7-try Leinster survive a scare in wild Champions Cup clash with Edinburgh

Ciarán Kennedy Reports from Aviva Stadium

Leinster 49

Edinburgh 31

WHERE TO EVEN start. The Champions Cup always has a few surprises up it’s sleeve yet still it was stunning to watch Leinster make such hard work of this home round of 16 meeting with an Edinburgh side who have trudged through their season.

With less than half an hour to play the side sitting 13th in the URC led by three points in Dublin, as Leinster flirted with the prospect of another shock Champions Cup exit. Had it come to pass, surely this one would have been the worst of the lot.

As it happened, the province took control over the end game to record an 18-point win, but the abiding memory of this clash will be their carelessness with the ball across an end-to-end first half. 

The opening 40 minutes at Aviva Stadium almost defied logic. During that time Leinster scored four converted tries to put a healthy 28 points on the scoreboard, playing some beautiful rugby along the way, but they also somehow managed to keep Edinburgh in the game through a series of sloppy errors. 

The visitors, who arrived as heavy underdogs, went in at the break with four tries of their own. One of those was a beautiful first-phase score off a scrum, finished by out-half Ross Thompson, the other three all a result of Edinburgh picking off loose Leinster passing. 

Last week Leo Cullen admitted his squad remain a ‘work in progress’ at this point of the season. Their rate of improvement needs to speed up if Leinster are to progress as far as they hope to in this competition.

It had all started perfectly on a crisp, bright day in Dublin 4. Tommy O’Brien was over for their first try with just a minute and seven seconds on the clock, Jimmy O’Brien making the initial break before Harry Byrne, Hugo Keenan and Dan Sheehan all got hands on the ball, with O’Brien scoring in the corner.

He had his second inside nine minutes, taking a sharp pass from Rieko Ioane before sprinting and diving, getting the ball down after a poor tackle effort from Malelili Satala. Byrne kicked his second conversion and Leinster led 14-0, the game following a pattern so many had predicted beforehand.

Then this game twisted into a baffling procession of Leinster mistakes. 

Edinburgh’s first punch came out of nothing. A Tadhg Furlong pass to Jamie Osborne was loose, allowing Charlie Shiel snatch the ball and run in home. Ross Thompson then stepped up and missed a conversion that should have been bread and butter for the Edinburgh 10.

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Thompson would soon make amends. Four minutes later, as Edinburgh attacked off a scrum, he beat Jamison Gibson-Park before rounding Keenan to score a wonderful try, adding an excellent conversion to boot.

Edinburgh were right in it, even if Leinster continued to play all the rugby. In the 24th minute the province had their third try, Jimmy O’Brien crossing in the corner thanks to quick hands by Byrne after Sheehan broke free from a maul. Byrne’s conversion left Leinster 21-12 ahead. 

Yet Leinster couldn’t shake Edinburgh off. Approaching the half-hour mark an Osborne pass aimed at Gibson-Park was seized by Thompson, who went through to score his second, adding the conversion.

Leinster again extended their lead near the end of the half, Keenan beating two tackles to score after patient Leinster play in the Edinburgh 22.

There was time for one more twist before the break as Edinburgh gladly made the most of a third intercept, centre Matt Currie benefiting from a mix-up between Byrne and Gibson-Park. Thompson’s conversion left Edinburgh just two points behind, at 28-26, at the end of a frantic first half.

The break did nothing to settle Leinster’s sloppiness. Cullen’s team almost scored shortly after the restart, Josh van der Flier going over, only for the score to be crossed out after replays showed the flanker dropping the ball forward over the line.

A tight call. A let off for Edinburgh. Soon Edinburgh were celebrating a scrum win. They moved into their attacking shape, and playing off penalty advantage Darcy Graham stunned the home support into silence. After beating an Osborne tackle, the Edinburgh wing chipped over Keenan and had the pace to beat Gibson-Park in the chase and score. Thompson’s conversion struck a post, but 52 minutes in, Edinburgh led by three, and the unthinkable was looking increasingly possible.

It was a lead that lasted less than five minutes, Van der Flier scoring Leinster’s sixth from close range, Byrne contining his 100% record off the tee.

When replacement tighthead Thomas Clarkson powered over in the 62nd minute, it finally felt like Leinster were pulling clear, Byrne’s conversion pushing the province into an 11-point lead.

Any lingering nerves faded when moments later, Ioane produced a clever dummy to sprint over, Byrne adding another beautiful two-pointer from the sideline.

Performances like this won’t lead Leinster to the promised land in Europe, but in the end they had enough to see off an Edinburgh team who eventually ran out of gas.

Next up, it’s Sale Sharks in the quarter-finals at 5.30pm back at Aviva Stadium next Saturday.

Leinster scorers: 

Tries – T O’Brien [2], J O’Brien, Keenan, Van der Flier, Clarkson, Ioane.

Conversions – Byrne [7/7]

Edinburgh scorers: 

Tries – Shiel, Thompson [2], Currie, Graham

Conversions – Thompson [3/5] 

LEINSTER: Hugo Keenan; Tommy O’Brien (Robbie Henshaw, 60), Rieko Ioane, Jamie Osborne, Jimmy O’Brien; Harry Byrne (Ciarán Frawley, 69), Jamison Gibson-Park (Luke McGrath, 67); Andrew Porter (Alex Usanov, HT), Dan Sheehan (Gus McCarthy,, 74), Tadhg Furlong (Thomas Clarkson, 57); Joe McCarthy, Ryan Baird (Brian Deeny, 72); Jack Conan (Max Deegan, 65), Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris (capt).

EDINBURGH: Piers O’Conor; Darcy Graham, Matt Currie, James Lang (Mosese Tuipulotu, 29), Malelili Satala; Ross Thompson, Charlie Shiel (Ben Vellacott, 66); Pierre Schoeman (Boan Venter, 47), Ewan Ashman (Jerry Blyth-Lafferty, 72), D’arcy Rae (Paul Hill, 47); Marshall Sykes, Grant Gilchrist (capt); Liam McConnell, Dylan Richardson (Freddy Douglas, 53), Ben Muncaster (Glen Young, 52). 

Referee: Luke Pearce (Eng)