Bok scores as Leinster thump Toulouse in Euro semifinal
CHAMPIONS CUP REPORT: Leinster will have the luxury of playing in a Champions Cup Final in Dublin after they thumped Toulouse 41-22 in their semifinal clash at Lansdowne Road on Saturday.
The Irish giants outscored their opponents by five tries to three with No.8 Jack Conan getting a brace.
Springbok Jason Jenkins was also on the scoresheet with his first-ever Champions Cup try.
The visitors’ ill-discipline proved costly in the match as the home side scored four of their tries while Toulouse will down to 14 men.
Thomas Ramos was yellow carded for a deliberate knock-on in the first half, while replacement prop Rodrigue Neti saw yellow for foul play at the breakdown in the second half.
This year’s Final will be played at the same venue in Dublin.
As expected, the game started with a blistering intensity in front of a raucous Dublin crowd and flyhalf Ross Byrne had Leinster in front on four minutes as he slotted his first points from a central position.
Toulouse enjoyed plenty of the ball early on and made their pressure count on eight minutes, shifting the ball wide before centre Pita Ahki straightened to finish, fullback Ramos converting.
A high tackle allowed Byrne to bring Leinster within a point on 13 minutes, and the momentum would swing in the Irish province’s favour further with a quarter of an hour gone – Ramos denied a pass to wing Jimmy O’Brien with a deliberate knock-on and was shown a yellow card.
Leinster were ruthless during the period with an extra man as No.8 Jack Conan immediately powered over for his first before adding another five minutes later as he stylishly combined with flank Josh van der Flier.
Jimmy O’Brien thought he had Leinster’s third when he dived over in the corner, but a lengthy TMO revealed that Toulouse counterpart Juan Cruz Mallía had done enough to prevent him from grounding.
Ramos returned moments later but Leinster would notch a third score regardless as hooker Dan Sheehan profited from a loose Toulouse pass and finished from 22 metres out.
Byrne’s flawless kicking ensured Leinster were 27-7 up heading into the final 10 minutes of the first half, but Toulouse would hand themselves a lifeline thanks to lock Emmanuel Meafou’s powerful finish, Ramos’ conversion reducing the gap to 13 points.
The first points of the second half wouldn’t come until 56 minutes when Ramos slotted a penalty to further eat into Leinster’s lead.
But almost immediately after the restart, Toulouse would be down to 14 men again as replacement prop Neti was shown yellow for leading with his head against Van der Flier.
And the Leinster man would be over for his side’s fourth try seconds later on his 50th Champions Cup appearance as he squeezed over at the back of a trundling line-out maul.
Leinster turned the screw once again with their numerical advantage as replacement lock Jenkins fired through a gap for his maiden Champions Cup try.
The remainder of the game fizzled out as Leinster managed proceedings expertly and Toulouse failed to find any rhythm amid persistent handling errors and inaccuracy.
Flank Jack Willis ensured Toulouse bowed out of the competition with a try when he drove over in the final play, but it was Leinster’s day as they marched into the showpiece game.
Man of the match: Scrumhalf Jamison Gibson-Park was a livewire for the hosts. He made good decisions on attack and he sped the game up when Toulouse were under pressure. However, the award goes to Leinster No.8 Jack Conan, who was a powerhouse with ball in hand and he scored two of his team’s five tries.
The scorers:
For Leinster:
Tries: Conan 2, Sheehan, Van der Flier, Jenkins
Cons: R Byrne 5
Pen: R Byrne 2
For Toulouse:
Tries: Ahki, Meafou, Willis
Cons: Ramos 2
Pen: Ramos
Yellow card: Thomas Ramos (Toulouse, 16′ – cynical play, Deliberate knock-on); Rodrigue Neti (Toulouse, 57′ – foul play, dangerous cleanout
Teams:
Leinster: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Jordan Larmour, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Charlie Ngatai, 11 Jimmy O’Brien, 10 Ross Byrne, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Caelan Doris, 5 James Ryan (captain), 4 Ross Molony, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter.
Replacements: 16 John McKee, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Michael Ala’alatoa, 19 Jason Jenkins, 20 Ryan Baird, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Harry Byrne, 23 Ciaran Frawley.
Toulouse: 15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Juan Cruz Mallía, 13 Pierre-Louis Barassi, 12 Pita Ahki, 11 Matthis Lebel, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Antoine Dupont (captain), 8 Francois Cros, 7 Thibaud Flament, 6 Jack Willis, 5 Emmanuel Meafou, 4 Richie Arnold, 3 Dorian Aldegheri, 2 Peato Mauvaka, 1 Cyril Baille.
Replacements: 16 Julien Marchand, 17 Rodrigue Neti, 18 David Ainu’u, 19 Alexandre Roumat, 20 Rynhardt Elstadt, 21 Alban Placines, 22 Paul Graou, 23 Arthur Retiere.
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant Referees: Luke Pearce (England), Adam Leal (England)
TMO: Stuart Terheege (England)
Additional source: @ChampionsCup
