Champions Cup: Bristol 12 Leinster 35
This was a curiously unexceptional game for large tracts of a windy night in Bristol, dominated by the French referee Pierre Brousset and a variety of incomplete or interminable scrums, which seemed like it would never end. Yet it was also truly memorable, not least as a potential sign of more great things to come, when Leinster introduced their A-listers and their ‘A’ game.
Jordie Barrett having been introduced during the interval for what would be a quietly outstanding debut, within five minutes Leo Cullen completed probably the best quintet of substitutions in the history of the province, namely Andrew Porter, Thomas Clarkson, RG Snyman and Caelan Doris in addition to Barrett.
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Jacques Nienaber had warned that Bristol were the kind of team that could score 21 points in 17 minutes, but as it transpired it was Leinster that scored 21 points in a whirlwind six-minute spell. The big hitters were central to this salvo, not least the try-scoring, all-action Barrett, while Sam Prendergast capped off a typically cool night’s work in his first Champions Cup start to bookend that decisive spell with two tries in a 20-minute haul.
Yet the night had not been without its difficulties, with Leinster reduced to 13 men, whereupon nobody stood up to be counted more than Josh van der Flier, who maintained his rich form from the Autumn Series with a deserving try of his own in man of the match performance.
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While the TV pictures might have masked the conditions, there was a steady downpour in the opening quarter which thankfully abated but, in tandem with the swirling after-effects of Storm Darragh, made for a very scrappy opening.
On the tightly cropped Ashton Gate surface used by Bristol City, players frequently lost their footing early on. This may also have contributed to the three penalties, and an indirect penalty, against Leinster at scrum time in addition to one in their favour as the typically fastidious and irritating Brousset renewed acquaintances with the ex-Clermont tighthead Rabah Slimani, who will be up against his former team at the Aviva next Saturday (5.30pm).
Leinster were possibly a bit too elaborate and overplayed their hand and actually looked more dangerous through their all-or-nothing, fast defensive line speed than when they had the ball.
The same was true of Bristol after losing their former Blackrock College product and Connacht Pro12-winning outhalf AJ MacGinty within five minutes when he was almost cut in two by the flying Garry Ringrose. Such were the reverberations from the tackle that MacGinty had to go off for an HIA and did not return.
Leinster had survived a couple of five metre lineouts, James Ryan making one good steal, while van der Flier made inroads after a neat short side exchange with Rónan Kelleher before some sleight of hand on the deck went unseen.
Prendergast was unlucky that his booming, spiralling 50 metre touch-finder was blown out on the full and when Jack Boyle was pinged for side entry, Kelleher was then binned for a similar offence before Max Deegan followed suit when tripping Fitz Harding in the act of tackling Harry Randall, which was actually quite a trick.
Bristol launched Viliame Mata off the next five-metre lineout before Max Lahiff burrowed over and, trailing 7-0, Leinster had another seven minutes to survive with 13 men. But, necessity being the mother of invention, they did more than just survive.
They were helped by James Dun spilling the restart, which Jordan Larmour retrieved and, with their numerical disadvantage, Leinster were obliged to be more direct. The fired-up van der Flier, responding to their moments of dire need, carried hard again and Jamison Gibson-Park worked a penalty advantage. Playing with house money, Prendergast chipped deftly and the added bonus was that Rich Lane slid into the ball and slid it into the waiting arms of Larmour who had followed up to gather and score.
Prendergast used up the full allotment of time for the conversion and 7-7 at the break was a result for Leinster considering the penalty count was 9-3 against them.
As well as the returning Deegan, Leinster welcomed Barrett aboard as a half-time replacement for Ciarán Frawley. Cue the rest of the Bomb Squad.
Barrett, employed at inside centre with Robbie Henshaw moving to 13, Ringrose to the right wing and Larmour to the left, immediately made his mark with a good tackle to force a turnover.
Yet, there was a little sign of their dramatic input to come initially when Brousset binned both Lahiff and the newly introduced Porter for stepping back when another scrum collapsed and his patience snapped.
But, curiously it preceded the defining spell of the match and ironically the Leinster scrum was the platform. From a scrum to the left on the Bristol 22, Gibson-Park fed Barrett and Prendergast looped around to take the pullback and drift through an inviting gap before arcing and dummying to score under the posts.
Within two minutes a scrum penalty for Leinster gave them an attacking lineout on the Bristol 22. The ever-alert Gibson-Prink spotted space on the fringe for a telling incision and two phases later Barrett took Gibson-Park’s pass and the Bristol defence bought his dummy as he sliced through himself.
The ink barely dry in the referee’s notebook, Leinster struck again with the try of the match. Barrett’s pass had given the visitor’s the width in their own 22 when Doris and Snyman combined deftly to release the secondrow for one of his galloping breaks as he ate up about 40 metres and passed to Prendergast, who fended Randall and carried on from over 40 metes out for his second try. Stunning stuff. Almost funny.
The fifth try was more prosaic, a nice launch from a fake maul set-up but a thoroughly deserving score for van der Flier, Prendergast’s conversion completing his 20-point haul.
There was a consolation try by the quick-footed Gabriel Ibitoye when latching on to Kieran Marmion’s clever grubber, but the conversion was missed, meaning Leinster maintained their improved defensive record. Jacques Nienaber looked happy too.
Scoring sequence: 30 mins: Lahiff try, van Rensburg con 7-0; 33: Larmour try, Prendergast con 7-7; Half-time 7-7; 53: Prendergast try and con 7-14; 56: Barrett try, Prendergast con 7-21; 58: Prendergast try and con 7-28; 65: van der Flier try, Prendergast con 7-35; 73: Ibitoye try 12-35.
Bristol Bears: R Lane; J Bates, K Ravouvou, B Janse van Rensburg, G Ibitoye, AJ MacGinty, H Randall; E Genge, H Thacker, M Lahiff; J Dun, J Owen; S Grondona, F Harding (capt), V Mata. Replacements: J Jenkins for MacGinty (5 mins), J Woolmore for Genge, S Luatua for Dun (both 47), L Chawatama for Ravouvou (47) and for Lahiff (59), G Oghre for Thacker (54), K Marmion for Randall (63), B Grondona for Grondona (76), M Lahiff for Chawatama (77), H Thacker for Mata (80).
Sinbinned: Lahiff (47-57 mins).
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 for Larmour (38-39 mins), J Barrett for Frawley (h-t), A Porter for Boyle, T Clarkson for Slimani, RG Snyman for McCarthy, C Doris for Deegan (all 45), J Boyle for Conan (47), R Byrne for Larmour (54), L McGrath for Gibson-Park (71).
Sinbinned: Kelleher (28-38 mins), Deegan (30-40), Porter (47-57).
Referee: Pierre Brousset (France).
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