Leinster thumped Wasps 32-17 in Dublin on Saturday to advance to the semi-finals of the European Champions Cup.
The first quarter-final between the log-leaders of the Celtic Pro12 and the table-toppers of the English Premiership was a one-sided contest, with Leinster playing at a higher level and with greater intensity than Wasps, from start to finish.
The hosts opened up an 8-0 lead courtesy of an unconverted try and a penalty by Johnny Sexton, with Wasps looking out of sorts at that stage. But with a piece of individual brilliance, Kurtley Beale created a scoring opportunity for Wasps, only for Springbok Willie le Roux to knock on over the tryline.
WATCH: Willie le Roux butchers try
From turnover possession, Beale split Leinster’s defence with dazzling footwork before releasing Le Roux with a clear run-in, but the wing lost control of the ball after he tried to dot down with a swan-dive. In the end, it was an error that proved costly for Wasps, who conceded two converted tries before the interval to trail 22-3.
Sexton extended Leinster’s lead to 22 shortly after the break, and although Wasps fought back to within eight points, the deficit was just too big to overcome as one last Leinster try sealed the result.
Leinster – Tries: Isa Nacewa, Jack Conan, Robbie Henshaw, Fergus McFadden. Conversions: Johnny Sexton (3). Penalties: Sexton (2).
Wasps – Christian Wade, Jimmy Gopperth. Conversions: Gopperth (2). Penalty: Gopperth.
Leinster – 15 Joey Carbery, 14 Adam Byrne, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 Isa Nacewa (c), 10 Johnny Sexton, 9 Luke McGrath, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Sean O’Brien, 6 Dan Leavy, 5 Hayden Triggs, 4 Devin Toner, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Richardt Strauss, 1 Jack McGrath.
Subs: 16 James Tracy, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Michael Bent, 19 Ross Molony, 20 Josh van der Flier, 21 Jamison Gibson-Park, 22 Fergus McFadden, 23 Zane Kirchner.
Wasps – 15 Kurtley Beale, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Elliot Daly, 12 Jimmy Gopperth, 11 Willie le Roux, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Dan Robson, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 Thomas Young, 6 James Haskell, 5 Kearnan Myall, 4 Joe Launchbury (c), 3 Jake Cooper-Woolley, 2 Tommy Taylor, 1 Matt Mullan.
Subs: 16 Ashley Johnson, 17 Simon McIntyre, 18 Marty Moore, 19 Matt Symons, 20 Alex Rieder, 21 Joe Simpson, 22 Alapati Leiua, 23 Josh Bassett.
Photo: David Rogers/Getty Images
