LEINSTER – 29
TOULOUSE – 13
The French side soaked up wave after wave of Leinster attack for the first 30 minutes but the dam eventually burst.
Leinster avenged their October defeat to the Top 14 side, at The RDS, to take firm control of Pool 1 in the Champions Cup. Garry Ringrose, Sean Cronin and Scott Fardy excelled but their were big performances across the park, and not all in dark, dark blue jerseys.
The scores were level at 3-3 with 34 minutes gone – Ross Byrne and Thomas Ramos trading penalties – but Leinster pressure told when Leinster got over the whitewash. Garry Ringrose looped an ambitious pass to Adam Byrne, who went close before being repelled. Jack Conan picked up the charge and bulled over, with Ross Byrne’s conversion making it 10-3 at the break.
Here is the Jack Conan try that has Leinster ahead in their crunch clash with Toulouse at the RDS.
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The exertions of trying to keep Leinster at bay in the first half appeared to take its toll after the break. 10 minutes into the second half and Leinster’s relentlessness paid off.
The swirling winds around The RDS were more of an inconvenience than anything too severe, but it did enough to force mistakes from both sides. Keeping the ball in hand appeared the wiser option but no-one told Ross Byrne and he picked out Dave Kearney with a beautiful cross-kick.
Romain Ntamack tried to bundle Kearney out but the winger would not be denied:
Toulouse looked out on their feet as Leinster ground them down and emptied the bench to try keep up the pace. Fardy and Josh van der Flier were key in making big turnovers and tackles, with Rory O’Loughlin and Ringrose marshalling the backs unit. Leinster never let up.
Sean Cronin – with his 10th try of the season – pick and scored near the tryline and a smart snipe and pass from Jamison Gibson Park set up Adam Byrne, over on the right wing, to canter over for the bonus point score.
