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Leinster crush hapless Bourgoin

Felipe Contepomi stood-in as captain for Leinster
Felipe Contepomi stood-in as captain for Leinster

Young winger Robert Kearney touched down twice as seven-try Leinster bashed Bourgoin for a facile 57-7 Heineken Cup Pool Four win at the RDS.

Michael Cheika's side had a valuable bonus point in the bag by the 44th minute as they served up a 10th successive Heineken Cup defeat for their French opponents with little difficulty.

Bourgoin, hammered 92-17 by Leinster 12 months ago, posed little threat in attack and registered their only try through Kiwi centre Glenn Davis, ten minutes after the break.

Fly-half and stand-in captain Felipe Contepomi, who also kicked 18 points, Kearney (two), Keith Gleeson, Gordon D'Arcy, Jamie Heaslip and replacement Cameron Jowitt all rattled off tries for Leinster as their second win and second bonus point of the campaign helped them remain three points behind Pool Four leaders Bath.

Ireland centre D'Arcy was unfortunate not to open the scoring in the second minute when he gobbled up possession from an Anthony Forest knock-on and hacked on only for Bourgoin fly-half Benjamin Boyet to recover and boot away the loose ball.

Leinster had their first try six minutes later when the 22-year-old Kearney, called up last month into the Ireland training squad, fended off the tackles of both centre Irakli Giorgadze and full-back Alexandre Peclier to scorch over on a 30-metre left-wing jaunt.

Contepomi converted and added a penalty on the quarter-hour for a 10-0 buffer and dominant Leinster then added two more tries and a penalty before half-time.

Bourgoin's challenge was made all the more difficult after 28 minutes when lock Julien Pierre was sin-binned for a professional foul with Leinster camped on the visitors' line.

Seconds later a short snipe from Contepomi saw him in for Leinster's second after television match official Jim Fleming's confirmation was sought.

The Pumas star converted and added a second penalty before converting flanker Gleeson's injury-time try, set up by a long cut-out pass from full-back Girvan Dempsey, from the left flank.

Cruising at 27-0, D'Arcy notched Leinster's bonus point try four minutes after the restart when he was helped over by the impressive Dempsey.

Davis replied for Bourgoin, ducking out of hooker Brian Blaney's tackle to go under the Leinster posts but that was as good as it got for the French, who were missing injured captain Julien Bonnaire (finger).

Winger Forest did get close to a second try after 57 minutes but he lost the ball forward over the Leinster tryline under pressure from D'Arcy.

Leinster eased out to the half-century in the closing quarter as number eight Heaslip sauntered over for his second try in seven days.

Kearney blazed over for his second of the night from his own 22 and Australian lock Jowitt completed the try-glut after 78 minutes from a Contepomi kick to the corner.

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