Bok gets boot to the head as sloppy Leinster see off Scarlets

MATCH REPORT: Leinster secured their spot in the United Rugby Championship semifinals after they recorded a 33-21 win over the Scarlets in their quarterfinal in Dublin on Saturday.

The hosts put in a sloppy performance during the 80 minutes, but they still had too much firepower for the visitors.

They will now host Franco Smith’s Glasgow Warriors next weekend.

Leo Cullen’s side scored four tries on their way to victory with Sam Prendergast converting two of those scores and adding three penalty goals to the final score.

Leinster will also be hoping that RG Snyman’s gash is not too serious.

After coming on as a replacement early in the second half, Snyman left the field in the 74th minute after a Leinster teammate accidentally stomped on his head in a ruck.

The hosts applied the pressure with ball in hand and their patience was rewarded when James Lowe eased in for the game’s opening try in the fifth minute.

It looked too easy for Leinster on attack and they were in again in the 10th minute when Jack Conan ran a great line before feeding the ball to Jamison Gibson-Park, who ran in for the second try.

However, the Scarlets showed some fighting spirit after that and some neat and clever attacking play ended with Tom Rogers powering over the tryline for a five-pointer. Sam Costelow stepped up to add the extra two points with the conversion.

The home side was guilty of trying to force things with ball in hand, but Prendergast managed to settle the nerves after he converted a penalty into three points.

It was a sensational ending to the first half and it all started when Leinster lost control of the ball deep inside the Scarlets’ half.

The loose ball was kicked ahead by the visitors and fullback Blair Murray showed off his excellent football skills to control the ball before diving onto it for his team’s second try.

Costelow converted the score and at half-time, it was 15-14 to Leinster.

It took a clever piece of play five minutes into the second half for Leinster to get some breathing space again.

After a scrum, Prendergast chipped the ball over the visitors’ defence and Jamie Osborne won the race to dot it down in the in-goal area. There was a TMO review, but the try was eventually awarded.

Prendergast added the extras with the conversion.

Costelow had the opportunity to reduce the lead with a long-range penalty attempt in the 49th minute, but he pushed the ball wide.

The Scarlets suffered a double blow when prop Alec Hepburn was yellow-carded for slowing the ball down near his own tryline in the 56th minute before Hugo Keenan scored Leinster’s fourth try just before the 60-minute mark.

Prendergast could not find the direction with his conversion attempt.

However, he made up for it with a three-pointer in the 66th minute.

Scarlets didn’t give up and they stayed in the fight when replacement hooker Marnus van der Merwe delivered a great offload to Johnny Williams, who raced away for a try in the 70th minute.

Costelow made it a nine-point ball game with the conversion.

Things didn’t go according to plan for the visitors in the final 10 minutes with Vaea Fifita getting a yellow card for a high tackle before Prendergast extended Leinster’s lead with a three-pointer to make the game secure.

Man of the match: The award goes to Leinster fullback Hugo Keenan, who was solid at the back and he scored one of his team’s four tries. He was a constant threat with ball in hand.

The scorers:

For Leinster:
Tries: Lowe, Gibson-Park, Osborne, Keenan
Cons: Prendergast 2
Pens: Prendergast 3

For Scarlets:
Tries: Rogers, Murray, Williams.
Cons: Costelow 3

Yellow cards: Alec Hepburn (Scarlets, 56′ – cynical play, slowing the ball down); Vaea Fifita (Scarlets, 73′ – foul play, high tackle)

Teams:

Leinster: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Jimmy O’Brien, 13 Jamie Osborne, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 James Lowe, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Jack Conan (captain), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Ryan Baird, 5 James Ryan, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Thomas Clarkson, 2 Rónan Kelleher, 1 Andrew Porter.
Replacements: 16 Dan Sheehan, 17 Jack Boyle, 18 Rabah Slimani, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Max Deegan, 21 Scott Penny, 22 Luke McGrath, 23 Ciarán Frawley.

Scarlets: 15 Blair Murray, 14 Tom Rogers, 13 Joe Roberts, 12 Johnny Williams, 11 Ellis Mee, 10 Sam Costelow, 9 Archie Hughes, 8 Taine Plumtree, 7 Josh Macleod (captain), 6 Vaea Fifita, 5 Sam Lousi, 4 Alex Craig, 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Ryan Elias, 1 Alec Hepburn.
Replacements: 16 Marnus van der Merwe, 17 Kemsley Mathias, 18 Sam Wainwright, 19 Dan Davis, 20 Jarrod Taylor, 21 Efan Jones, 22 Ioan Lloyd, 23 Macs Page.

Referee: Hollie Davidson (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy), Federico Vedovelli (Italy)
TMO: Andrew McMenemy (Scotland)