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Pool A: Bath 7-64 LeinsterIrish province boost hopes of good draw in knockout stages
On a freezing day in Bath, Leinster delivered with ice-cool precision to secure a bonus-point victory before half-time. Jimmy O’Brien scored four of their 10 tries as the Irish province boosted their hopes of a favourable draw in the knockout stages of the Champions Cup. If there was a positive for the hosts, they displayed no lack or spirit or effort, but were hopelessly outclassed by a Leinster outfit crammed with international quality.
The Bath coach, Neal Hatley, had likened the Leinster fly-half Jonathan Sexton to Yoda before kick-off, with England’s new recruit Orlando Bailey in the role of Luke Skywalker: a box-office duel between opposing No 10s at very different stages of their careers. It was a catchy line but there could be no question, by the end, which player had demonstrated true mastery of their art. Sexton was sublime as he so often is: passing and kicking with relentless accuracy and variation, unleashing Leinster’s glittering array of attacking talent, leaving Bath bereft. The Premiership side were too often undermined by a misfiring set piece.
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