Hello and welcome along to The42‘s live coverage of this crunch Heineken Champions Cup tie between Leinster and Bath.
Sinéad Farrell here and I’ll be bringing you through the minute-by-minute coverage as the defending champions Leinster prepare to host Bath at the Aviva Stadium after coming away with a victory from the Rec last weekend.
And despite the horrible weather brought by Storm Deirdre, the 5.30pm kick-off is still going ahead as it stands.
We’ll have the team line-ups for you in the next moments as well as any late changes before the game gets underway.
As always, if you want to get involved in the coverage send a tweet to @Shin_Farrell or post a comment below.
Here’s how Leinster are named to start:
15. Jordan Larmour
14. Adam Byrne
13. Garry Ringrose
12. Rory O’Loughlin
11. James Lowe
10. Johnny Sexton (captain)
9. Luke McGrath
1. Cian Healy
2. Seán Cronin
3. Tadhg Furlong
4. Devin Toner
5. James Ryan
6. Dan Leavy
7. Josh van der Flier
8. Jack Conan.
Replacements:
16. James Tracy
17. Ed Byrne
18. Andrew Porter
19. Ross Molony
20. Rhys Ruddock
21. Jamison Gibson-Park
22. Ross Byrne
23. Noel Reid.
And here’s Bath’s starting XV:
15. Ruaridh McConnochie
14. Semesa Rokoduguni
13. Jackson Willison
12. Jamie Roberts
11. Cooper Vuna
10. James Wilson
9. Will Chudley
1. Jacques van Rooyen
2. Tom Dunn
3. Henry Thomas
4. Dave Attwood
5. Charlie Ewels (captain)
6. Tom Ellis
7. Sam Underhill
8. Francois Louw.
Replacements:
16. Jack Walker
17. Nathan Catt
18. Max Lahiff
19. Elliott Stooke
20. Matt Garvey
21. Kahn Fotuali’i
22. Alex Davies
23. Darren Atkins.
The stewards are getting into the festive spirit at the Aviva!
Some pre-match reading for you now with a preview piece from The42′s Ryan Bailey:
“While there was certain satisfaction in coming away from Somerset with an away victory, the imperfections of last weekend has rankled with Leinster’s players and management this week, with Tadhg Furlong evening admitting a win felt like a defeat.
“It is, of course, a barometer of their consistent excellence over the last 18 months that a European victory on the road is viewed in this light, but also parsed through the knowledge that a Bath side showing just two changes will arrive in Dublin intent on getting the result they felt their own performance warranted last week.”
Read the full piece here.
What a welcome for the lads! 🔵🗣 #LEIvBAT #JoinTheRoar pic.twitter.com/LmwMJniJJm
— Leinster Rugby (@leinsterrugby) December 15, 2018
Who is going to win this one?
Poll Results:
Looks like rain, Ted:
Not long to go now before we get underway!
The teams are getting ready to head out onto the pitch. It’s almost time to get going!
1 min: Leinster 0 Bath 0
And we are underway at the Aviva Stadium!
2 min: Leinster 0 Bath 0
Early Bath penalty after Adam Byrne holds onto the ball.
3 mins: Leinster 0 Bath 3
James Wilson kicks through the posts and Bath get the scoreboard rolling after just three minutes.
5 min: Leinster 0 Bath 3
Good work from Dan Leavy to secure a scrum for Leinster as both sets of players get to grips with the greasy conditions in Dublin.
5 mins: Leinster 0 Bath 3
A clash of heads sees play stop for a few moments and Charlie Ewels is receiving treatment on the pitch.
TRY! Jack Conan Leinster 5 Bath 3
10 mins: Leinster 7 Bath 3
And Johnny Sexton adds the extras as Leinster go into the ascendancy. Brilliant response from the home side to regain the lead after concdeding that early penalty.
Conan shows great strength in possession to power through under pressure and get over the try line.
Joe Schmidt gets a nice round of applause in the Aviva Stadium.
TRY! Rory O’Loughlin Leinster 12 Bath 3
14 mins: Leinster 14 Bath 3
Sexton nails the conversion and what about that for a superb piece of rugby from Leinster.
Beautiful offloads, perfect timing and great pace from the defending champions. Not easy to do in these conditions.
20 mins: Leinster 14 Bath 3
Handling has been pretty good from both sides, considering the conditions. Bath are advancing on Leinster’s tryline and showing great power.
TRY! Francois Louw Leinster 14 Bath 10
25 mins: Leinster 14 Bath 10
Wilson converts and that try was coming. Bath looked to be threatening and they pushed well for the line while holding their shape.
It’s game on again.
TRY! James Lowe Leinster 19 Bath 10
28 mins: Leinster 21 Bath 10
That’s a third conversion now for Sexton. That was a brilliant display of strength there from Lowe and he showed brilliant power to get over the line from five metres against a wall of Bath cover.
