LEINSTER 22-17 EXETER CHIEFS
Holy hell, that was a close one.
Leinster dug themselves out of a gaping hole to record their fourth consecutive Champions Cup win and all but wrap up their pool.
It was a tale of two halves as Leinster looked wretched – losing Johnny Sexton after 2:21 – but they kept in touch and turned the screw after the break. Two men, above others, stood out in an impressive comeback that says a lot about this team – Scott Fardy and Josh van der Flier.
Trailing 17-3 after 32 minutes and down to 14 men, when Fardy was sent to the sin-bin, Leinster staunched the negative flow and somehow got in 17-9 at half-time. It was something and it was enough to plant a seed of doubt in Exeter minds.
The English champions responded by tearing into their hosts again, after the break, but they could not keep up that same level of intensity.
Sean Cronin and Fergus McFadden were starting to make metres and punch holes while Fardy was back on the pitch and tearing it up. Whereas Leinster had looked disjointed and guilty of making bursts without support, or any clue of their end goal, the second half was altogether different.
Luke McGrath stepped up and started to call the shots and most of them revolved around the forwards making pick-and-goes and building pressure through possession and phases.
Van der Flier [8 carries, 16 tackles, a turnover] and Fardy [10 carries, 11 tackles, two turnovers] were key in Leinster forcing their way back into it. Big carries, massive tackles that knocked several Chiefs back, one trysaving tackle and three huge turnovers between them. A word, too, for Nacewa who didn’t miss a kick [unaesthetic as they were].
Leinster went close through Kearney and Conan but they contented themselves with ratcheting up scoreboard pressure – two more Nacewa penalties – and bashing until they found a buckle.
That arrived on 62 minutes when Dan Leavy made a 20-metre line break and found McGrath on his shoulder. There was still a covering defender to beat but McGrath had the momentum and shrugged free.
Superb offload
Great work by Dan Leavy as Luke McGrath scores a crucial try for Leinster.
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Under the posts and an easy conversion for Nacewa. Suddenly, and for the first time, Leinster led in the match.
On until the very death, it was Fardy and Van der Flier that were still making the big plays and rousing the crowd in the final moments.
Leinster got out of jail with a couple of rusty spoons and a hell of a lot of willpower.
