Champions Cup: Leinster 45 Harlequins 28
Leinster got there in the end with the anticipated bonus point although the scoreline could not mask more imperfections in both attack and defence. A young, remodelled and hitherto misfiring Harlequins also took a bonus point from a low-key pre-festive “marquee” fixture which was more ho-hum than ho-ho-ho.
When Jimmy O’Brien was exposed in defence and conceded both a penalty try and a yellow card with just under half an hour to go, Leinster only led 24-21, and an understrength Harlequins suddenly had more belief than perhaps at any point this week.
At least Leinster’s response was of a champions’ mentality, as they rolled up their sleeves and went to work to score three tries, all handsomely converted by Harry Byrne, to give the scoreline the kind of flourish a muted home crowd, which looked and sounded less than its 22,298, had expected.
When focused and accurate they looked an infinitely better side, with Jack Conan and Caelan Doris pounding plenty of metres, Jamison Gibson-Park adding his usual zip and invention, Sam Prendergast applying some varnish, while both wingers, Jordan Larmour and Tommy O’Brien looked fit and strong. Cometh the hour, Reiko Ioane also received a warm ovation.
RM Block
But once again their handling was not where it once used to be and their attack lacked patience and precision, especially in its poor use of advantage free plays, while the defence also had its issues, The review will be somewhat mixed, and Leicester next Friday night looks tricky.
The backdrop to this match hardly whetted the appetite much, and certainly made it one of Leinster’s more humdrum opening nights in this competition’s history. They had, after all, beaten ‘Quins 62-0 at Croke Park in a facile 10-try rout last April and despite only having played six games of a modest 18-match Premiership campaign and despite the London side had left out most of their star dust.
Pumas winger Rodrigo Isgro, Marcus Smith, English loosehead Fin Baxter, American tighthead Titi Lamasitele, Chandler Cunningham-South and Alex Donbrandt were all rested from the team beaten by Saracens last week. The apparent hike in ticket pricing also came at a time when, most of all, on top of a humdrum start to Leinster’s URC campaign, there’s no doubt that the hangover from the Champions Cup semi-final still lingered.
On a wintry night in Ballsbridge, the musical interludes were, as always, an accurate barometer of the atmosphere.
Maybe the home crowd were even more expectant of a rout after Leinster jumped off the blocks. Hardly a scrum ended up without a penalty, three of the first four going to Leinster and giving them plenty of access.
When Prendergast pinged a scrum penalty from a central position 40 metres out to within seven, Frawley was again the pivot of the attack, Jack Conan making big inroads before the McCarthy brothers, Paddy and Joe, did likewise on their first start together for Leinster and Jordan Larmour ducked and powered over impressively.
But another handling error, Larmour failing to hold on to Frawley’s short inside pass, led to a Quins scrum and penalty up the line, from which Will Evans and Tom Lawday made inroads – you’d have thought far too easily for Jacques Nienaber’s liking – before Luke Northmore went through the tackles of Josh van der Flier and Caelan Doris to score between the posts.
Leinster were then rewarded after opting for a scrum five metres out after Conan again made a big carry before Jamison Gibson-Park used RG Snyman’s offload with a swift skip pass for Frawley to put Ringrose over. That was Snyman’s last act before departing with a heavily bandaged leg after treatment and with a muttered curse.
The home side were, it seemed, a tad too quick to pull the trigger at times, Gibson-Park firing a pass too hard at Ringrose and Prendergast kickpassing to Tommy O’Brien when he was well marked by Cadan Murley. But when Larmour was then in space on the left, the outhalf slanted his body and gift-wrapped him a second try with flatter cross-field kick.
However, there was another disconnect in the Leinster defence off a Harlequins lineout when Doris, of all people, seemed to leave too much space for Northmore to take a pass from Cassius Cleaves and complete a one-two for the winger to score untouched.
Leinster did extend their lead to 24-14 at the break and secure a bonus point when Prendergast again nailed a penalty to the corner. Frawley had just received lengthy treatment, with Harry Byrne warming up, before rejoining the fray and skilfully translated a Leinster lineout which misfired when gathering an overthrow off the deck and scoring.
That looked like it might be the killer score, or certainly another one soon after the interval would have done. However, when another try did look likely on the resumption after Tommy O’Brien hit Larmour on the left edge and Paddy McCarthy rumble, Gibson-Park’s pass went through van der Flier’s hands.
The costly nature of that miss was soon underlined as they twice coughed up turnover penalties when carriers were left isolated. The out-in defence had engineered one turnover when Tommy O’Brien shot up and Ringrose pilfered a loose ball, but it soon left Jimmy O‘Brien exposed and when he knocked on Murley’s pass with two Quins attackers on his outside, the yellow card and penalty try on review was inevitable.
Cue a significant jackal penalty by van der Flier, from which Leinster rolled up their sleeves, went to the air and went route one, and changed their halves. Finally showing some patience in wearing down the Quins, albeit after Evans was binned, they butchered another advantage and Harry Byrne’s cross-kick then forced Tommy O’Brien to retreat. But the winger improvised a grubber past Cameron Anderson to gather and score.
That was pretty much that. Another route one attack culminated in Conan deservedly scoring from close range before Larmour regathered his chip and Luke McGrath found space and, with a big overlap, Ioane unselfishly put Jimmy O’Brien over.
There was the irritant of Leinster finishing with 14 after Larmour had to depart, and when Doris knocked on Byrne’s pass, Oscar Beard gathered and slipped away for a turnover try.
Scoring sequence: 5 mins Larmour try 5-0; Northmore try, Evans con 5-7; 17 mins Ringrose try, Prendergast con 12-7; 25 mins Larmour try 17-7; 34 mins Cleaves try, Evans con 17-14; 39 mins Frawley try, Prendergast con 24-14; (half-time 24-14); 51 mins penalty try 24-21; 61 mins T O’Brien try, Byrne con 31-21; 65 mins Conan try, Byrne con 38-21; 68 mins J O’Brien try, Byrne con 45-21; 78 mins Beard try Benson con 45-28.
Leinster: Jimmy O’Brien; Tommy O’Brien, Garry Ringrose, Ciaran Frawley, Jordan Larmour; Sam Prendergast, Jamison Gibson-Park; Paddy McCarthy, Dan Sheehan, Tom Clarkson, RG Snyman, Joe McCarthy, Jack Conan, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris (capt).
Replacements: Diarmuid Mangan for Snyman (18 mins), Ronan Kelleher for Sheehan, Jack Boyle for P McCarthy, Tadhg Furlong for Clarkson (all 50 mins), Luke McGrath for Gibson-Park, Harry Byrne for Prendergast (both 58 mins), Reiko Ioane for Ringrose (60 mins), Max Deegan for Conan (70 mins).
Sinbinned: J O’Brien (52-62 mins).
Harlequins: Cameron Anderson, Cassius Cleaves, Oscar Beard, Luke Northmore, Cadan Murley (capt); Jarrod Evans, Will Porter; Boris Wenger, Jack Walker, Harry Williams, Kieran Treadwell, Stephan Lewies, Zach Carr, Will Evans, Tom Lawday.
Replacements: Pedro Delgado for Williams (22 mins), Joe Launchbury for Treadwell, Lucas Friday for Porter (both 53 mins), George Turner for Walker, Lucas Schmid for Lawday (both 58 mins), Will Hobson for Wenger, Bryn Bradley for Northmore (both 62 mins), Jamie Benson for Evans (70 mins).
Sinbinned: Evans (60-70 mins).
Referee: Craig Evans (Wal).
