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Leinster face nervous wait for home Euro tie

The three-time champions, already assured of a last-eight spot, finished Pool Four action with 23 points, but they can still be pipped for a home tie in the knockout round should fellow Irish side Connacht win big at Toulouse on Sunday.

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Leinster, buoyed by an eight-try 57-3 rout of Montpellier last weekend, were 10-0 ahead inside the first 10 minutes at already-eliminated Castres.

A Jonny Sexton penalty was followed by a converted try for centre Robbie Henshaw who sprinted 40 metres to score after Castres wing Julien Caminati had dropped the ball.

But the French side roared back to lead 17-10 at the break after scrumhalf Antoine Dupont had danced between three defenders off the back of a ruck to go over before David Smith added his team's second try.

Smith was set-up cleverly by a smart, back of the hand pass from Florian Vialelle.

Leinster hit back to level at 17-17 with their second try of the night, scored again by the livewire Henshaw who broke through under the posts.

Smith, however, restored Castres' lead with his second try of the match, wrong-footing Leinster off the back of a ruck.

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Back again came the Irish side, who had won the first meeting between the two teams 33-15, with replacement Dan Leavy scoring off a pick-and-go after Castres were reduced to 14 men when fullback Pierre Berard was yellow-carded for failing to release in the tackle. 

In the same group, Montpellier claimed a bonus point 26-17 win over Northampton as the 2016 European Challenge Cup champions moved to 16 points to keep alive their slender hopes of making the last-eight as one of three best runners-up.

Munster, defending champions Saracens and Clermont have already made sure of quarterfinal spots with home ties as well as the remaining four spots in the last-eight to be decided over a tense Saturday and Sunday.

The scorers:

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For Castres: 

Tries: Dupont, Smith 2

Cons: Dumora 3

Pen: Dumora

For Leinster: 

Tries: Henshaw 2, Leavy

Cons: Sexton, Byrne 2

Pen: Byrne

Yellow cards: Mike McCarthy (Leinster), Pierre Berard (Castres)

Teams:

Castres: 15 Pierre Berard, 14 Julien Caminati, 13 Afusipa Taumoepeau, 12 Florian Vialelle, 11 David Smith, 10 Julien Dumora, 9 Antoine Dupont, 8 Steve Mafi, 7 Alexandre Bias, 6 Yannick Caballero, 5 Rodrigo Capo Ortega, 4 Victor Moreaux, 3 Daniel Kotze, 2 Brice Mach, 1 Antoine Tichit.

Replacements: 16 Jody Jenneker, 17 Mihaita Lazar, 18 Damien Tussac, 19 Loic Jacquet, 20 Anthony Jelonch, 21 Julien Seron, 22 Benjamin Urdapilleta, 23 Thomas Combezou.

Leinster: 15 Isa Nacewa (captain), 14 Adam Byrne, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 Rory O’Loughlin, 10 Johnny Sexton, 9 Luke McGrath, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Jack Conan, 5 Devin Toner, 4 Ross Molony, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Richardt Strauss, 1 Cian Healy.

Replacements: 16 James Tracy, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Michael Bent, 19 Mike McCarthy, 20 Dan Leavy, 21 Jamison Gibson-Park, 22 Ross Byrne, 23 Rob Kearney.

Referee: Greg Garner (England)

Assistant Referees: Tom Foley (England), Paul Dix (England)

TMO: David Rose (England)

Agence France-Presse

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