BKT UNITED RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP QUARTER-FINAL:
Saturday, May 30 -
LEINSTER 59 FIDELITY SECUREDRIVE LIONS 10, Aviva Stadium
Scorers: Leinster: Tries: Dan Sheehan, Hugo Keenan, James Ryan, Scott Penny, Sam Prendergast, Gus McCarthy, Jimmy O'Brien, James Lowe 2; Cons: Sam Prendergast 7
Fidelity SecureDrive Lions: Tries: Henco van Wyk 2
HT: Leinster 21 Fidelity SecureDrive Lions 5
Leo Cullen's men cleared the BKT United Rugby Championship's first play-off hurdle in style, outscoring the Lions by nine tries to two in a 59-10 victory.
The defending champions will host the DHL Stormers, the 2022 winners, back at the Aviva Stadium in the second of next Saturday's semi-finals (kick-off 5.30pm).
James Ryan touched down on the stroke of half-time, adding to early tries from Dan Sheehan and Hugo Keenan, as Leinster established a 21-5 half-time lead.
Henco van Wyk opened the Lions' account in the 36th-minute, on the back of the sin-binning of Thomas Clarkson, a late addition to the hosts' front row in place of Tadhg Furlong.
Leinster took their try haul to six by the time that the ever-willing van Wyk had doubled his tally on the hour mark.
Scott Penny, Sam Prendergast, who finished with a handsome 19 points, and replacement Gus McCarthy all made it over.
Jimmy O'Brien got in on the act before Lowe took centre stage, finishing strongly in the 68th and 81st minutes to climb to the top of the province's try-scoring charts.
They were the 33-year-old winger's 70th and 71st tries, fittingly coming on the occasion of his 100th Leinster appearance. Shane Hogan's record of 69 tries had stood for 15 years.
Cullen's side delivered a convincing performance and result just a week on from their Investec Champions Cup final disappointment. Joe McCarthy was outstanding up front, as the player-of-the-match.
31-7 winners over the Lions at the same venue three weeks ago, Leinster's tackle technique was tested early on as the South African outfit probed with pace.
Penny was prominent with a turnover penalty and a charge-down before the title holders found their rhythm in attack, with Prendergast connecting with O'Brien out wide.
After the sidestepping Keenan used scrum possession to prize open a gap. Luke McGrath took them closer and then O'Brien's long pass saw Sheehan go over untouched, to the right of the posts.
It was 14-0 by the quarter hour mark, Prendergast converting again after his nicely delayed short pass had played in Keenan for a well-worked score.
Back on the defensive, captain Caelan Doris broke up a Lions attack with a rip in the tackle, and Ryan stole a subsequent lineout.
The visitors, making their first ever appearance in the URC play-offs, struggled for territory, with some of their kicks going out on the full.
Nonetheless, Ivan van Rooyen's charges used their robust scrum to pick up a penalty and a free-kick decision, and they regularly went after Leinster ball at the breakdown.
Following a fine catch by Erich Cronje just inside Leinster's 22, scrum half Nico Steyn was upended by Clarkson in a tackle that earned him a yellow card.
The South African Shield champions swiftly took advantage, with van Wyk picking from a ruck to register their first five points. Chris Smith's conversion bounced wide off a post.
McCarthy made sure Leinster went in at the break with a pep in their step. A fluid attack saw him threaten with a big carry before feeding Ryan for a close-range finish.
An early brace of scores, inside the opening six minutes of the second half, had Leinster 33-5 to the good. Doris seized the momentum with a piercing break.
McCarthy, who continued to impress, released quick ruck ball out to Rieko Ioane whose arcing pass put flanker Penny over in the left corner.
Prendergast was then in the perfect place to snap up a Smith pass that went loose off Max Deegan's shoulder. He broke clear from over 60 metres out, evading the chasing Quan Horn to dot down and convert.
Lowe was coming more into the game, linking neatly with Penny and Jamie Osborne on a break, and full-back Horn's deliberate knock-on in the 54th minute saw him sin-binned.
