Assured Leinster seal home advantage

Racing Metro 11 Leinster 36:LEINSTER gave themselves a considerably better chance of a third semi-final in succession, and made their treasurer happy, when they secured a home quarter-final with an assured and comprehensive win in Colombes last night.

The bonus point was indeed, just that, pure varnish, though you could see it coming from as far out as the end of the second quarter, by which stage Leinster had scored two tries, and would soon add a third.

There were five tries in all, and with Jonathan Sexton revelling in it all and scoring two of them, he accounted for 21 points.

Not surprisingly, with nothing tangible at stake, Racing abandoned the ultra-conservative, one-dimensional rugby of their domestic season – which has seen them fail to provide their fans with a solitary try in their last six home games in the Top 14 – by eschewing their drop goals and kicking games by trying to attack freestyle.

This made for an open, high-tempo running game, particularly as English referee Greg Garner took a liberal view of players going off their feet to recycle the ball.

This also made for extended bouts of multi-phases, but increasingly more by Leinster, as the only problem for the home side was that their visitors are far more advanced and assured in this approach.

They also had bundles more variety. Whereas Racing were full of hard, straight runners, Leinster had more in the way of footwork and support play.

Indeed, some of their communication and work-rate off the ball, along with their desire to clear out by committing numbers to the breakdown, was outstanding, although they won’t have been entirely happy with their defensive night’s work.

Invariably, Seán O’Brien was to the fore in his number eight role. Mind you, when you can carry the ball as dynamically as he can, you can pretty much play anywhere.

He even assumed the role of dartsman when Jason Harris Wright temporarily joined Richardt Strauss on the sidelines, twice locating his target. The wonder was he didn’t take over the goal-kicking.

Needless to say, he won another man of the match award.

Gordon D’Arcy, absent last week, was very much in the mood too, as was the lively Isaac Boss, after coach Joe Schmidt had smartly freshened his team.

But most of all this was a compelling team effort.

Even the late disintegration of a scrum was further evidence of Mike Ross’s importance, as it followed his departure.

Furthermore, Leinster looked in far better condition and aerobically fitter, and were thus way more dynamic in contact. One sensed that the longer this kind of game went on, Racing were the ones more likely to wilt. So it proved.

With Juan Martin Hernandez having given Racing an early lead with a simple penalty, Leinster cranked things up by taking Racing through an exhausting bout of recycling: there must have been close on 20 phases starting, in their half. The excellent Shane Jennings and D’Arcy gave the attack much of its early momentum, Luke Fitzgerald was given a run up the wing by Brian O’Driscoll and Sexton nearly put Shane Horgan over before eventually Leinster went wide right for O’Driscoll and Horgan to put Nacewa over; the fullback rounded the posts to simplify Sexton’s conversion.

However, there were still a mite too many missed first-up tackles by Leinster for comfort. After Hernandez – who looked even more nonchalant about it all than usual – had missed a kickable penalty, Virini Vakatawa pounced on Leo Cullen’s tap down from the ensuing drop out to skip past three tackles far too easily down a narrow corridor by the right touchline. Isaac Boss was left hammering the turf after missing the last of them.

Boss set about making amends and duly did so with a sweet little popped offload for O’Brien, who had communicated a clever and hard inside line to locate a soft fringe and score by the posts.

Sexton converted, and was soon adding the extras to the first of his brace. Off a big maul, D’Arcy threw out a huge long skip pass to Luke Fitzgerald, who beat Benjamin Fall to spark a series of inside passes as Nacewa and D’Arcy put Sexton over.

Leinster, importantly, had to withstand a couple of big lineout drives and multiple recycling to concede a penalty when Richardt Strauss was deemed offside, though Racing’s body language suggested they were relieved at the decision to take three points on half-time.

Gradually, Racing’s spirit wilted along with their energy levels, despite Pierre Berbizier being quicker to empty his bench.

Another punishing bout of recycling and a strong carry by O’Brien led to Durand wearily seeking to play the ball from an offside position for Sexton to make it 24-11.

Soon he was adding his second try. Again O’Brien gave another multi-phase attack its primary impetus after Fitzgerald and Nacewa each had a go up the middle, a couple of rucks later Sexton was brushing through tired tackles as one or two Racing players were doubled over.

He missed his conversion.

Then O’Driscoll brushed through another weary tackle to score off a half-break and offload by – who else – O’Brien. A little birthday treat for the boy called Brian, who turned 32 yesterday, which was duly serenaded by the two vocal pockets of Leinster fans.

It would be a good night or two in Paris.

SCORING SEQUENCE: 3 mins: Hernandez pen 3-0; 11: Nacewa try, Sexton con 3-7; 16: Vakatawa try 8-7; 19: O'Brien try, Sexton con 8-14; 23: Sexton try, con 8-21; 38: Hernandez pen 11-21 (half-time); 52: Sexton pen 11-24; 62: Sexton try 11-29; 70: O'Driscoll try, Sexton con 11-36.

RACING METRO 92: D Scarbrough; B Fall, V Vakatawa, A Masi, J Saubade; J Hernandez, N Durand (capt); J Brugnaut, G Arganese, S Zimmermann, S Dellape, F van der Merwe, R Vaquiin, B Le Roux, A Galindo. Replacements: A Battut for Le Roux (h-t), B Noirot for Arganese (50 mins), A Lo Cicero for Brugnaut, B Sa for Zimmermann, M Loree for Hernandez (all 54 mins), L Nallet for Dellape (57 mins), J Cronje for Vaquin (60 mins), F Steyn for Durand (71 mins).

LEINSTER: I Nacewa; S Horgan, B O’Driscoll, G D’Arcy, L Fitzgerald; J Sexton, I Boss; C Healy, R Strauss, M Ross, L Cullen (capt), N Hines, R Ruddock, S Jennings, S O’Brien. Replacements: F McFadden for Horgan (h-t), J Harris-Wright for Strauss (47 mins), H van der Merwe for Healy (50 mins), E Reddan for Boss (63 mins), Healy for Harris-Wright (68-77 mins), C Newland for Ross, D Toner for Hines, D Ryan for Jennings (all 71 mins). Not used: E O’Malley.

Referee: Greg Garner (England).