Leinster bounces back at the Rec
CHAMPIONS CUP REPORT: Four-time European champions Leinster beat Pool One rivals Bath 17-10 after a hard-fought battle at The Recreation Ground on Saturday.
It was Bath that started off the better side with Springbok Francois Louw and England’s Sam Underhill combining excellently at the breakdown.
Henry Thomas took advantage of the good work from his back row forwards to power over for the games’ first try with flyhalf James Wilson adding the extras.
The Irish province hit back through their powerful maul to level things up with Sean Cronin’s scoring and recently named World Rugby Player of the Year, Johnny Sexton, converted his effort.
The defining moment came in the 48th minute when Irish international Jordan Larmour intercepted Wilson’s speculative pass at the halfway mark to sprint over and give Leinster the lead. Sexton kicked the conversion to give his side a 14-7 lead.
Ross Byrne kicked a penalty to stretch Leinster’s lead, while Wilson ensured Bath were not left empty-handed as he slotted over a penalty in the 80th minute for a losing bonus point.
James Ryan was named Man of the Match after putting in a massive shift. The 22-year-old lock carried 12 times, made 33 metres, tallied up 12 tackles and claimed 2 line-out wins.
The two will next play in the reverse fixture at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin next Saturday.
A battling victory away from home for @leinsterrugby as @bathrugby fall just short…
Who stood out for you? #ChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/7D9oie3R3K
— Heineken Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) December 8, 2018
The scorers:
For Bath:
Tries: Thomas
Cons: Wilson
Pens: Wilson
For Leinster:
Tries: Cronin, Larmour
Cons: Sexton 2
Pens: Byrne
Teams:
Bath: 15 Ruaridh McConnochie, 14 Semesa Rokoduguni, 13 Jackson Willison, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Joe Cokanasiga, 10 James Wilson, 9 Will Chudley, 8 Francois Louw, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Tom Ellis, 5 Charlie Ewels (captain), 4 Dave Attwood, 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Tom Dunn, 1 Nathan Catt.
Replacements: 16 Jack Walker, 17 Jacques van Rooyen, 18 Max Lahiff, 19 Elliott Stooke, 20 Matt Garvey, 21 Kahn Fotuali’i, 22 Cooper Vuna, 23 Alex Davies.
Leinster: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Jordan Larmour, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Noel Reid, 11 James Lowe, 10 Johnny Sexton (captain), 9 Luke McGrath, 8 Dan Leavy, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Rhys Ruddock, 5 James Ryan, 4 Devin Toner, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Sean Cronin, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements: 16 James Tracy, 17 Ed Byrne, 18 Andrew Porter, 19 Ross Molony, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Jamison Gibson-Park, 22 Ross Byrne, 23 Rory O’Loughlin.
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant referees: Pierre Brousset (France), Vincent Blasco Baqué (France)
TMO: Philippe Bonhoure (France)
Source: @ChampionsCup
