Leinster 10, Treviso 0: As poor a season as witnessed since the move to fortress RDS ended in all too familiar fashion. If there were more food stalls this gathering could have been mistaken for A Taste of Dublin.
Amidst a flurry of kick tennis Leinster took an early 7-0 lead. Astonishingly it stayed that way until Jimmy Gopperth's penalty in the 78th minute after Gordon D'Arcy was spear tackled by Edoardo Gori. The Treviso scrumhalf was sent off as D'Arcy recovered to play the last two home minutes of a 17-year career in blue. He deserved a better send off.
If Jayden Hayward had kicked his two penalties it would have been a genuinely nervy finish. Instead it's the lethargy of professional athletes that rankles. That charge can't be levelled at some, like Jamie Heaslip or the Kearney brothers, but the collective performance was depressingly flat.
Leinster, at home, were in a constant battle to secure their own ball.
A positive is needed. Concerns about Heaslip replacing Brian O'Driscoll as Ireland captain in 2013, exacerbated by a disappointing Six Nations that year, have been allayed this season. In a campaign riddled with inconsistency, the leadership role seems to have galvanised the 31-year-old.
The cruiserweight number eight has been nothing but superb. In every game, particularly during error strewn occasions like last night, when Treviso speared into the Leinster 22, one man, above all others, made the shuddering tackles or slowed the visitors’ rhythm.
Heaslip even got the scoreboard ticking after four minutes when picking from the base and carrying blind, he forced Gori to drift towards Dave Kearney before carrying Nicola Cattina over the line. Ian Madigan landed the conversion for an ideal start in miserable conditions.
Such dampness fitted the general mood. The last two times a Leinster crowd showed up for a final home game of the season they were watching actual finals. On this occasion, the RDS bade farewell to arguably the greatest – certainly the most understated – Leinster stalwarts as D’Arcy and Shane Jennings took their leave.
Jennings, laid low by concussion since April 12th, gave a hurried wave as the 11,332 in attendance warmly rose to their feet. No matter. The St Mary’s flanker more than paid his dues in two instalments sandwiched between 60 games for the Leicester Tigers.
D’Arcy arrived on the hour mark when they needed his presence as much as they ever have. Of course sport remains forever cruel with Gori walking for his ugly tackle on him.
There was a positive for Leinster, with Edinburgh's 19-5 away defeat to the Dragons meaning automatic Champions Cup promotion is secured - and a potential play-off against Gloucester avoided.
LEINSTER: R Kearney; Z Kirchner, B Te'o, I Madigan, D Kearney; J Gopperth, E Reddan; J McGrath, R Strauss, M Ross; D Toner, M McCarthy; J Murphy, S O'Brien, J Heaslip (capt). Replacements: M Bent for J McGrath, T Furlong for M Ross, I Boss for E Reddan (all 56 min), G D'Arcy for I Madigna (60), T Denton for M McCarthy, J Conan for J Murphy (both 75 ). Yellow card: S O'Brien (78 min).
TREVISO: J Hayward; A Pratichetti, L Morisi, E Bacchin, L Nitoglia; S Christie, E Gori; M Zanusso, D Giazzon, R Harden; M Fuser, C van Zyl (capt); P Derbyshire, N Cattina, M Luamanu. Replacements: A Esposito for A Pratichetti (blood, 18-23 min), S Manu for R Harden (45), R Acosta for M Zanusso, F Minto for N Cattina, M Swanepoel for C van Zyl (all 53 ), A Anae for D Giazzon (59 ), A Esposito for L Morisi (55), M Lazzaroni for P Derbyshire (66). Yellow card: F Minto (78 min). Red card: E Gori (78 min).
Referee: L Hodges (Wal).
