Leinster 15 Edinburgh 13: There's a strong argument for this being Leinster's worst showing of the entire campaign. But they survived to finish top of the Pro 12 pile and thereby secure a home semi-final against Ulster next Saturday.
They will have to do it without Richardt Strauss, whose season and possible tour to Argentina is over after he suffered a badly torn hamstring, while Mike McCarthy is also expected to miss out after straining a calf muscle. Brian O'Driscoll damaged his shoulder, but is expected to be fit for next Saturday's derby clash.
The first half won’t live long in the memory. Already a last day of school feel to it all, word filtered through after 25 minutes about Glasgow’s bonus point try against Zebre putting them top of the table. That meant Leinster were hosting Munster, and not Ulster, next weekend.
Suddenly the victory mattered.
Leinster had rumbled into an early lead when Jordi Murphy did what Leo Cullen threatened to do by powering over the Edinburgh try-line.
Jimmy Gopperth missed the conversion so Greig Laidlaw's second penalty after 39 minutes put the visitors 6-5 ahead. Maybe they were playing for their departing captain – Laidlaw joins Gloucester this summer – or maybe Leinster were just dire. Certainly the stream of broken Edinburgh players – Sam Beard, David Denton and Matt Scott – being helped ashore indicated the latter.
Nothing was working; the subconscious malaise that can cloak players more accustomed to the highest plain of intensity saw even O'Driscoll's backwards-between-the-legs-flick-pass to Dave Kearney lack the necessary zip. Kearney knocked on. As did many others.
At least the urgency and intent was evident in the second half, just not the fluency to break through Edinburgh’s defence.
Gopperth's penalty on 51 minutes made it 8-6 as Seán O'Brien's earlier than expected comeback was concluded, more for precautionary reasons. In came Dominic Ryan with Cian Healy and Marty Moore also bounding onto the pitch.
The young heavies would surely whip up a storm.
Then, perhaps for the last time, Cullen departed. The 36-year-old’s career will never be seen again; the last of the semi-professionals with Blackrock until Leinster embraced professionalism and his Leicester heroics before returning home where he succeeded O’Driscoll as captain for the most successful period in Ireland’s rugby history.
“He’s just the heartbeat of the club,” said O’Driscoll afterwards.
Tonight won’t even merit a footnote in that story.
The killer blow, when it eventually landed, looked so simple but it was O’Driscoll’s clever decoy run that created the hole for Gopperth to send Dave Kearney steaming through.
That should have been that. It wasn't though, as Laidlaw threatened to spoil the post-game love-in when slipping inside Rhys Ruddock before sending Tim Visser under the posts. The scrumhalf's conversion made it 15-13 with 15 minutes remaining.
Amidst all this O’Driscoll needed treatment for a damaged shoulder. All the replacements had been used so he soldiered on.
In pain to the end.
Scoring sequence - 6 mins: G Laidlaw pen, 0-3; 10 mins: J Murphy try, 5-3; 40 mins: G Laidlaw pen, 5-6. Half-time. 52 mins: J Gopperth pen, 8-6; 57 mins: D Kearney try, 13-6; J Gopperth conv, 15-6; 65 mins: T Visser try, 15-11; Laidlaw conv, 15-13.
LEINSTER: R Kearney; F McFadden, B O'Driscoll, G D'Arcy, D Kearney; J Gopperth, I Boss; J McGrath, R Strauss, M Ross; L Cullen (capt), M McCarthy; S O'Brien, J Murphy, J Heaslip. Replacements: S Cronin for R Strauss (12 mins, inj), D Ryan for S O'Brien (51 mins), C Healy for J McGrath, M Moore for M Ross (both 52 mins), R Ruddock for L Cullen (54 mins), B Macken for R Kearney (61 mins), I Madigan for G D'Arcy (63 mins), L McGrtah for M McCarthy (77 mins).
EDINBURGH: C Bezuidenhout; S Beard, M Scott, A Strauss, T Visser; H Leonard, G Laidlaw (capt); A Dickinson, R Ford, W Nel; G Gilchrist, B Toolis; M Coman, T Leonardi, D Denton. Replacements: G Hart for S Beard (3 mins, inj), D Basilaia for D Denton (27 mins, inj), B Atiga for M Scott (28 mins), A Toolis for B Toolis (58 mins), J Hilterbrand for R Ford, S Berghan for W Nel (63 mins), P Francis for C Bezuidenhout (60 mins).
Referee: Leighton Hodges (WRU).
Semi-final line-ups
Friday May 16th
Glasgow v Munster, Scotstoun, 7.35pm
Saturday May 17th
Leinster v Ulster, RDS, 7.0pm
