URC result: Leinster destroy Lions to set up Stormers semifinal

Ruthless Leinster rebounded from their Champions Cup heartbreak by destroying the Lions 59-10 in their United Rugby Championship (URC) quarterfinal at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Saturday night.

The hosts were brilliant, while the visitors were unfortunately error prone, as a first ever playoff appearance seemed too much for the Lions as they made a number of uncharacteristic errors, particularly in their kicking game, which proved massively costly.

The win secured a home semifinal for the competition defending champs against the Stormers, who beat Cardiff in their quarterfinal, next weekend in Ireland.

Fast start

In the match Leinster got off to a fast start, taking a 14-0 lead after just 14 minutes which was ominous for the visitors.

First after good play in the Lions 22m, they ran out of defenders, as a long pass was sent wide to hooker Dan Sheehan hanging out on the wing, with him running in untouched for the opening score.

Five minutes later Leinster were back in the Lions half and attacking into the 22m, where good soft hands from flyhalf Sam Prendergast saw him hold up the ball and put fullback Hugo Keenan into a gap and over, with Prendergast adding the extras again.

But the Lions then showed some valiant defence, as Leinster continued to dominate play, but were held out well.

The Lions made some poor mistakes, particularly kicking the ball out directly a few times, and also at lineout time, but their scrum was a big positive for them and got on top of the hosts.

In the 35^th minute Leinster prop Tom Clarkson was yellow carded for a dangerous tackle on Nico Steyn, after he flipped the scrumhalf onto his head.

That allowed the Lions to kick to the corner, secure the lineout and maul, with it stopped short, but they got onto the line and outside centre Henco van Wyk picked up and dived over from close range.

The usually dead eye Chris Smith saw his conversion attempt hit the post and bounce across, and the Lions received a further blow when Leinster went straight up the other end from the kick-off and lock James Ryan crashed over on the halftime hooter to give them a 21-5 lead at the break.

Game over

Straight after the restart Leinster basically ended any hopes the Lions may have had by scoring their second try while down to 14-men, as they slowly built up an attack into the Lions half and found space out wide where loose forward Scott Penney went over in the corner.

The hosts then scored an incredibly lucky try adding another hammer blow to the Lions, as while making a tackle the ball came off flank Max Deegan’s shoulder and rebounded forward where Prendergast caught the ball in space and raced away to make it 33-5 after 46 minutes.

Things went from bad to worse for the Lions in the 53^rd minute when fullback Quan Horn was yellow carded for a deliberate knock-on, with Leinster kicking to the corner, getting close and replacement hooker Gus McCarthy went over for the converted try.

There was some joy for the Lions as they hit back straight from the restart, getting the ball back and replacement scrumhalf Haashim Pead popped a lovely chip over the Leinster defensive line, with Van Wyk chasing, kicking ahead and scoring, but unfortunately was also injured when tackled while scoring.

That was unfortunately as good as it got for the Lions as wings Jimmy O’Brien and James Lowe went over in their respective corners, with Prendergast slotting the touchline conversions to push them over the 50 point mark in the 68^th minute.

Leinster then finished with a flourish, as Louw extended his try scoring record for the club that he had registered with his first try, as he went over in the corner on the fulltime hooter.

Scorers

Leinster: Tries – Dan Sheehan, Hugo Keenan, James Ryan, Scott Penny, Sam Prendergast, Gus McCarthy, Jimmy O’Brien, James Lowe (2); Conversions – Prendergast (7)

Lions: Tries – Henco van Wyk (2)