Leinster beat Scarlets to reach URC semi-finals
United Rugby Championship quarter-finalLeinster (15) 33Tries: Lowe, Gibson-Park, Osborne, Keenan Pens: Prendergast 3 Con: Prendergast 2Scarlets (14) 21Tries Rogers, Murray, Williams Cons: Costelow 3
Leinster set up a United Rugby Championship semi-final against Glasgow with victory over Scarlets at Aviva Stadium. The Irish province, who finished the regular season top of the table, opened up an early lead thanks to James Lowe and Jamison Gibson-Park tries. However, eighth seeds Scarlets hit back through Tom Rogers and Blair Murray before half-time to keep alive hopes of a shock win.Jamie Osborne and Hugo Keenan stretched Leinster's lead in the second half before Johnny Williams' try breathed new life into Scarlets' challenge. However, the home side were allowed to eased their way through the closing stages after Vaea Fifita's yellow card for a high tackle on Keenan took the wind out of the Scarlets' sails. While Scarlets' season comes to an end, they can look forward to a return to the Investec Champions Cup next term. Leinster, meanwhile, will face Glasgow - who they have beaten twice this season - at home next weekend for a place in the final on 14 June as they chase a first trophy since 2021.There will, however, be concerns over British and Irish Lions flanker Josh van der Flier, who was injured and forced off in the first half.
Coming into the game, Leinster had enough ammunition to guard against complacency, having fallen to the Scarlets in the URC last month before their European dreams were shattered by Northampton on this ground. However, despite racing into a 12-0 lead inside the opening 10 minutes, the firm favourites still made tough work of the first half.British and Irish Lions squad members Lowe and Gibson-Park both crossed early to put the hosts in cruise control, but Scarlets were undeterred and hit back to cut the arrears to a point before the break. First, Rogers finished off a fine move in Scarlets' first visit to the Leinster 22 before a chaotic sequence to the opening half ended in Murray bringing the visitors back to within striking distance. In the last play before the interval, Leinster pushed for third try, but after Sam Prendergast spilled a pass in front of the Scarlets posts, Ellis Mee broke clear before Murray beat Jordie Barrett in a footrace to dot down, with the try standing after a television match official check on the full-back's grounding.
With momentum on the side of a spirited Scarlets, Leinster rose to the challenge and responded strongly. Five minutes after the restart, Prendergast atoned for his part in Murray's to send Osborne through with a well-judged chip for another try which stood after a TMO check for grounding. Having stretched their lead, Leinster showcased their impressive squad depth by introducing Ireland hooker Dan Sheehan and South Africa's two-time World Cup winner RG Snyman. And after Scarlets prop Alec Hepburn was sin-binned for playing the ball on the ground at a ruck, it was Sheehan who charged down a kick and gave Barrett the opportunity to send Keenan through for Leinster's fourth try.With Scarlets boss Dwayne Peel having replaced fly-half Sam Costelow with Ioan Lloyd, Williams briefly revived Scarlets' dream of toppling the hosts. However, after Fifita was sent to the bin, the game petered out, allowing Leinster to wrap up the win and set up a rematch with Glasgow.
Line-ups
Leinster: Hugo Keenan; Jimmy O'Brien, Jamie Osborne, Jordie Barrett, James Lowe; Sam Prendergast, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Ronan Kelleher, Thomas Clarkson, Joe McCarthy, James Ryan, Ryan Baird, Josh van der Flier, Jack Conan (capt).Replacements: Dan Sheehan, Jack Boyle, Rabah Slimani, RG Snyman, Max Deegan, Scott Penny, Luke McGrath, Ciaran Frawley.Scarlets: Blair Murray; Tom Rogers, Joe Roberts, Johnny Williams, Ellis Mee; Sam Costelow, Archie Hughes; Alec Hepburn, Ryan Elias, Henry Thomas, Alex Craig, Sam Lousi, Vaea Fifita, Josh Macleod (capt), Taine Plumtree.Replacements: Marnus van der Merwe, Kemsley Mathias, Sam Wainwright, Dan Davis, Jarrod Taylor, Efan Jones, Ioan Lloyd, Macs Page.Sin-bin: Hepburn '55, Fifita '72Referee: Hollie Davidson (SRU)Assistant referees: Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR), Federico Vedovelli (FIR)TMO: Andrew McMenemy (SRU)
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