Leinster (7) 35; Bristol Bears (7) 12
You had to pity the Bristol boys as they tasted the big time in Europe against a juggernaut which kept its powder dry for the first half of this Champions Cup game at Ashton Gate on Sunday.
Going into the second-half level at 7-7 with the team who have won and lost Heineken Champions finals almost on a yearly basis, the men from the English west coast must have felt they had an even chance of progressing after showing up well against their opponents in the first 40 minutes.
However just look at the trick Leinster had up their sleeve as Head Coach Leo Cullen shuffled his pack of cards for the second half. Debutant Jordie Barrett of All Blacks fame came in as centre, Ireland captain Caelan Doris came into the back row and Lions certainty Andrew Porter arrived into the front row, and if that wasn’t enough giant South African lock and World Cup winner RG Snyman brought his 6’ 10” frame and huge bulk into play as well.
No wonder the Bears wilted on the turnover and despite the fact that Porter saw the sin bin for a 10-minute duration, the visitors were so far superior that the old adage of men and boys was entirely appropriate for this segment of the game.
Indeed it was only when they men in white and pale blue had scored four second-half tries, all of which were expertly converted by new No 1 outhalf Sam Prendergast, who also dotted down for a brace himself, that Leinster took their foot off the accelerator and allowed their opponents in for a consolation try near the end.
And so to Leinster… what have they got in their ranks that suggests they can go one better than they have done in recent seasons when losing to French giants Toulouse and La Rochelle in the Champions Cup Final?
Well, wisely the brains trust at the province have worked out that while the squad of those years was more than capable of dominating for most of the season, they were missing a little nous or know-how when it came to getting across the line on the big occasion.
The arrival of talented New Zealander Barrett to bolster the three-quarter line, was clearly seen as he scored a truly clever individual try to herald his arrival while the presence of RG Snyman in the pack doesn’t just add bulk but Springbok understanding of what is required in all situations as well.
You had to feel sorry for former Connacht Coach Pat Lam as he sat in the box for the second half powerless to counteract the big guns that Leinster rained on his charges.
Leo Cullen will know he has work to do with his charges because in the same fashion as Ireland had suffered, Leinster’s discipline was an issue, with no less than 17 penalties conceded not to mention Porte’s enforced absence in the sin-bin.
After introducing the big names, the Dublin based side simply blitzed the hosts with three tries in just over five minutes. Prendergast showed great awareness for both of his which were the bread on either side of Barrett’s brilliant debut score.
Only 21 but seemingly given both the green and blue light for the number 10 jersey, Prendergast seemed to relish the new-found confidence in him and returned an impressive personal haul of 20 points, converting all five Leinster tries. The other touchdowns came from Jordan Larmour while the power of man of the match Josh van der Flier in crossing for his score was of the bone-shattering variety.
Bonus point more than secured, Leinster inevitably eased up and bit and this allowed Gabriel Ibitoye to get in for a Bristol try which was unconverted.
Leinster: C Frawley; J Larmour, G Ringrose, R Henshaw, J O'Brien; S Prendergast, J Gibson-Park; J Boyle, R Kelleher, R Slimani; J McCarthy, J Ryan; M Deegan, J van der Flier, J Conan (capt) Replacements: G McCarthy, A Porter, T Clarkson, RG Snyman, C Doris, L McGrath, R Byrne, J Barrett.
Leinster Tries: Larmour, Prendergast 2, Barrett, Van der Flier Con: Prendergast 5
Bristol Bears Tries: Lahiff, Ibitoye Con: Janse van Rensburg
Munster rout Stade in bonus-point victory
Munster 33; Stade Francais 7
They may have parted company with their head coach, but Munster seem to have found that old spirit once more as they showed in destroying French side Stade Francais at Thomond Park on Saturday.
After losing three games on the trot, the men in red showed their true mettle in Limerick where they took advantage of the elements to lead by 14-0 at the break and then proceeded to dominate against the huge wind by scoring 19 points while holding their august opponents to one converted try over the 80 minutes of play.
Ian Costello, the stand-in man while the province searches for a new head coach, is convinced that the display will help bolster the confidence of the squad as they go about making an impact in Europe’s premier competition for the rest of the season.
Leinster’s Sam Prendergast scores a try. [Inpho/Billy Stickland]
Scoring five tries was a massive plus albeit it must be factored in that the visitors had both second rows, Pierre-Henri Azagoh and Baptiste Pesenti, sent off in a four-minute spell at the start of the second half.
Explained Costello: "I think it was probably a significant step up even. Obviously there was 15-18 minutes where we lost our way a little bit and it turned into a bit of a strange game but 60 minutes of that, we were really happy with.
"Specifically, our lineout was 100 percent again, looked really crisp, scrum was really solid, and when the game was quick, I thought we looked really, really good. For the second week in a row, I thought bar one moment, our defense was outstanding.
"And our attack was so good getting close to the line, but we left a few chances close to the line behind us. But that's exciting, we have something to build on for the next six days,” he stressed.
Alex Kendellen, Tom Farrell and Gavin Coombes kep the pressure up by scoring second-half tries for Munster, while the visitors got in for a late consolation.
Ulster meanwhile were the whipping boys of last weekend’s Champions Cup action as they succumbed by 40 points - 61-21 - to holders Toulouse at Stade Ernest-Wallon.
Tries from James McCormack, Stewart and Iain Henderson were about the only memorable moments on a day the whole province would prefer to forget.
Connacht’s bonus win over Zebre
In the Challenge Cup, Connacht had a convincing home 43-12 win over Zebre, with new boy Chay Mullins claiming three tries to mark a memorable debut.
Dylan Tierney-Martin also had a first-half try to give the province a 17-5 half-time lead.
Paul Boyle got in for the bonus try on his 100th appearance early in the second half with Mullins soon completing his hat-trick and Santiago Cordero also dotting down. Alessandro Fusco had the reward albeit of a consolation try for Zebre, before Boyle got the last try of the game.
