Bath 39 Leinster 19
The final scoreline was distorted by two late, converted tries for Bath, the English side a fuller incarnation of their strongest side than their hosts at Donnybrook.
Leinster coach Leo Cullen used all 29 players, some more than once, and will be reasonably satisfied with substantial swathes of the rugby played by the home side.
They didn’t die wondering. They put width on the ball and looked to offload where possible in the tackle. It was far from flawless but the intent, and at times execution, was laudable.
There were positives too from an individual perspective. Cian Healy was lively on his return. Rob Kearney distributed to good effect, while Garry Ringrose exuded class. His footwork and lines of running were of a particularly high calibre. Jamison Gibson-Park was impressive on his debut, his speed of thought and passing ensuring that Leinster were able to play with a high tempo.
Catching the eye
Rory O’Loughlin had a brilliant game across a variety of positions. Noel Reid, Dan Leavy, Joey Carbery and Peader Timmins caught the eye; so too Adam Byrne.
If there was one moment in the opening 40 minutes that supporters will hope is a barometer of things to come, it materialised in the build-up to a try from secondrow and captain Ross Molony; a homily to sharp angles, intelligent offloading, clever support lines and excellent footwork.
Healy, took a super angle onto Mike McCarthy’s pop pass, Dan Leavy and Gibson-Park passed out of the tackle, and when the ball was flung wide Ringrose’s shimmies bamboozled a couple of defenders. On the recycle, Gibson-Park’s flat pass allowed Joey Carbery to send Moloney under the posts.
It was the high watermark from a Leinster perspective in that half but there were other moments of great rugby clarity, collectively and individually.
And still the home side trailed 20-12, giving up 13 points to their opponents in the first 12 minutes.
Leinster got a little narrow in defence at times, didn’t fill the field, got caught with a few doglegs and, with numbers down out wide, looked for a couple of man-and-ball tackles that were a split second late.
Their opening try was also characterised by attacking fluency, Healy getting a nudge on his side of a scrum, Gibson-Park hitting Rob Kearney on a flat ball and the fullback finding Adam Byrne with a beautifully timed pass for the winger to score in the corner.
Bath too played rugby that was easy on the eye, scoring a brace of their own; a standout moment was the wonderful pass out-of-the-tackle by England fullback Anthony Watson.
Fluency
Cullen made nine changes at half-time and another four before 10 minutes had elapsed in the second half. Even after that they kept coming. It’s understandable that the fluency of the first half gave way to more disjointed fare.
Leinster did have chances, replacement Barry Daly just failing to gather a clever chip through with the try line beckoning and there were one or two other moments when a better decision in possession might have yielded a try.
Instead it was Bath who extended their lead, the forwards making the hard yards to give Semesa Rokoduguni an easy run in; although he was to receive a yellow card soon after when deliberately batting down a try scoring pass. Barry Daly was denied on that occasion, but minutes later he was sent scampering over for a try by the excellent O’Loughlin.
Breakaway try
Ross Byrne converted from the touchline but a breakaway try from replacement Harry Davies and another from Ford following a blocked-down kick ensured that the honours on the night went to visiting side. The final margin was a tad harsh but Bath deserved their victory.
LEINSTER: R Kearney; A Byrne, R O'Loughlin, N Reid, G Ringrose; J Carbery, J Gibson Park; C Healy, J Tracy, M Bent; R Molony (capt), M McCarthy; J Murphy, D Leavy, P Timmins. Replacements: P Dooley for Healy, N McCarthy for Gibson Park, J van der Flier for Timmins, D Ryan for Murphy, I Nagle for Moloney, B Byrne for Tracy, C Marsh for Carbery, Z Kirchner for O'Loughlin, B Daly for Kearney (all half-time), J Loughman for Bent, H Triggs for McCarthy (both 46 mins), T Daly for Reid, O'Loughlin for Ringrose (both 49 mins), A Porter for Dooley, Murphy for Nagle, Timmins for Leavy (all 60 mins), C Rock for McCarthy, R Byrne for Marsh (63 mins), Marsh for A Byrne (73 mins), S McNulty for O'Loughlin (76 mins).
BATH: A Watson; J Williams, M Clark, D Bowden, S Rokoduguni; R Priestland, K Fotuali'i; N Auterac, R Batty, H Thomas; L Charteris, D Attwood; M Garvey (capt), D Denton, T Faletau. Replacements: N Catt for Auterac, C Ewels for Charteris (both half-time), T Ellis for Denton, D Sisi for Faletau (both 49 mins), G Ford for Priestland, T Dunn for Batty, K Palma Newport for Thomas, H Davies for Williams (all 61 mins) , R Jennings for Bowden (62 mins). Referee: F Murphy (IRFU)
