Leinster set up an Investec Champions Cup quarter-final against Sale Sharks next Saturday, but Leo Cullen's side were given a minor scare by Edinburgh in a wild 12-try affair at Aviva Stadium.
The province ran out 49-31 winners against the Scottish side, although that scoreline doesn’t tell the full story of what was a chaotic and bizarre game of rugby.
With 51 minutes played, Darcy Graham scored Edinburgh’s fifth try of the evening to give them a shock 31-28 lead, but Leinster eventually woke up to pull clear in the final quarter, as tries for Josh van der Flier, Thomas Clarkson and Rieko Ioane ensured safe passage to the last eight.
The first half, in particular, was fast and loose.
Just 68 seconds were on the clock when Tommy O’Brien got in for their opening try, and he added another seven minutes later as his side raced into a 14-0 lead.
Jimmy O’Brien and Hugo Keenan also crossed in the opening half, but the province only led 28-26 at the break after gifting their opponents four tries – three of those coming from Leinster attacking errors, as Ross Thompson scored twice, with one each for Charlie Shiel and Matt Currie.
It was a Jekyll and Hyde performance from Leinster; at times they played their best attacking rugby of the season, while Harry Byrne was a flawless seven out of seven off the tee, but that positivity will be somewhat tempered by the tries they handed to the visitors.
A wild first half needed just 70 seconds to ignite as Tommy O’Brien (above) touched down for the opening try, with quick hands from Byrne, Hugo Keenan and Dan Sheehan sending him into the right corner, after Jimmy O’Brien’s piercing break through the middle.
Byrne floated a beautiful touchline conversion to make it 7-0, and they should have extended their lead on four minutes after Keenan’s brilliant high catch in midfield, but Rieko Ioane’s poor pass drifted over the head of Jimmy O’Brien.
Ioane didn’t have to wait long to make up for that error though, playing Tommy O’Brien in for his second try with just eight minutes played, and when Byrne again nailed the touchline conversion, Leinster were 14-0 ahead with nine minutes played, and a procession appeared to be on the cards.
But out of nowhere Edinburgh landed two sucker punches in four minutes, which cut the Leinster lead to 14-12.
First, a passing mix-up between Tadhg Furlong and Jamie Osborne allowed Shiels scamped clear for Edinburgh’s first try, and just four minutes later Gibson-Park's poor tackle attempt on Ross Thompson saw the out-half break through the 22, before rounding Keenan to score and convert his try.
Leinster’s response was impressive, as they went straight back up the pitch to score their third try on 24 minutes, Jimmy O’Brien (above) the scorer this time after a dominant maul through the 22, but a chaotic first half took another sharp turn just two minutes later as Osborne’s pass back inside to his right was picked off by Thompson for an intercept try, converted to by the out-half again to cut Leinster’s lead back to 21-19.
The Leinster attack was looking sharp, although knock-ons from Ryan Baird and Andrew Porter saw good chances spurned, but they did make one stick on 35 minutes when two quick penalties saw them move deep through the 22, with Ioane passing to Keenan, who forced his way over for his side’s fourth try.
Remarkably, there was still time for another Edinburgh score before the break, and again it was a Leinster gift as Matt Currie picked the ball out of the hands of Gibson-Park to sprint clear and score, with Thompson’s conversion leaving a bizarre half 28-26 at the break.
The scores kept coming after the break – or so it seemed. Less than two minutes after the restart Josh van der Flier appeared to have scored Leinster’s fifth try, before a TMO intervention revealed a knock-on as he tried to ground the ball.
The visitors had ridden their luck at times, but 11 minutes into the second half they hit the front.
Again, there was a freakish element to it as Thompson’s cross-field kick was blocked by Osborne and sat up perfectly for Graham, but there was no doubting the class of the winger’s finish after a brilliant chip and chase saw him beat Gibson-Park to the line.
That score put Edinburgh ahead for the first time in the game, 31-28, and it was the score that finally kicked Leinster into life.
Two quick penalties, set the province up for a five-metre tap-and-go, which saw Van der Flier barge over the line and Byrne convert for a 35-31 lead on 55 minutes, and the home side gave themselves some breathing room just after the hour mark when Clarkson powered over for their sixth try, again converted by Byrne to make it a two-score game at 42-31.
With 15 minutes left and Edinburgh starting to tire after a phenomenal effort, any chances of a shock were quashed when three bullet passes saw Ioane sent into space down the left wing, and the All Black star’s lovely dummy back inside opened up space for him to race clear and score.
Again, Byrne’s conversion was straight and true as the hosts moved 49-31 ahead.
The out-half's kicking was the only consistency across a feral 80 minutes.
Scorers
Leinster: Tries: Tommy O’Brien (2), Jimmy O’Brien, Hugo Keenan, Josh van der Flier, Thomas Clarkson, Rieko Ioane
Cons: Harry Byrne (7)
Edinburgh: Tries: Charlie Shiel, Ross Thompson (2), Matt Currie, Darcy Graham
Cons: Ross Thompson (3)
Leinster: Hugo Keenan; Tommy O'Brien, Rieko Ioane, Jamie Osborne, Jimmy O'Brien; Harry Byrne, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong; Joe McCarthy, Ryan Baird; Jack Conan, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris (capt).
Replacements: Gus McCarthy (for Sheehan, 73), Alex Usanov (for Porter, 40), Thomas Clarkson (for Furlong, 56), Brian Deeny (for Baird, 71), Max Deegan (for Conan, 63), Luke McGrath (for Gibson-Park, 66), Ciaran Frawley (for Byrne, 68), Robbie Henshaw (for Jimmy O’Brien, 60).
Edinburgh: Piers O'Conor; Darcy Graham, Matt Currie, James Lang, Malelili Satala; Ross Thompson, Charlie Shiel; Pierre Schoeman, Ewan Ashman, D'arcy Rae; Marshall Sykes, Grant Gilchrist (capt); Liam McConnell, Dylan Richardson, Ben Muncaster.
Replacements: Jerry Blyth-Lafferty (for Ashman, 72), Boan Venter (for Schoeman, 47), Paul Hill (for Rae, 47), Glen Young (for Muncaster, 51), Freddy Douglas (for Richardson, 52), Ben Vellacott (for Shiels, 66), Mosese Tuipulotu (for Lang, 30), Jack Brown (for Satala, 74).
Referee: Luke Pearce
