Leinster v Edinburgh<\/p>\n
Half-time: Leinster 28 Edinburgh 26<\/p>\n
39 mins: TRY Currie. Third intercept try for the visitors. Byrne\u2019s pass to Gibson-Park on the wraparound is picked off by Currie who races 45-metres for a try. Thompson converts. This is asbolutely bonkers from the home side. Brilliant work from Edinburgh on their defensive reads but oh my goodness Leinster have gifted wrapped 21 points.<\/p>\n
Leinster 28 Edinburgh 26 <\/p>\n
36 mins: Keenan TRY. Good passage of play off a lineout launch inside the Edinburgh 22, culminates in a try for the home side. Keenan wins the race to the try line on the angle outside Shiel. Can the home side now get out of their own way and be accurate and precise in their work.<\/p>\n
Leinster 28 Edinburgh 19<\/p>\n
34 mins: Leinster with an utterly dominant scrum and then they get pinged for a pre-engage inside the Edinburgh 22 after Andrew Porter had made a line-break but delayed his pass and the ball was lost on the ground. Home side turn over another lineout but win a ruck penalty. <\/p>\n
Leinster 21 Edinburgh 19<\/p>\n
Right where to unpack this first half an hour. Six tries, three each. Edinburgh showing guts and character, Leinster, vacillating between the sublime and the sloppy. Too many handling errors. The home side have made a million line-breaks but on too many occasions they have watched a potential try scoring pass hit the deck.<\/p>\n
30 mins: Mosese Tuipulotu on for James Lang <\/p>\n
27 mins: Thompson TRY. Jamie Osborne has his inside pass intended for Gibson-Park pinched by Thompson, who runs away for his second try and converts the effort to boot. A mess again from Leinster. Six tries between the sides. <\/p>\n
Leinster 21 Edinburgh 19 <\/p>\n
24 mins: Jimmy O\u2019Brien TRY. Leinster get a softish penalty at the breakdown. Harry Byrne kicks the home side into the Edinburgh 22. A maul, a Dan Sheehan break, and quick hands from Gibson-Park and Byrne put Jimmy O\u2019Brien over in the corner. Byrne lands a third stellar conversion. <\/p>\n
Leinster 21 Edinburgh 12<\/p>\n
20 mins: TRY Ross Thompson. Conversion, Thompson. Lovely hitch-kick from the Edinburgh outhalf takes him past the tackle of Gibson-Park and then he gases Keenan on the outside for a brilliant individual try. The Edinburgh 10 then kicks a brilliant conversion. Game on.<\/p>\n
Leinster 14 Edinburgh 12 <\/p>\n
18 mins: Sloppy five minutes from Leinster. They lose a lineout, Ioane penalised for a one-handed slap down of the pass. Edinburgh have been invited into the game. And boy have the visitors taken the largesse with both hands. <\/p>\n
15 mins: Charlie Shiel TRY. Tadhg Furlong\u2019s misplaced pass is snapped up by Edinburgh scrumhalf Charlie Shiel who races away unchallenged for a soft try. <\/p>\n
Leinster 14 Edinburgh 5<\/p>\n
Heavy collision between Keenan and Ben Muncaster. <\/p>\n
8 mins: TRY Tommy O\u2019Brien. Scrum, dominant from Leinster. Harry Byrne hits Ioane on an outside arc and the New Zealander throws a beautiful long pass to Tommy O\u2019Brien who dashes over in the corner. Byrne with a brilliant touchline conversion. <\/p>\n
Leinster 14 Edinburgh 0<\/p>\n
Six minutes of Leinster domination and they could have even more points, a couple of handling errors has stopped that outcome. <\/p>\n
4 mins: Brilliant take from Hugo Keenan, and as Leinster accelerate into another attacking shape, Rieko Ioane throws a poor pass. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Leinster 7 Edinburgh 0<\/p>\n
70 seconds: TRY: Tommy O\u2019Brien. Edinburgh kickoff, Jamison Gibson-Park clears superbly. Visitors overthrow a lineout. Jimmy O\u2019Brien with a break in midfield, nice dummy and Gibson-Park sweeps the ball right from inside the Edinburgh 22. Hands put Tommy O\u2019Brien over in the corner. Harry Byrne converts from the touchline.<\/p>\n
Leinster 7 Edinburgh 0<\/p>\n
We\u2019re underway.<\/p>\n
Cullen: \u201cKnockout games create more of a focus. The guys have prepared well this week and hopefully we see that out on the pitch.<\/p>\n
Everitt: \u201cWe have been looking for an 80-minute performance but we haven\u2019t quite got there yet.\u201d <\/p>\n
Edinburgh have won four URC matches this season and come into the match as huge underdogs. Many of the coaching team won\u2019t be there next season by all accounts, aside from head coach Sean Everitt who was given a two-year extension. They can swing freely it\u2019s fair to say. <\/p>\n
Edinburgh have former Connacht centre and Ireland underage international Piers O\u2019Conor at fullback, Darcy Graham is on a wing. The pack has a familiar look.<\/p>\n
The Scottish side\u2019s injury list is extensive. Unavailable: Charlie McCaig (knee), Rhys Litterick (achilles), Rob Carmichael (wrist), Luke Crosbie (hamstring), Sam Skinner (hamstring), Paddy Harrison (back), Conor McAlpine (hamstring), Wes Goosen (hand), Duhan van der Merwe (ankle), Harry Paterson (quad), Magnus Bradbury (ankle).<\/p>\n
