Leinster were made to feel very uncomfortable by Scarlets before pulling clear in the United Rugby Championship for a 33-21 win in a quarter-final clash at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The tries by James Lowe, Jamison Gibson-Park, Jamie Osborne and Hugo Keenan were backed up by an improved second half.
The last thing the Welshmen needed was to be sent reeling onto the back foot where Leinster could dictate matters. The early kick tennis between scrum-half Archie Hughes and left-wing Lowe went the way of Leinster.
Rónan Kelleher was keen to show muscular intent. Mastery of the basics by Keenan and Jack Conan was key to opening the way for Lowe to open the scoring in the fourth minute.
A vigilant defence from Leinster led to a lineout close to the Scarlets’ 22.
The combination of Keenan and Lowe caused confusion and number eight Jack Conan galloped into space before finding Gibson Park’s inside line to send the scrum-half over to score. Sam Prendergast converted to give the home side a 12-point lead after 10 minutes.
Scarlets had to improve discipline to make a game of it, or they would be quickly overwhelmed by the home side’s speed of movement. Out-half Sam Costelow and centre Joe Roberts were to the fore in creating the chance for Tom Rogers to step inside and score for the visitors. Costelow converted.
Johnny Williams’ off-the-ball contact on Jordie Barrett allowed Prendergast to find the 22 from a penalty but a stubborn Scarlets defence held Leinster out as Josh van der Flier was replaced by Scott Penny.
Strong running by Joe McCarthy and Lowe was countered by Roberts’ technique for a penalty at the breakdown.
When Scarlets’ captain Josh MacLeod was spotted offside, out-half Prendergast split the posts from near halfway to open up a 15-7 lead in the 36th minute.
The hosts looked likely to score as Ryan Baird burst through bodies but they could not complete the job. Ellis Mee turned defence into attack for Scarlets as he booted a loose ball out of danger from deep inside his own 22.
The speed of Murray was too much for the scrambling Leinster defence as he touched down for his side’s second try. Costelow’s conversion made it 15-14 at the break.
In the initial stages, Leinster employed the kicking game as the dominant strategy, choosing to turn the Scarlets. A wayward throw led to a Leinster scrum on the 22. A solid platform enabled Osborne to ground the ball from Prendergast’s chip, the latter converting to make it a two-score game once more at 22-14 in the 46th minute.
RG Snyman and Dan Sheehan were introduced from the bench to provide reinforcements for the remainder of the game.
An infringement at the ruck gave Costelow the chance to close the gap with a penalty but he could not make it count from distance.
The ongoing insistence on kicking was leading to a lot of play between the 22-metre lines.
The chase of Lowe and the grab of Snyman put Leinster on the front foot from Gibson-Park’s lofted ball. At last, Leinster established the position for Conan and Osborne, from a long pass, to send Lowe towards the corner flag. Leinster tried to recycle but Alec Hepburn infringed to prevent the home side from moving the ball out, with the prop being shown a yellow card for his efforts.
Prendergast sent the ball into the corner but an untidy lineout followed and Leinster lost ground. Finally, Sheehan ate up the metres. Snyman took the ball up. Barrett offloaded. Keenan resisted the tackles to touch down to extend the advantage to 27-14 on the hour.
Prendergast used his speed around the outside to maintain the pressure. Playing under penalty advantage, Gibson-Park’s ambitious crossfield kick was too strong to find Jimmy O’Brien in order. Instead, Prendergast slotted from the left to make it 30-14 in the 66th minute.
It placed the onus on Scarlets to rebound quickly, Williams tumbling a kick deep inside the 22 where Lowe was stationed to relieve the pressure.
Offloads from lock Sam Lousi and hooker Marnus van der Merwe helped to find Williams to sprint through and score his team’s third try. Costelow added the conversion in the 72nd minute to cut the deficit to nine points.
Vaea Fifita was the second Scarlets player sent to the sin bin as his high shoulder to the head of Player of the Match Keenan was deemed worthy of a yellow card. Prendergast slotted the penalty in the 74th minute to close the show.
Scorers:
Leinster Rugby: Tries: James Lowe, Jamison Gibson-Park, Jamie Osborne, Hugo Keenan. Conversions: Sam Prendergast (2). Penalties: Sam Prendergast (3).
Scarlets: Tries: Tom Rogers, Blair Murray, Johnny Williams. Conversions: Sam Costelow (2), Ioan Lloyd.
Teams:
Leinster Rugby: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Jimmy O’Brien, 13 Jamie Osborne, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 James Lowe, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Jack Conan (c), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Ryan Baird, 5 James Ryan, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Thomas Clarkson, 2 Rónan Kelleher, 1 Andrew Porter. Replacements: 16 Dan Sheehan, 17 Jack Boyle, 18 Rabah Slimani, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Max Deegan, 21 Scott Penny, 22 Luke McGrath, 23 Ciarán Frawley.
Scarlets: 15 Blair Murray, 14 Tom Rogers, 13 Joe Roberts, 12 Johnny Williams, 11 Ellis Mee, 10 Sam Costelow, 9 Archie Hughes, 8 Taine Plumtree, 7 Josh Macleod (c), 6 Vaea Fifita, 5 Sam Lousi, 4 Alex Craig, 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Ryan Elias, 1 Alec Hepburn. Replacements: 16 Marnus van der Merwe, 17 Kemsley Mathias, 18 Sam Wainwright, 19 Dan Davis, 20 Jarrod Taylor, 21 Efan Jones, 22 Ioan Lloyd, 23 Macs Page.