Leinster’s bid for a first Champions Cup since 2012 continued as they saw off holders Saracens with a scintillating performance on Sunday.
The men from Dublin were immense throughout the contest at the Aviva Stadium – and their ability to manage and adapt to situations at the right time was the major difference.
One of the great European sides, Saracens folded at the hands of a Leinster team who – on the basis of their performance on Sunday – look primed to land a first European trophy in six years.
Central to their dominance was Dan Leavy. At just 23, the back-rower is shaping into one of Leinster’s key men – with solid tackling and effective carries at the heart of his sublime skilset.
He scored the crucial second half try and had 16 carries, 14 tackles, made 82 metres, three line-breaks and beat four defenders in a virtuoso man-of-the-match display.
The Dublin native gets to the breakdown at such pace, and picks and drives through the middle at ease. It was the perfect tactic against Sarries and he reaped his rewards with another dominant showing.
The visitors lacked only one thing, the capacity to read the moment and situation correctly, and that’s where Leinster thrived. Saracens had the ability and talent from 1-15, but just failed to execute those opportunities when they presented themselves. In outside opportunities, two versus one chances need to be converted but slow ball allowed Leinster to regroup too often.
Perhaps one interesting takeaway is if everyone was fit then the centre partnership would have been Garry Ringrose and Robbie Henshaw, but Isa Nacewa, with 15 tackles, led the charge and was the conductor of the orchestra.
If the Fiji man does 100 things in a row, it seems to be with perfect execution. He has that ability to dance and always give the ball to someone in a better position, instead of taking it into contact.
At 35 and captain of this star-studded team, he purrs with dominance and his break down the left to pave the way for Ringrose’s try was outstanding.
If Leinster’s success is a knock-on effect from Ireland’s recent Grand Slam victory, then they will be difficult to stop for the rest of this tournament.