Leo Cullen have plumped for Jimmy O\u2019Brien on the left wing, Rieko Ioane at 13, and Harry Byrne at outhalf. Up front Ryan Baird starts his first game since breaking his leg in the November Tests. Jack Conan is named at blindside flanker. Alex Usanov covers loosehead on the bench. Luke McGrath is set to make his 250th appearance. <\/p>\n
We will have a look at the teams.<\/p>\n
LEINSTER: Hugo Keenan; Tommy O\u2019Brien, Rieko Ioane, Jamie Osborne, Jimmy O\u2019Brien; Harry Byrne, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong; Joe McCarthy, Ryan Baird; Jack Conan, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris (capt).<\/p>\n
Replacements: Gus McCarthy, Alex Usanov, Thomas Clarkson, Brian Deeny, Max Deegan, Luke McGrath, Ciar\u00e1n Frawley, Robbie Henshaw.<\/p>\n
EDINBURGH: Piers O\u2019Conor; Darcy Graham, Matt Currie, James Lang, Malelili Satala; Ross Thompson, Charlie Shiel; Pierre Schoeman, Ewan Ashman, D\u2019Arcy Rae; Marshall Sykes, Grant Gilchrist (capt); Liam McConnell, Dylan Richardson, Ben Muncaster.<\/p>\n
Replacements: Jerry Blyth-Lafferty, Boan Venter, Paul Hill, Glen Young, Freddy Douglas, Ben Vellacott, Mosese Tuipulotu, Jack Brown.<\/p>\n
Referee: Luke Pearce (RFU).<\/p>\n
Edinburgh head coach Sean Everitt sounded the clarion call: \u201cWe go to the Aviva Stadium with nothing to lose and everything to gain. This is a group of players who believe in what they\u2019re doing, and we\u2019re going out there to have a real go at one of the best sides in Europe.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe represent the Scottish capital \u2013 our supporters who have made the trip to Dublin and those watching back home \u2013 and that means a great deal to all of us. We\u2019re going to treat this for exactly what it is: a great opportunity to make history for this great club.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was better new for Richie Murphy\u2019s Ulster, also in the Challenge Cup as they squeezed past the Ospreys at the Affidea Stadium on Saturday night, thanks to a benevolent ruling that called back what looked like a match winning try for the visitors.<\/p>\n
Michael Sadlier was on hand to review proceedings.<\/p>\n
[\u00a0Ulster survive late scareOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n Nathan Johns was our man at Sandy Park as Munster went down to Exeter in the Challenge Cup yesterday. It was a tough watch for Munster fans. <\/p>\n [\u00a0Munster blown away at Sandy ParkOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n You\u2019d struggle to meet a nicer person in professional rugby or someone who is more a model pro than Luke McGrath. The scrumhalf will make his 250th appearance off the bench this evening, and will be hoping for a little more silverware before he departs for a new challenge in French Top 14 side Perpignan.<\/p>\n He started playing rugby at minis level in Old Belvedere, where his dad had played, went to St Michael\u2019s College, played age-grade for province and country and joined the Leinster academy. The 33-year-old scrumhalf won 20 caps for Ireland scored three tries. <\/p>\n He said: \u201cLeinster has given me everything, I owe them everything.\u201d It\u2019s fair to say he\u2019s given a lot back since too. <\/p>\n Leinster head coach Leo Cullen pointed to a changed atmosphere in-house. \u201cThere\u2019s always a different feel isn\u2019t there? Last week the intent was generally pretty good, but it just still had a feel of they needed to get through that Scarlets game and there was something bigger waiting. I don\u2019t get that sense this week as nobody is waiting for anything next week.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just the challenge that\u2019s in front of us and that\u2019s the only thing that matters right now, which is good because there\u2019s a different level of focus there within the group.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to make sure we get all our things in order and deliver a big performance for lots of different reasons. But mainly from an internal point of view as to what we want to deliver for each other. I think that\u2019s probably the biggest thing that I\u2019m getting from this week.\u201d<\/p>\n James Ryan chats through his memories of knockout rugby as a Leinster player and a Leinster fan. <\/p>\n Earliest memory \ud83d\udcad \ud83c\udf9f\ufe0f\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/x4a5UCkQp4<\/a><\/p>\n
Favourite player \ud83e\udd29
Traveling to big games with family \ud83d\udc68\u200d\ud83d\udc66\u200d\ud83d\udc66
His first knockout game as a player \ud83d\udca5
Inspiring teammates \ud83e\udd1c\ud83e\udd1b
The business end of the season \ud83d\udcbc<\/p>\n