Leinster looked to be on a mission from the first minute of the affair as they came out against Glasgow Warriors and secured a 52-00 win to secure their place in the Investec Champions Cup semi-final.
Dominating the early exchanges to keep the visitors camped within their own half, the Irish giants thought they had a 10-minute lead when Jordie Barrett weaved his way under the posts, but a previous knock-on meant the home fans were forced back into their seats.
But it was only a matter of time before the Irish giants found their way through. Just three minutes later, saw them go over for the first of the evening when some nifty hands saw the ball end in Max Deegan’s possession before he crossed at the extremities on the right.
Glasgow tried to up the ante post-first score, but their attacks brought frailties at the back.
They were caught out once again in 22 minutes, a Leinster penalty try increased the deficit yet further.
Jamison Gibson-Park then shone when he swiftly fed out the ball from the scrum to a James Lowe pounding down the left, leaving him the simple task of crossing into touch.
And Leinster were just getting going, much to the Warriors’ woes. A swooping move found its way out to Tommy O’Brien on the right for the winger to grab the side’s fourth in 30 minutes.
Desperate for the break to come, things went from bad to worse for the Scots. Sam Prendergast tore apart their back line when his kicked-through ball bobbled into Hugo Keenan’s stride, who gladly mopped up for 33-0 as Leinster hit fifth gear.
The start of the second period brought with it Glasgow’s longest spell in the Leinster half and 22, but it didn’t take long for the first-half service to be resumed.
Garry Ringrose battled his way through, smothered by Warriors, to tap home on 46 minutes for Leinster’s 40 points.
A flurry of Leinster subs brought more worries the Warriors’ way, with Henshaw’s 100th appearance adding to the festive Dublin mood.
Also subbed on, Dan Sheehan’s introduction clearly had the desired impact - the hooker soon rolled over down the left as the Irish neared the half century.
The Warriors battled on and kept the Leinster beast at bay for the most part, but tiring legs were finally exploited on 75 minutes when a perfectly chipped Ross Byrne ball over the top was met by a charging Max Deegan.
Another week, another statement nilling for Leinster. With 114 points scored for none conceded in less than a week, Cullen’s men send yet another powerful message to the rest of the Investec Champions Cup crowd.
Either Northampton Saints or Castres Olympique will be the next ones to fancy their chances in what will be the Irish side's fifth semi-final in as many seasons. Their relentless hunt for a fifth star goes on.
Scorers:
Leinster Rugby: Tries: Max Deegan, Penalty try, James Lowe, Tommy O'Brien, Hugo Keenan, Garry Ringrose, Dan Sheehan, Max Deegan. Conversions: Sam Prendergast (5)
Teams:
Leinster Rugby: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Tommy O’Brien, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 James Lowe, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Jack Conan (c),7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Max Deegan, 5 RG Snyman, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Ronan Kelleher, 1 Cian Healy. Replacements: 16 Dan Sheehan, 17 Andrew Porter, 18 Rabah Slimani, 19 Diarmuid Mangan, 20 Caelan Doris, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Ross Byrne, 23 Robbie Henshaw.
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Kyle Rowe, 14 Jamie Dobie, 13 Stafford McDowall, 12 Tom Jordan, 11 Kyle Steyn (c), 10 Adam Hastings, 9 George Horne, 8 Sione Vailanu, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Matt Fagerson, 5 Alex Samuel, 4 Gregor Brown, 3 Sam Talakai, 2 Johnny Matthews, 1 Nathan McBeth. Replacements: 16 Grant Stewart, 17 Jamie Bhatti, 18 Patrick Schickerling, 19 JP du Preez, 20 Max Williamson, 21 Euan Ferrie, 22 Ben Afshar, 23 Sebastian Cancelliere.