Following Leinster’s 59-10 victory over the Lions in the United Rugby Championship quarter-finals, here are our five takeaways from the clash at the Aviva Stadium.
Top Line
Leinster bounced back from their disappointing Champions Cup final defeat to Bordeaux in style as they made light work of URC quarter-final debutants, the Lions, outscoring the South African outfit nine tries to two. The result sets up a home semi-final for Leo Cullen’s charges against the Stormers just three hours after the Glasgow Warriors and Bulls collide at Murrayfield.
It was a memorable day for James Lowe, who celebrated his 100th appearance for the Irish province by scoring a brace of tries in the final quarter of the match to put the Lions to the sword in a week where questions over his future have dominated the headlines along with the aftermath of the loss in Bilbao.
Dan Sheehan got the scoreboard ticking over for the defending champions in the ninth minute, latching onto a gorgeous skip pass from Jimmy O’Brien, and just five minutes later Leinster had their second as Hugo Keenan was assisted by Sam Prendergast.
Thomas Clarkson’s visit to the sin bin for a WWE-esque piledrive threatened to undo all of Leinster’s good work in the first half, particularly when Henco van Wyk opened the scoring for the Lions in the 35th minute, but James Ryan ensured that the hosts ended the half on a high as he dived over before the clock turned red.
That gave Leinster a 21-5 buffer at half-time, which they built on with early second half scores through Scott Penny and Prendergast. Quan Horn’s yellow card put further doubt in any comeback from the Lions, and Joe McCarthy was on hand to rub salt in their wounds on the 53rd minute.
Van Wyk completed his brace soon after the Leinster lock went over, but that was the final contribution the Lions would make to the scoreline as Leinster ran away with the result through tries from O’Brien and a Lowe pair.
Leinster line speed slays Lions attack
Jacques Nienaber will have been a man on a mission this week as he put the Leinster defence to task after the disappointment of Bilbao, and it was plainly evident on the pitch. The Lions possess a ruthless, incisive attack, and while they have been able to flex that this season, it was emphatically stifled today, and that was mostly due to the blitzing linespeed and aggression of the Nienaber-coached defence.
The showing today won’t soothe the open wounds that Bordeaux inflicted, but it did prove that when executed properly, the defence is mightily effective. It wasn’t nearly good enough on the day in Bilbao, and frankly, the quality of opposition was simply on another level, but it will give the Leinster faithful some hope that at least there may still be some silverware at the end of this campaign.
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Sam Prendergast repays Leo Cullen’s faith
Much of the discourse following Cullen’s team announcement was centred around the selection at fly-half, with Prendergast handed the starting role after being overlooked for the Investec Champions Cup final against Bordeaux Begles. It wasn’t just that Prendergast was given the nod but rather that Ciaran Frawley was snubbed completely after his standout cameo off the bench in Bilbao, where he was one of the Irish side’s best on a day where they were completely outplayed.
However, Prendergast repaid his coach’s faith in him with a truly brilliant first half performance where he hardly put a foot wrong and caused all kinds of havoc for the Lions’ defence. He ran the attack fabulously, assisted a try with a fantastic delayed pass and controlled matters with his boot.
That extended into the second half where he latched onto a loose ball that ricocheted off the shoulder of Max Deegan and cantered away from 60-odd metres out to score, just about outpacing the chasing Quan Horn.
“We all need to get behind Sam because we see him as a huge part of the future of not just Leinster, but Irish rugby as well,” Cullen said after naming his team. “And I think everyone heard Andy Farrell speak during the Six Nations when Sam and Jack [Crowley] were fighting it out for the starting role there; it’s making sure that we continue to back our young players to bring them through because you’re trying to perform at the top level of the game. Sam has had a good training week this week. The fresh energy and eyes have been important for us as a team.”
The Prendergast gamble certainly paid off today as the 23-year-old had a field day against the Lions, conducting the attack that regularly punched holes into and through their defence. He played with a real swagger, accuracy and energy that was sorely lacking in Bilbao. It was the kind of performance that should cement his place in the matchday 23 for next weekend’s meeting with the Stormers, but how Frawley fits into the conversation will remain the question.
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Dublin a step too far for Joburgers
After falling short in the Race to Eight in the first three seasons of the United Rugby Championship, the Lions finally qualified for the knockout stages, and their reward? A trip to Dublin, one of the hardest away venues in the competition, and against a team that was hurting from a Champions Cup final defeat and eager to lay down a marker.
It was always going to be a tall ask for the Joburgers to knock over the Irish juggernaut in their own backyard, all things considered, particularly because the Lions had not won a single URC fixture in the northern hemisphere this season.
It was a perfect storm for the Lions, but it shouldn’t take away from what has been a memorable season from the men in red who had the odds stacked against them from the start. Season after season, the Lions have lost key players to teams abroad or their local rivals and operate on the smallest budget of the South African franchises. Unlike the Sharks, Bulls and Stormers, the Lions don’t have the luxury of rolling out Springbok regulars in big matches, and while many of their star men are knocking on Rassie Erasmus’ door, they aren’t of that level just yet.
In fact, full-back Quan Horn was the only capped international in a red jersey this evening, and in stark contrast, Scott Penny is the only starter for Leinster who hasn’t played international rugby yet.
Quite simply, it was a mammoth effort from the Lions to even reach this point in the competition, and they deserve their flowers for getting to this stage, but they quickly learnt where they are falling short, and the absence of star men like Morne van den Berg and Ruan Venter, who were ruled out, didn’t aid their cause.
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James Lowe’s moment in the spotlight
Leinster look set to bid farewell to Lowe at the end of the season, which made today all the more special for the New Zealand-born winger who has been one of Irish Rugby’s most successful recruits. The 33-year-old reportedly turned down a one-year contract extension at the club, and according to The 42, he was extremely disappointed about the process that has led to his departure.
His departure will bring down the curtain on his international career for Ireland, but putting all that aside for the time being, it’s worth celebrating just how brilliant he has been for Leinster since his arrival from the Chiefs in 2017.
Today, he earned his 100th appearance in blue and became Leinster’s all-time leading try scorer after equalling Shane Horgan’s record of 69 tries in his last outing. Not only did he grab his 70th five-pointer but doubled up to end the evening on 71 – boasting a truly insane strike rate.
During his time with Leinster, he has won five domestic tournaments (one URC and four PRO14 titles) and helped the side win their fourth Champions Cup trophy in his debut season, scoring in the quarter-final victory over Saracens.
While many a Leinster and Ireland fan will be sad to see Lowe depart at the end of the season, today was his moment in the spotlight as all those in attendance at the Aviva rose to their feet each time he touched the ball in a threatening position while the stadium went bonkers when he did beat Horgan’s record.
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