BATH - 10
LEINSTER - 17
The Leinster juggernaut is rumbling in Europe again but it took a sublime Jordan Larmour moment to get the job done at The Rec.
The reigning champions will know they were in a match this evening and there will be a lot of sore bodies on the flight back to Dublin. Still, the job is done.
The first 40 minutes was a real dog-fight, with the forwards winning most of the plaudits.
Josh van der Flier and Tadhg Furlong were the Leinster stand-outs while Francois Louw and Sam Underhill did a lot of damage in Bath colours. The hoss hit the front when Henry Thomas bulled over after a Leinster scrum got into a lot of trouble.
Johnny Sexton and Garry Ringrose answered back with two line breaks in close succession but Louw dipped into his umpteenth breakdown to secure a crucial turnover in the shadow of his own posts.
Leinster were undeterred by that set-back and were soon celebrating a try after a smart Sexton kick and hard Jordan Larmour chase. They won a line-out in the Bath 22 and, this time, powered over with the maul. Sean Cronin got the back slaps as Sexton made up for an earlier penalty miss by converting.
HALF-TIME: Bath 7-7 Leinster
The second half looked to be more of the same - Leinster getting into good positions only to squander possession or get turned over - until Bath tried to cut loose and do some damage out wide.
Jordan Larmour read a looping, skip pass a mile off and bagged an intercept try to put his side 12-7 ahead. Sexton added two more and the gift was gratefully accepted.
https://twitter.com/btsportrugby/status/1071441744024219649
The next big moment arrived just before the hour mark as the Leinster scrum gobbled up Bath to win a penalty near halfway and send an emphatic message. The champs were purring.
Bath were not done yet, though. They threw on fresh bodies and heaved forward in the final 20 minutes. It took a superb James Lowe kick-chase to get some relief and, as a well-deserved bonus, a penalty that sub Ross Byrne converted to make it a 10-point game.
Bath piled forward for late scores but had to settle for a penalty and a losing bonus point. Both sides face off at the Aviva Stadium next Saturday.