Replacement hooker McCarthy broke off the resulting lineout drive to add his name to the scoresheet. Prendergast's crisp conversion took Leinster up to the 40-point mark.
Van Wyk clawed back five points with a fleet-footed try that originated from Haashim Pead's kick over the top. The bouncing ball evaded Keenan, and the pacy Lions centre proded it through to complete his brace.
However, with their strong bench unloaded, Leinster enjoyed a productive final quarter, chalking up three more tries.
McCarthy and Diarmuid Mangan linked up well in the middle, before another fizzing pass from Prendergast sent O'Brien over in the right corner. He also tucked away a terrific conversion.
The biggest cheer of the night came when Lowe moved above Horgan in the record books. Firstly, O'Brien chased down a Jamison Gibson-Park kick, forcing Smith to concede a lineout.
From an initial maul set-up, the ball was zipped across the back-line and O'Brien provided a peach of a pass for Lowe to get over past the covering Horn.
Prendergast, who had moved to full-back, slotted over a well-struck conversion to make it 54-10. Minutes later, a knock-on denied Cronje a consolation try for the Lions.
Instead it was Lowe who squeezed in a late second effort. He had the pace and power to finish from further out, the opportunity created again by slick handling across the attacking line.
TIME LINE: 10 minutes - Leinster try: Dan Sheehan - 5-0; conversion: Sam Prendergast - 7-0; 15 mins - Leinster try: Hugo Keenan - 12-0; conversion: Sam Prendergast - 14-0; 35 mins - Leinster yellow card: Thomas Clarkson; 36 mins - Fidelity SecureDrive Lions try: Henco van Wyk - 14-5; conversion: missed by Chris Smith - 14-5; 40 mins - Leinster try: James Ryan - 19-5; conversion: Sam Prendergast - 21-5; Half-time - Leinster 21 Fidelity SecureDrive Lions 5; 43 mins - Leinster try: Scott Penny - 26-5; conversion: missed by Sam Prendergast - 26-5; 46 mins - Leinster try: Sam Prendergast - 31-5; conversion: Sam Prendergast 33-5; 54 mins - Fidelity SecureDrive Lions yellow card: Quan Horn; 54 mins - Leinster try: Gus McCarthy - 38-5; conversion: Sam Prendergast - 40-5; 57 mins - Fidelity SecureDrive Lions try: Henco van Wyk - 40-10; conversion: missed by Chris Smith - 40-10; 64 mins - Leinster try: Jimmy O'Brien - 45-10; conversion: Sam Prendergast - 47-10; 68 mins - Leinster try: James Lowe - 52-10; conversion: Sam Prendergast - 54-10; 80+1 mins - Leinster try: James Lowe - 59-10; conversion: missed by Sam Prendergast - 59-10; Full-time - Leinster 59 Fidelity SecureDrive Lions 10
LEINSTER: Hugo Keenan; Jimmy O'Brien, Rieko Ioane, Jamie Osborne, James Lowe; Sam Prendergast, Luke McGrath; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Thomas Clarkson, Joe McCarthy, James Ryan, Max Deegan, Scott Penny, Caelan Doris (capt).
Replacements: Gus McCarthy, Alex Usanov, Rabah Slimani, Diarmuid Mangan, Josh van der Flier, Jamison Gibson-Park, Harry Byrne, Robbie Henshaw.
FIDELITY SECUREDRIVE LIONS: Quan Horn; Angelo Davids, Henco van Wyk, Richard Kriel, Erich Cronje; Chris Smith, Nico Steyn; SJ Kotze, PJ Botha, Sebastian Lombard, Reinhard Nothnagel, Darrien Landsberg, Siba Mahashe, Batho Hlekani, Francke Horn (capt).
Replacements: Franco Marais, Eddie Davids, RF Schoeman, Ruan Delport, Siba Qoma, JC Pretorius, Rynhard Jonker, Haashim Pead.
Referee: Sam Grove-White (SRU)