season, is among the highest in the competition.
1980 - Quins are just 20 metres away from gaining 2000 metres in the Champions Cup, a milestone three clubs have reached.
Leinster and Harlequins have produced some brilliant tussles in European competition but unfortunately the ‘Bloodgate’ match in 2009 casts a long shadow. I was at The Stoop that day and five years ago, during a series about sporting scandals in this newspaper, wrote an updated version of what transpired that day.
[ Blood but no guts on a day that rugby and Harlequins would rather forget Opens in new window ]
Johnny Watterson spoke to Jamison Gibson-Park about his wife Patti, who is looking to revive her sporting career, where she competed in Judo. The Leinster and Ireland scrumhalf explained: “She represented New Zealand, she has done a bit of stuff at international level,” says Gibson-Park. “She’s kind of getting back into it.
“The kids are kind of at the age where she feels like she’s got a bit of time back. They’re over the baby age and they’re all into school and creche and so she has a bit of time to get after something herself.
“She did end up qualifying for the Commonwealth Games, but she didn’t end up going. There was just a bit going on personally. It’s another kind of reason she feels like it could be an itch to scratch. So, she’s pretty keen to give it another crack.”
[ Patti Gibson-Park rekindling a former sporting passion in JudoOpens in new window ]
I spoke to Andrew Dunne during the week about his time at Harlequins (2003-2005) which he described as the best of his rugby career, about the outhalf situation in Irish rugby, we chatted about Jack Crowley, Sam Prendergast and Ciarán Frawley, the latter whom Dunne argued might have to look beyond Leinster to fulfil his potential. He also spoke about his admiration for Marcus Smith and which instinctive outhalves like playing against a rush defence.
THE TEAMS
Leinster: Hugo Keenan; Jamie Osborne, Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw, James Lowe; Sam Prendergast, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Rabah Slimani; Joe McCarthy, RG Snyman; Jack Conan, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris (capt). Replacements: Gus McCarthy, Jack Boyle, Tadhg Furlong, Ryan Baird, Max Deegan, Luke McGrath, Ross Byrne, Jordie Barrett.
Harlequins: Leigh Halfpenny; Tyrone Green, Oscar Beard, Ben Waghorn, Nick David; Marcus Smith, Will Porter; Fin Baxter, Jack Walker, Titi Lamositele; Joe Launchbury; Chandler Cunningham-South; Jack Kenningham, Will Evans, Alex Dombrandt (capt). Replacements: Sam Riley, Wyn Jones, Simon Kerrod, Irné Herbst, George Hammond, Danny Care, Jamie Benson, Luke Northmore.
TEAM NEWS
HARLEQUINS
Harlequins are without wing Cadan Murley (foot), fullback Rodrigo Isgro (concussion) and Stephan Lewies (Achilles) as head coach Danny Wilson makes six changes to the side that lost 48-27 to Bath last weekend. England international and club captain Alex Dombrandt returns at number eight, while former Wales and Lions fullback Leigh Halfpenny comes into the team.
Chandler Cunningham-South’s repositioning from his traditional home in the backrow to lock alongside Joe Launchbury shows that ‘Quins have prioritised athleticism and mobility while augmenting the poaching threat at the breakdown, an area in which they already excel. Jack Kenningham has pilfered more ball (21 steals) in the English Premiership than anyone else while team-mate Will Evans is not far behind (17).
England’s Marcus Smith might not be England head coach Steve Borthwick’s preferred choice in the 10 jersey but that’s not applicable at club level. He is the man that makes ‘Quins tick and the one that Leinster will have to shut down.
TEAM NEWS
LEINSTER
Leinster head coach Leo Cullen plumped for Jamie Osborne on the right wing, a position he was due to play for Ireland against France, before James Lowe pulled up lame in the warm-up that day. Jordie Barrett is on the bench, Rabah Slimani wears the number three jersey, while Jack Conan starts at blindside flanker.
Here is what Cullen had to say about some of those decisions. “Those guys prepared together (for the French match) which gives you some level of confidence. It’s not like we are going out on a wing here and making our own calls.
“The Jack (Conan) dynamic, he was very good (in) the last two Champions Cup matches in terms of impact, La Rochelle in round three and Bath in round four. Him and RG (Snyman) came on after 45-minutes (of the Bath game) and made a big impact. He delivers that well.
“We have to respect some of the form that is coming off the back of the Six Nations. I thought Jack was excellent, and I thought that looked like a good combination for Ireland. That is the rationale there.
“Max (Deegan) started that (Bath) game at six, Ryan Baird started the La Rochelle game at six; Jack came off the bench in both those games. We have good options there. James (Ryan) would have been in the 23 earlier in the week,” a reference to a calf injury that will sideline the secondrow for a few weeks.
Hello and welcome to the Irish Times rugby blog for today’s Champions Cup match between Leinster and Harlequins at Croke Park. John O’Sullivan here and I’ll be keeping you up to date before, during and after the game as will Johnny Watterson who will be writing the match report.
Leinster announced that they were about 56,000 tickets sold on Friday lunchtime and that weather permitting, and it has in terms of temperature if not sunshine, they might get a walk-up crowd that would take the attendance over the 60,000 mark.
The home side will carry the scars of three consecutive final Champions Cup defeats, twice to La Rochelle (2022, 2023), who face Munster this evening at the Stade Marcel Deflandre (5.30, Irish time), another match we will be blogging, and last season Leo Cullen side lost to Toulouse after extra time.
The fact that they have been within touching distance of winning all three matches makes the heartbreak that little bit more acute. The Leinster players and coaches though are a resilient bunch, working their way through a set of tricky pool fixtures to give them home advantage in the knockout stage of this season’s tournament if they continue to win.
It won’t be easy against a Harlequins side that have proved tough opponents when the two clubs have met in times past.
Paths to the Round of 16.
Leinster (W4 L0): beat Bristol Bears (a) 35-12; beat Clermont Auvergne (h) 15-7; beat La Rochelle (a) 16-14; beat Bath (h) 47-21.
Harlequins (W2 L2): lost to Racing 92 (a) 23-12; beat Stormers (h) 53-16; lost to Toulon (a) 33-21; beat Glasgow Warriors (h) 24-7.
