Leinster 52 Bath 27:AN ABSAILING Santa Claus from the stadium roof; the Pogues at half-time; Jonathan Sexton, Luke Fitzgerald and Rob Kearney ripping through Bath in the first half and Leinster, bold as brass pushing for a bonus try before referee Roman Poite could blow his whistle for half-time.
This was one Heineken Cup match that was put to bed long before Shane MacGowan belted out Fairytale of New York at the break.
Sexton’s masterful shaping of the match, his ability to bring up the tempo or take heat out along with a few perfect wedges to within inches of the touchline; Devin Toner confirming the softly, softly approach to adding bulk to his huge frame is paying off; Fitzgerald back again to his luminous best and once or twice a touch cavalier.
Probably too many penalties conceded in the first quarter and too many tries against but it was no night for picking holes when the defending champions ran in seven and continue the pool pace-setting in their drive for a home quarter-final. Six points clear of Glasgow, a trip to Firhill in the new year and the grand design is shaping up.
Leinster impressively stretched their legs but it was a match full of cameos and imperfection. A Bath attack, which if it had real edge, could have done damage when Leo Cullen was sinbinned for slapping Jack Cuthbert on 23 minutes; Sexton’s outrageous drop goal that he lined up on 11 minutes from his own half-way line before thinking about the distance and taking it five metres on before the launch was a gem.
For his own try Sexton triggered the right-to-left movement, took the ball up a second time and then a third as he crossed over just after half an hour. The conservative decision to kick rather than opt for a scrum minutes later after Poite had warned the Bath pack lacked enterprise.
But no real quibbles and Fitzgerald, again, quickly allayed any fears about the prospects of a fourth try. Before a significant rump of the 46,365 crowd could slink back from the bars after halftime the Leinster wing had taken the ball just outside his own 22, sidestepped Sam Vesty and brought the more punctual spectators to their feet. That was the contest over and a winning bonus point all inside of 45 minutes.
In all it was a mixed bag, especially after the raft of changes in the second half. But Leinster were so much in charge of their fourth match of the pool that this contest became a piece of entertainment and at times a spectacle. The fans could afford to stand back and admire.
Bath scored 20 points, very often enough to win a match and those sorts of issues will play on coach Joe Schmidt’s mind. But it really was, when Leinster put their minds to it and played with bite and urgency, a case of how many more they could score.
A few lineouts went awry early on and the penalty count was too high in the first quarter. Add a few loose tackles in the closing stages of the match and a case against the home side could be built. Eoin O’Malley went too high on Stephen Donald and the Kiwi ran through him just after the hour for his try. The outside centre won’t enjoy the replay of that moment.
Schmidt pointed to a second-half incident where Cian Healy appeared to have been fouled and was replaced. The incident, which was not sanctioned by Poite, unsettled some of the Leinster players and the closing stages was where home-team cohesion lost some of its glue. But judging them then when the match was over seems churlish on a day Leinster soared.
Fitzgerald’s two tries gave him profile with Kearney atoning for last week by releasing him for the first and scoring another himself. Rhys Ruddock, Ian Madigan and Sexton also touched down, the outhalf adding six conversions too.
In all there were two pivotal moments. When Cullen departed in the first half Leinster scored a try rather than concede one. Then when Vesty was binned after the break Fitzgerald was running in his second for the bonus point all within 90 seconds of the Bath player taking his place on the bench.
Lacking any sort of seasonal spirit on a cold night in Dublin, the mood was take more than give and so Leinster rattled along, occasionally flawed but always inventive and game.
Scoring sequence – 3 mins: R Kearney try, J Sexton con 7-0; O Barkley pen 7-3; 11: Sexton drop gl 10-3; 14: O Barkley pen 10-6; 26: L Fitzgerald try, Sexton con 17-6; 33: Sexton try and con 24-6. Half-time. 41: Fitzgerald try, Sexton pen 31-6; 50: Reddan try, Sexton con 38-6; 57: R Ruddock try, Sexton con 45-6; 63: S Donald try, Barkley con 45-13; 74: D Attwood try, Barkley con 45-20; 78: I Madigan try, Nacewa con 52-20; 81: B Williams try, Barkley con 52-27
LEINSTER:R Kearney; I Nacewa, E OMalley, F McFadden, L Fitzgerald; J Sexton, E Reddan; H Van Der Merwe, R Strauss, M Ross, L Cullen (capt), D Toner, S OBrien, S Jennings, J Heaslip. Replacements: C Healy for van der Merwe (40 mins); S Cronin for Strauss, R Ruddock for S O'Brien, G D'Arcy for McFadden (all 51); K McLaughlin for Cullen (57); I Madigan for Sexton (58); N White for M Ross (64); I Boss for Jennings (72).
BATH:S Vesty; J Cuthbert, M Banahan, O Barkley, N Abendanon; S Donald, M Claassens; D Flatman, C Biller, D Wilson, D Attwood, R Caldwell, F Louw (capt), G Mercer, S Taylor. Replacements: A Beattie for Taylor (53 mins); R Batty for Mercer, C Cook for Claassens, B Williams for Cuthbert (all 55); N Catt for Flatman, A Perenise for Wilson (both 65); T Heathcote for Donald (68). Yellow cards: Leo Cullen (23); S Vesty (49); C Biller (54).
Referee:Romain Poite (France).
