Leinster end Saracens' European dominance as English hopes end in European Champions Cup

Leinster 30-19 Saracens: Dan Leavy and James Ryan inspire Leinster to a convincing victory to inflict yet another blow on English rugby

Leinster beat Saracens 30-19 to end their two-year reign as European champions (Getty)

Saracens saw their two-year reign over Europe end in a 30-19 defeat by a superior Leinster side to halt English interests in the European Champions Cup and keep the prospect of an all-Irish final in Bilbao well and truly alive.

In what proved to be a second Irish victory over English opposition in as many weeks following the Six Nations Grand Slam triumph at Twickenham, Leinster scored three tries to one as Garry Ringrose, Dan Leavy and James Lowe all crossed, with Blair Cowan’s late score proving a mere consolation for the dethroned champions.

Having won back-to-back Champions Cups in 2016 and 2017, Saracens will need to hope that they can regain the Premiership title in order to avoid their first season without silverware since 2013/14, while Leinster will return to the Aviva Stadium for their semi-final against reigning Pro12 champions Scarlets in three weeks’ time.

From the fourth minute when Ringrose galloped over the line, Leinster remained in front and while this was far from a poor performance from Saracens, the difference in class showed.

Lowe has never been capped by New Zealand, only the Maori All Blacks, and as a result the type of powerful break seen here at the Aviva Stadium in the opening minutes could well be repeated on the international stage in the not-so-distant future. The 25-year-old will qualify for Ireland on residency in November 2020 and it would not be a surprise to see him in Emerald green, with the Kiwi introducing himself to Saracens in style.

After Rob Kearney’s counter-attack from a clearing kick was halted, Leinster went wide immediately with the impressive Isa Nacewa feeding Lowe, and he shrugged off opposite man Liam Williams to break from well inside his own half. Passing back into Nacewa, the veteran centre sucked in full-back Alex Goode, before releasing Ringrose inside him for the centre to score one of the more easier tries he will finish. Johnny Sexton’s conversion gave the home side a 7-0 lead inside four minutes, but the response was an impressive one.

Brad Barritt is upended by Isa Nacewa (Getty)

Farrell went about chipping away at the lead, kicking penalties in the 12th and 16th minutes to reduce the lead to just a point, the first for an offside infringement and the second for the Ringrose diving off his feet.

Sexton kicked his first penalty of the match in the 34th minute after Saracens killed the ball when under intense pressure after coughing up possession in their own 22, but immediately gave the three points up as he needlessly kicked the ball away as he jogged back for the restart, with Marcelo Bosch stepping up to kick a long-distance penalty from halfway that Jerome Garces awarded before the restart.


 Owen Farrell kicks one of his four successful penalties in the first half 
 (Getty)

But if Saracens were right to feel like they were in the contest at half-time, Leinster stepped it up a gear that the reigning champions simply couldn’t handle. Three points from Sexton after Mako Vunipola hit Cian Healy high quickly became 10. The impressive Leavy played the ball to the equally-as-effective James Ryan from the base of the ruck, and when the latter took contact he played the ball back inside for Leavy to surge through the gap and dive beneath the posts.

It was a huge setback for Sarries, but the final crushing blow came 11 minutes later in the 58th minute when a surging break down the left saw Sexton offload inside to replacement prop Jack McGrath, and once the ball was recycled Lowe was able to burrow over and put Leinster on course for the last four.

Saracens were unable to break down thedogged Leinster defence (Getty)

At 30-12 up, Leinster looked home and dry, but Saracens weren’t giving up and a flowing move from left to right released Williams for the Wales back to pin his ears. He attempted to step inside the last man, Kearney, only to slip and catch an awful-looking shoulder to the head that halted the move in its tracks. Williams departed for a head injury assessment, not to be seen again, and from the penalty Cowan managed to tunnel his way over. Farrell added the conversion to cut the lead to 11, but there was no repercussions for Kearney when similar incidents this season has produced yellow cards and, on occasion, worse.

Saracens pressed for another score that would give them a shot at a famous win, but the Leinster defence held firm and despite Schalk Brits and Ben Spencer upping the tempo along with Goode, Saracens’ handling kept letting them down. By the time the final whistle went, Leinster already knew they were home and dry and while they may have entered the match as tournament favourites, it will take an almighty effort for anyone to stop this team.

Teams

Leinster: Rob Kearney; Fergus McFadden, Garry Ringrose, Isa Nacewa (Rory O’Loughlin (79), James Lowe; Johnny Sexton (Joey Carbery, 68), Luke McGrath (Nick McCarthy, 66); Cian Healy (Jack McGrath, 54), Sean Cronin (James Tracy, 59), Tadhg Furlong; Devin Toner, James Ryan; Scott Fardy (Rhys Ruddock, 66), Dan Leavy, Jordi Murphy (Max Deegan, 79).

Replacements not used: Andrew Porter.

Saracens: Alex Goode; Liam Williams (Chris Wyles, 64), Marcelo Bosch (Alex Lozowski, 59), Brad Barritt, Sean Maitland; Owen Farrell, Richard Wigglesworth (Ben Spncer, 59); Mako Vunipola (Richard Barrington, 77), Jamie George (Schalk Brits, 52), Juan Figallo (Titi Lamositele, 66); Maro Itoje, George Kruis (Dominic Day, 77), Nick Isiekwe, Schalk Burger (Blair Cowan, 59), Jackson Wray.

Referee: J Garces (FFR)

Att: 51,700