Leinster have gained firm control of Pool 4 in the Investec Champions Cup, but Leo Cullen's side had to endure a sluggish first half before eventually running out 37-27 winners against Sale Sharks at the RDS.
The four-time champions scored five tries and picked up a bonus-point in the 10-point win, but they were made to fight for their scores by the Premiership side, who held a surprise 13-3 lead at one stage in the opening half.
Sale had come to Dublin with their mind firmly on next week's Premiership meeting with Saracens, making 11 changes from last week’s win against Stade Francais.
The hosts had gone off as 24-point favourites for this sold-out game at the RDS, but many of us thought we could be left eating our words when a beautifully-worked try from Sharks centre Connor Doherty put his side ahead by 10 after just 24 minutes.
While it took Leinster until the 44th minute to take the lead, courtesy of Jamison Gibson-Park's try, they’d largely been in control, let down by a litany of careless errors.
Leinster 30-13 Sale
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) December 16, 2023
And there is the bonus point for Leinster.
Hugo Keenan is inches short but Ryan Baird is in the right place to pick and stick the ball down.
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Josh van der Flier was in a class of his own throughout, and it was his try just before half time that got them back within touching distance at 13-11, while Ciarán Frawley had landed two earlier penalties to keep the scoreboard ticking over.
From the moment the hosts went ahead early in the second half, a shock defeat never really looked on the cards, and further tries followed for the hosts, with Robbie Henshaw, Ryan Baird, Cian Healy seeing them move into a 24-point lead in the final 10 minutes.
Sale did hit the province for two late tries, but with the second of those scores from Tom Curtis coming in the final play of the game, it wasn't enough to threaten a comeback, or give the visitors a bonus-point of their own to bring home.
Leinster were under pressure in the early stages. A Tom Roebuck kick pinned them back into their own corner, and while they cleared their lines, Sale ran it right back at them, coming close in the corner with left wing Aaron Reed.
Robbie Henshaw thought he'd won a turnover when he forced Telusa Veainu into a knock-on, but after checking with the TMO, referee Pierre Brousset sent the Leinster wing to the sin-bin, after he had played the Sale full-back early. From the resulting penalty, Robert du Preez kicked the visitors into a 3-0 lead after three minutes.
Once Leinster got the ball in their hands they looked comfortable, while Andrew Porter’s dominance at the scrum saw them earn a couple of penalties in quick succession.
It gave them the platform to get over the Sale line twice in the opening 15 minutes, but couldn't make it count. Van der Flier had a try ruled out after a knock-on from Baird, while Baird was held up over the line moments later.
Having spurned two chances, Leinster took the safe approach on 15 minutes when Frawley kicked them level with a penalty in front of the posts, but Sale were soon back in front, a second Du Preez penalty in midfield restoring their three-point lead at 6-3.
Having come through Leinster’s dominant period, Sale stunned the hosts with the opening try of the game on 24 minutes. Raffi Quirke’s clever box-kick in behind the defensive line was retained by Robert du Preez, before the out-half popped a pass out to Connor Doherty who raced in to score, as Sale moved 13-3 in front.
A second Frawley penalty trimmed the Sale lead to 13-6 on 29 minutes, but while the visitors were troubling Leinster with their clever kicking game, their scrum was getting pummeled.
When they gave up a fourth scrum penalty on 35 minutes, tighthead James Harper was yellow-carded, and with a man advantage, Leinster finally made it count before half-time.
Clever footwork from Frawley got them into position, as he set up Sheehan to break down the wing, and after they won a penalty several phases later, they went back into the corner before mauling their way over through Van der Flier (below).
Frawley couldn't make his conversion stick from the right touchline, but as the half-time whistle blew, Leinster were poised to kick on, trailing 13-11.
They started the second half in determined fashion, and moved ahead when Gibson-Park sprinted into the corner for their second try on 43 minutes.
It ended an incredible three-minute period of unbroken possession for the hosts, with Sale's resolve finally broken after an unfortunate slip by Tom Roebuck to allow Van der Flier break down the touchline, before he passed inside to his scrum-half to score. Frawley’s conversion pulled wide again, but Leinster had at least moved 16-13 ahead.
On 53 minutes, Leinster were back on the attack, courtesy of a brainless penalty conceded by Sale replacement lock Jonny Hill, the British and Irish Lion caught for pinning Van der Flier down on the ground off the ball.
He was made to pay for the foolishness, with the hosts grabbing their third try through a powerful carry up the middle from Henshaw, with Sheehan’s sniping run from the maul having brought them close to the line.
Having missed two previous conversions from the touchlines, Frawley’s effort from under the posts was a tap-over, as he put daylight between the sides at 23-13.
Sale had put up a strong fight, but Leinster’s dominance was showing as the game drew towards the hour mark, and on 62 minutes the home side made sure of the win with the bonus-point score to make it 30-13.
It was Baird who dived over for that fourth try, the flanker spotting a gap at the side of a ruck, after some beautiful interplay from Charlie Ngatai, Henshaw and Hugo Keenan brought them close to the line.
They pushed out that advantage to 24 points with 11 minutes left, Cian Healy’s try from close range awarded after a TMO referral for a potential knock-on, while Cian Prendergast – who had replaced Frawley for his European debut – tapped over the conversion to make it 37-13.
There was still time for Sale to have a final word, Tommy Taylor and Tom Curtis taking advantage of some sloppy Leinster defending, and a yellow card for Hugo Keenan, to make the scoreboard respectable, and give Leinster head coach Leo Cullen some frustrations ahead of their St Stephen's Day meeting with Munster at Thomond Park.
Leinster: Hugo Keenan; Jordan Larmour, Garry Ringrose (co-capt), Robbie Henshaw, Jimmy O'Brien; Ciarán Frawley, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Thomas Clarkson; Jason Jenkins, James Ryan (co-capt); Ryan Baird, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris.
Replacements: Rónan Kelleher, Cian Healy, Michael Ala'alatoa, Joe McCarthy, Jack Conan, Ben Murphy, Sam Prendergast, Charlie Ngatai.
Sale: Telusa Veainu; Tom Roebuck, Connor Doherty, Sam Bedlow, Arron Reed; Rob du Preez, Raffi Quirke; Ross Harrison, Tommy Taylor, James Harper; Ben Bamber, Josh Beaumont; Ernst van Rhyn, Sam Dugdale, Rouban Birch.
Replacements: Ethan Caine, Tumy Onasanya, Asher Opoku-Fordjour, Jonny Hill, JL du Preez, Nye Thomas, Tom Curtis, Joe Carpenter.
Referee: Pierre Brousset (Fra)
