Leinster draw conclusion that home quarter-final is in the bag

Castres Olympique 24 Leinster 24

Leinster couldn’t have cut it much finer, but a wild and whacky draw in the biting cold of Castres was sufficient in all but name to secure a home quarter-final. Bar a handsome bonus-point win by Connacht away to Toulouse, and by 61 points or more, Leinster are assured of a home quarter-final as one of the top four ranked qualifiers, quite possibly against Wasps.

That said, letting an eminently winnable final pool game almost slip through their ice-cold fingers could ultimately contribute to them missing out on a home semi-final, as the vagaries of a complicated semi-final draw mean the third or fourth ranked sides are consigned to an away semi-final.

On a night when the sides were brought back to level pegging on three occasions, mentally Leinster didn’t seem as sharp as when scaling the heights a week ago against Montpellier.

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After smoothly moving into a 10-0 lead, they lost their way amid a few knock-ons, missed tackles, missed chances and injuries, notably to Johnny Sexton (calf) and Isa Nacewa (leg) in the first half. It means Sexton has completed barely 140 minutes in their European campaign this season.

Castres swung from the hip while Leinster forced things and butchered a host of chances, ultimately their fitness levels as well as their mental strength came through. Robbie Henshaw, looking every inch a Lion, had an immense game, while Tadhg Furlong, Jack Conan, Garry Ringrose and Adam Byrne were others whose standards rarely dipped, and Ross Byrne’s composure and passing game was impressive when he replaced Sexton at No 10.

Plenty of empty seats on a freezing night for an 8.45pm kick-off with the home team out of contention was no surprise. Despite this, Castres began sparkily enough, but after a big shunt by the Leinster scrum, soon they were settling into their recycling rhythm. Nacewa earned an attacking lineout with a deft grubber and a bout of hard running and recycling earned a penalty for Sexton to open the scoring.

One nice tip-on by Josh van der Flier to Cian Healy and Jamie Heaslip’s offload to Conan typified their ambition, along with Sexton’s array of passes, but the breakthrough came off their defensive line speed. This forced a spillage by Julien Caminati from which Ringrose picked up on the run and offloaded in the direction of Henshaw on half-way. Caminati knocked the ball back, Henshaw kicking on and gathering before completing an arcing 45 metre run to the line with Julien Dumora for company to score his first Leinster try.

Adam Byrne brilliantly reclaimed the restart, Leinster stretched Castres wide from deep, but then it suddenly changed. Pierre Berard beat Sexton to put Castres on the front foot, and the livewire Toulouse-bound French under-20 scrumhalf Antoine Dupont dummied Devin Toner and stepped Nacewa to score.

To compound this, Sexton promptly departed with a calf injury. With his first touch, Ross Byrne’s grubber into the corner appeared to see Rory O’Loughlin win the touchdown as Pierre Berard slid in with his foot, but after recourse to the TMO, Greg Garner decreed that O’Loughlin hadn’t quite completed the touchdown.

That was compounded by David Smith’s electric footwork slicing Leinster apart, leading to an equalising penalty by Dumora. Soon after, centre Florian Vialelle handed off Ringrose to put Smith over in the corner, Dumora converting from the touchline.

With Nacewa replaced by Rob Kearney, a severe test of this increasingly callow side’s nerve was increasing almost by the minute.

Leinster came knocking again, but Dupont’s pace ensnared Conan from behind after his break from Ross Byrne’s inside pass, Van der Flier was smothered before moving the ball on to Adam Byrne and then Dupont forced a spillage from Luke McGrath at the base. Despite 60 per cent of the possession and territory, Leinster trailed at the break. Now it was a test of the Leinster coaching ticket.

A scything break by Ringrose put them on the front foot and, off a scrum, Adam Byrne came up the middle to beat Dumora and Afusipa Taumoepeau, and Henshaw showed equally good footwork to beat Berard and score again under the posts.

A re-jigged Castres frontrow won a scrum penalty and from a crooked throw by James Tracy, with his first touch, Castres went through the phases and eventually Smith plundered a try from the base between Luke and Jack McGrath.

A blockdown by Toner eventually led to two penalties into the corner, but Tracy overthrew the second. But Henshaw and Leinster kept coming. After Adam Byrne sliced through again, Conan carried hard and offloaded superbly to Jack McGrath. He was held up by Berard, who blatantly killed the ball and was binned by Gardner. From the scrum, Dan Leavy eventually powered over and Ross Byrne’s fine conversion drew the sides level for the third time.

When Adam Byrne hoofed turnover ball downfield, the wicked bounce denied Kearney the try, and Ringrose, following up, had the ball forced from his hands by Vialelle.

Instead, a flurry of Castres penalties saw the home side bring their maul into play, and the binning of Mike McCarthy within moments of his arrival. But Leinster held up a 12-man maul and Castres’ over-eagerness against a depowered scrum earned a relieving penalty, Jamison Gibson-Park kicking the last lineout dead to secure an invaluable draw, in every sense.

SCORING SEQUENCE: 9 mins Sexton pen 0-3; 11 mins Henshaw try, Sexton con 0-10; 21 mins Dupont try, Dumora con 7-10; 31 mins Dumora pen 10-10; 34 mins Smith try, Dumora con 17-10; (half-time 17-10); 43 mins Henshaw try, R Byrne con 17-17; 53 mins Smith try, Dumora con 24-17; 63 mins Leavy try, R Byrne con 24-24.

CASTRES OLYMPIQUE: Pierre Berard; Julien Caminati, Afusipa Taumoepeau, Florian Vialelle, David Smith; Julien Dumora, Antoine Dupont; Antoine Tichit, Brice Mach, Daniel Kotze; Victor Moreaux, Rodrigo Capo Ortega (capt); Yannick Caballero, Alexandre Bias, Steve Mafi.

Replacements: Loic Jacquet for Moreaux (18-24 and 70 mins), Thomas Combezou for Taumoepeau (36-40 and 70 mins), Mihaita Lazar for Tichit, Damien Tussac for Kotze (both half-time), Jody Jenneker for Mach, Anthony Jelonch for Bias, Julien Seron for Dupont (62 mins), Benjamin Urdapilleta for Dumora (63 mins).

Sinbinned: Berard (63-73 mins).

LEINSTER: Isa Nacewa (capt); Adam Byrne, Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw, Rory O'Loughlin; Johnny Sexton, Luke McGrath; Cian Healy, Richardt Strauss, Tadhg Furlong; Ross Molony, Devin Toner; Jack Conan, Josh van der Flier, Jamie Heaslip.

Replacements: Ross Byrne for Sexton (21 mins), Rob Kearney for Nacewa (36 mins), James Tracy for Strauss, Jack McGrath for Healy (48 mins), Dan Leavy for van der Flier, Jamison Gibson-Park for L McGrath (both 62 mins), Michael Bent for Furlong (72 mins), Mike McCarthy for Molony (76 mins).

Sinbinned: McCarthy (77 mins).

Referee: Greg Garner (England).