33 mins: Leinster 21 Bath 10
Here’s that Jack Conan try.
Two things we learned from Leinster's opening try vs Bath:
— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) December 15, 2018
• Tadhg Furlong could be a fly-half if he wanted to 👌
• Jack Conan is a beast 💪
Actually, we already knew both of those things, carry on. pic.twitter.com/pHDe5qGNdA
35 mins: Leinster 21 Bath 10
So close!! A fantastic piece of play from Leinster. It started with a Conan interception and was followed by some hands between Sexton and Cronin.
Sexton tries to kick the ball through for Byrne to carry over the try line but it just trickles out over the sideline before he can get there.
Brilliant play though, it deserved a score at the end of it.
36 mins: Leinster 21 Bath 10
And again, Leinster come close to delivering the killer blow.
Jordan Larmour gets them going with some stunning footwork and Ringrose brings them even closer to the whitewash.
Some brilliant offloading follows but they fumble possession at the crucial moment and a scrum is awarded to Bath.
TRY! Adam Byrne Leinster 26 Bath 10
39 mins: Leinster 28 Bath 10
Another conversion from Sexton after an unbelievable crossfield pass to put Byrne through for a try.
What a way to bring the opening half to a close.
HT: Leinster 28 Bath 10
That’s a solid 40 minutes for Leinster.
They’ve secured the bonus point through tries from Jack Conan, Rory O’Loughlin, James Lowe and Adam Byrne while Sexton has been flawless from the kicking tee.
Bath are facing into a real uphill battle in the second half but they’ve already scored a try of their own and could well muster another response after the restart.
A brilliant first half at the Aviva with the bonus point in the bag! #LEIvBAT #JoinTheRoar pic.twitter.com/osEd60IBsz
— Leinster Rugby (@leinsterrugby) December 15, 2018
Some highlights from that first half
40 mins: Leinster 28 Bath 10
And we are back in action again for the second half.
44 mins: Leinster 28 Bath 10
Leinster win an early penalty and Sexton elects to kick to touch. They want a fifth try.
TRY! Dan Leavy Leinster 33 Bath 10
48 mins: Leinster 35 Bath 10
Sexton splits the posts again and Leinster are entering cruise control now. They pummeled through the Bath line to stretch over the tryline with Leavy completing the move to push the home side even further ahead.
Sublime!
Johnny Sexton, that is magnificent! 😍
— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) December 15, 2018
An inch-perfect crossfield kick is collected by Adam Byrne and Leinster extend their lead!
Moments like that are why he's been named World Rugby player of the year. Brilliant 🙌 pic.twitter.com/vjj2wHiNsZ
TRY! Sam Underhill Leinster 35 Bath 15
56 mins: Leinster 35 Bath 15
Wilson misses the conversion but Bath desperately needed that score to cut the gap even slightly.
But the way Leinster are playing, Bath don’t look to have much of a chance of getting much closer to the host side.
58 mins: Leinster 35 Bath 15
Lovely kick-through from Sexton. He is in brilliant form this evening and taking calculated risks from the boot.
60 mins: Leinster 35 Bath 15
Bath roll out the changes as Leinster take a line-out very close to the Bath tryline.
It wasn’t a clean take from James Ryan and Bath apply enough pressure to earn a scrum.
63 mins: Leinster 35 Bath 15
And Leinster are now making a few changes as we head towards the final stages of the game.
65 mins: Leinster 35 Bath 15
Leinster go in search of another try from the lineout but the kickthrough has too much power on it and Bath can breathe a sigh of relief.
They have come under relentless pressure at the Aviva Stadium this evening.
TRY! Jamison Gibson-Park Leinster 40 Bath 15
71 mins: Leinster 42 Bath 15
Ross Byrne adds the extras as he sneaks the ball between the posts.
A superb try from Gibson-Park as he storms up the pitch following an offload from Lowe. That’s try number six for Leo Cullen’s charges.
77 mins: Leinster 42 Bath 15
Bath still battling hard but it’s a very tough task when Leinster are in the form they’re in.
They come looking for a try but can’t execute the final pass and Leinster get a chance to create another attack.
80 mins: Leinster 42 Bath 15
Leinster earn a penalty after putting in for a scrum. Will they go in search of one last try?
FT: Leinster 42 Bath 15
Well that was as comprehensive a performance as you’re likely to see.
Given the wet and wintry conditions they had to play in, Leinster were superb and stormed over for six tries against a Bath outfit that just didn’t have a response to their power.
It definitely makes up for their sub–par performance against Bath last weekend.
The reigning European champions will have to be happy with that performance. Here’s a few highlights from the second half.
Well that’s all from us folks, thanks for joining us and hope you enjoyed the action.
Have a read of our match report from Ryan Bailey who braved the elements at the Aviva Stadium.
Murray Kinsella, Gavan Casey and Eddie O’Sullivan preview another big weekend of Heineken Cup action and dissect the week’s main talking points.
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