Leinster flatter to deceive as Toulon await in semi-finals
Jamie Osborne goes over for the final try during Leinster's win over Sale Sharks Photo: ©INPHO/Dan Clohessy
Leinster are through to the semi-finals of the Champions Cup after another unconvincing win, this time beating Sale Sharks on Saturday evening at the Aviva Stadium.
Leo Cullen's men are a far cry from the team that they once were, struggling to put away a Sale outfit that they would have comfortably brushed aside as recently as last season.
Harry Byrne converted a Dan Sheehan try inside ten minutes, but a seriously sloppy Leinster led by just 7-3 at half time.
Hugo Keenan added a second try after the break, but Sale made it 12-6 despite having two players in the sin bin.
Ryan Baird crossed for a third try before Reiko Ioane put the game to bed with a fourth try heading into the final quarter.
Tommy O’Brien touched down before Sale scored their only try, with Jamie Osborne bringing the game to an end by scoring a superb try of his own.
Osborne was the sole Kildare player selected in Leo Cullen's match-day squad, starting at inside centre alongside Gary Ringrose. Aside from his try, the Naas man was Leinster's top tackler with eight, made nine carries and beat four defenders in another cracking performance.
Osborne was one of 21 internationals in the Leinster side, while Sale came to Dublin with just six of their 13 international players on show, in a 23-man squad that included five academy players.
Yet the English club made life incredibly difficult for Leinster, as the four-time Champions Cup winners continue to frustrate this season.
Despite the 30-point margin, Leinster's attack again stuttered along for the 80 minutes, suggesting that Kildare's Sam Prendergast may need to be reinstated at fly half having been overlooked for the past two games.
Toulon, who boast a squad that includes 25 test-match players, will visit the Aviva for the semi-finals in three weeks' time after the French side sneaked past Glasgow Warriors on a scoreline of 22-19.
Leinster now have URC games away to both Ulster and Benetton with which to find their mojo before Toulon arrive in Dublin.
As an aside, the 18,600-odd fans in attendance made the Aviva Stadium seem a sterile environment, devoid of much atmosphere or sense of occasion. But that number deserves to come with a fuel-protest-sized asterisk, as the decisions of a few questionable world leaders continue to have far-reaching and unforeseen consequences.
Suncroft's Cian Prendergast captained Connacht on the day of his 100th cap for the province, as Stuart Lancaster's side crashed out of the Challenge Cup quarter-finals.
Connacht were in the south of France on Saturday afternoon to take on two-time Challenge Cup winners, Montpellier, with the Top 14 side scoring seven tries on their way to a 23-point win.
Prendergast was Connacht's joint-top tackler with 14, and also topped the charts for defenders beaten (five) from his 11 carries.
Fellow Kildare man Billy Bohan locked horns in the front row with 16-times-capped French international, Mohamed Haouas. Bohan made five tackles and four carries as he continues to impress in his first season of senior rugby.
