There was no post-Bilbao hangover for Leinster as they made light work of a tired Lions side to secure their place in the semi-finals of the BKT United Rugby Championship
Seven days on from their painful Champions Cup final defeat to Bordeaux-Begles, Leo Cullen's team comfortably saw off the South Africans 59-10, who looked every bit like a group that had been on tour for four weeks.
The win, in front of a crowd of just 9,493 supporters at Aviva Stadium, sets up a semi-final against Stormers next Saturday, although there will be an injury worry over player of the match Joe McCarthy, who appeared to be limping when he stepped out of the game in the final quarter.
All eyes were on James Lowe as the Ireland international made his 100th appearance for the province.
The wing, who is reportedly set to leave Leinster after turning down a contract offer, is now out on his own as their record try-scorer as he crossed for two second-half tries, bringing him up to 71 in a Leinster shirt.
The Leinster attack looked smooth and sharp throughout, particularly off setpieces, as Sam Prendergast impressed running the backline, while the out-half scored a try and kicked seven conversions in an assured display.
Dan Sheehan, Hugo Keenan and James Ryan all crossed in the opening half to give them a 21-5 lead at the break, before Scott Penny and Prendergast’s scores early in the second half put them out of sight, with Gus McCarthy and Jimmy O’Brien also among the try-scorers.
The opening three minutes were about as good as it got for the Lions as they carved out some early possession, that brief attack ended by Penny’s jackal penalty.
The home side were up and running on nine minutes when they worked the opening try, with Prendergast sending Keenan into space into the 22, before Luke McGrath’s snipe brought them close to the line.
With the Lions defence sucked in, two sharp passes found Sheehan in open space, and the hooker had a simple run in to score, as Prendergast converted for 7-0.
Their attack off setpiece was sharp early on, and they almost ripped the Lions open for a sensational try on 13 minutes; Prendergast, Lowe, Rieko Ioane, Keenan and McGrath all involved to send Jimmy O’Brien towards the line, but a great cover tackle from Quan Horn held him up.
Horn’s efforts were ultimately in vain. From the resulting goalline drop, Ioane ran it back to the 22 to set up another attack, before a delicate delayed pass from Prendergast sent Keenan through a gap to score, as Leinster moved 14-0 in front.
By now Leinster were dominant but sloppy, while a long northern hemisphere tour was showing for the Lions; out-half Chris Smith kicked out on the full twice in a matter of minutes to give Leinster prime attacking opportunities, but uncharacteristic knock-ons from Lowe and Keenan saw those mistakes go unpunished.
They were made to pay for that wastefulness on 34 minutes when the Lions finally worked their way up to the 22, before Clarkson’s bizarre attempt to tackle Steyn saw him given a yellow card, and the visitors made that chance count as Henco van Wyk forced his way over the line to cut the gap to 14-5.
It was nothing more than a speedbump for Leinster though, as they marched right back down to the Lions 22, before a monstrous carry from McCarthy brought them close to the line. Sheehan’s pick-and-go was stopped just short, but McCarthy’s quick pass found Ryan in space, and the second row dived over for a 21-5 half time lead.
The second half was only three minutes old when they extended their lead, Penny diving over in the left corner from a looping Ioane pass, after Ryan’s tip-on to Doris had sent the Leinster captain bursting through a seam in the defence.
Prendergast’s conversion drifted right and wide, but the out-half more than made up for it two minutes later when he intercepted a deflected Smith pass just outside his own 22 to sprint in for a try, adding the extras himself, with the game now killed off at 33-5.
On 53 minutes the Lions were reduced to 14 players when Horn was sent to the sin-bin for a deliberate knock-on, and Leinster punished it instantly as Gus McCarthy slingshotted from a maul to dive in for the sixth try, as Prendergast converted for 40-5.
The Lions pulled a try back just before the hour, Van Wyk grabbing his second of the afternoon after a rare backfield error from Keenan, where he let Haashim Pead’s kick dribble between his legs, but they were soon celebrating a try of their own as they worked the ball from touchline to touchline and back again, as O’Brien finished to make it 47-10.
It felt inevitable that Lowe would be able to mark his big night with a try, and on 68 minutes he got his moment, as O’Brien floated a pass over to his left wing, and the 33-year-old still had work to do as he forced his way over the line against the covering defence.
And with the final play of the game he put some distance between himself and Shane Horgan on the try-scoring chart, his 71st in Leinster colours capping off a dominant win, ahead of a semi-final against the Stormers next Saturday.
Scorers
Leinster: Tries: Dan Sheehan, Hugo Keenan, James Ryan, Scott Penny, Sam Prendergast, Gus McCarthy, Jimmy O’Brien, James Lowe (2)
Cons: Sam Prendergast (7)
Lions: Tries: Henco van Wyk (2)
Leinster: Hugo Keenan; Jimmy O'Brien, Rieko Ioane, Jamie Osborne, James Lowe; Sam Prendergast, Luke McGrath; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Thomas Clarkson; Joe McCarthy, James Ryan; Max Deegan, Scott Penny, Caelan Doris (capt).
Replacements: Gus McCarthy (for Sheehan, 52), Alex Usanov (for Porter, 55), Rabah Slimani (for Clarkson, 55), Diarmuid Mangan (for Ryan, 53), Josh van der Flier (for Doris, 52), Jamison Gibson-Park (for McGrath, 62), Harry Byrne (for Keenan, 62), Robbie Henshaw (for McCarthy, 65).
Lions: Quan Horn; Angelo Davids, Henco van Wyk, Richard Kriel, Erich Cronje; Chris Smith, Nico Steyn; SJ Kotze, PJ Botha, Sebastian Lombard; Reinhard Nothnagel, Darrien Landsberg; Siba Mahashe, Batho Hlekani, Francke Horn (capt).
Replacements: Franco Marais (for Botha, 46), Eddie Davids (for Kotze, 52), RF Schoeman (for Lombard, 45), Ruan Delport (for Hlekani, 58), Siba Qoma (for Landsberg, 52), JC Pretorius (for F. Horn, 62), Rynhard Jonker (for Cronje, 11-21 HIA and for Van Wyk, 58), Haashim Pead (for Steyn, 53).
Referee: Sam Grove-White (SRU)
