Leinster book quarterfinal spot in fine style
MATCH REPORT: Leinster were at their blistering best as they scored seven tries in a 50-21 Champions Cup Pool 1 win over Northampton Saints at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday night.
Garry Ringrose gave Leinster the perfect start as he scored two tries in the first seven minutes but Northampton would respond with a try of their own.
It was Andy Symons with a terrific driving run who popped the ball up to Dan Biggar and he dotted down in front of the posts before converting his own score.
Leinster added a third try soon after with a driving maul that was simply too powerful for Northampton as Tadhg Furlong was driven over the line and they got a fourth – bringing up the bonus point – on 37 minutes after Dave Kearney worked the overlap to score.
Northampton did launch a response just before the break after some excellent work from Lewis Ludlam who intercepted and sprinted all the way into the Leinster 22. The ball then reached Ahsee Tuala and he found a gap in the line before giving to Ollie Speights who scored at the posts.
The second half continued in the same vein for the Irish province as Leinster bagged tries through James Lowe, Caelan Doris and Ringrose who grabbed a Champions Cup hat-trick while Northampton got a score of their own through Tuala.
Leinster – who are the first team to reach the Champions Cup quarter-finals – will take on Lyon in Round 5 while Northampton Saints will host Benetton Rugby.
History makers 👏@leinsterrugby become the first team in #HeinekenChampionsCup history to qualify for the knockout stages after just four games 🤯
They were simply unstoppable against @SaintsRugby today, are they favourites now? 🏆 pic.twitter.com/nbA6TiGI6h
ADVERTISEMENT— Heineken Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) December 14, 2019
The scorers:
For Leinster:
Tries: Ringrose 3, Furlong, Kearney, Lowe, Doris
Cons: Byrne 4, Frawley 2
Pen: Byrne
For Northampton Saints:
Tries: Biggar, Sleightholme, Tuala
Cons: Biggar 3
Teams:
Leinster: 15 Jordan Larmour, 14 Dave Kearney, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 James Lowe, 10 Ross Byrne, 9 Luke McGrath, 8 Calean Doris, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Rhys Ruddock, 5 James Ryan, 4 Scott Fardy (captain), 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 James Tracy, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements: 16 Bryan Byrne, 17 Ed Byrne, 18 Andrew Porter, 19 Devin Toner, 20 Max Deegan, 21 Jamison Gibson-Park, 22 Ciarán Frawley, 23 Rob Kearney.
Northampton Saints: 15 Ahsee Tuala, 14 Ollie Sleightholme, 13 Matt Proctor, 12 Andrew Symons, 11 Taqele Naiyaravoro, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Connor Tupai, 8 Lewis Ludlam, 7 Jamie Gibson, 6 Tom Wood (captain), 5 Alex Coles, 4 Api Ratuniyarawa, 3 Paul Hill, 2 Michael van Vuuren, 1 Francois van Wyk.
Replacements: 16 Sam Matavesi, 17 Alex Waller, 18 Ehren Painter, 19 Lewis Bean, 20 JJ Tonks, 21 James Mitchell, 22 James Grayson, 23 Fraser Dingwall.
Referee: Dan Jones (Wales)
Assistant referees: Adam Jones (Wales), Dewi Phillips (Wales)
TMO: Sean Brickell (Wales)
