Leinster sail past Saracens into home semi-final
European Champions Cup Quarter-final
Leinster 30-19 Saracens
Three-times European Cup winners Leinster will face Scarlets in the semi-final of this year’s Champions Cup after they knocked out defending champions Saracens with a 30-19 victory on Sunday.
Tries from Garry Ringrose, Dan Leavy and James Lowe at the Aviva Stadium was enough to get the Irish province past Saracens, whose only try came from replacement Blair Cowan.
Owen Farrell kicked three penalties, while Marcelo Bosch added another in a tight opening period but a blistering Leinster at the beginning of the second period proved too potent to keep out.
Saracens had only themselves to blame when their line cracked as early as the fourth minute, Liam Williams and Jackson Wray falling off Lowe before Isa Nacewa tore down the left touchline and fed Ringrose the scoring pass.
Despite the early setback, the defending champions dominated possession with Vunipola shouldering the bulk of the carrying workload, but they struggled to make any decisive headway against a resolute home defence.
Three penalties from Owen Farrell, who passed a fitness test on a thigh injury to start at fly-half, left Saracens trailing 10-9 at the half-hour mark as a scrappy match weaved an uncertain path.
The tension mounted as Johnny Sexton rifled over three points only to then interfere with the ensuing restart by kicking the ball away, enabling Marcelo Bosch to hit the mark from the halfway line.
Alex Goode’s elusive running was causing problems from full-back and one run swept Saracens deep into opposition territory only for Leinster to defend a close-range line-out.
The Irish province raced out of the blocks in the second half and in eight minutes they had amassed 10 points underpinned by a brilliantly worked try for Leavy, who combined with James Ryan close to the ruck to open up a hole that he galloped through.
Leinster’s onslaught continued with Sexton attacking down the left wing before the wall eventually found Lowe, who was carried over the line by his team-mates.
A line-out drive produced Saracens’ first try of the afternoon with Cowan touching down, but despite the fallen champions’ best efforts they could make no further inroads.
