Leinster have secured victories against English Premiership clubs Harlequins and Leicester in their opening two pool fixtures.
Investec Champions Cup Pool Three
Leicester Tigers (15) 15
Tries: Radwan, Hassell-Collins Con: Searle Pen: Searle
Leinster (6) 23
Tries: Gibson-Park, Sheehan Cons: Byrne, Prendergast Pens: Byrne 3
Leinster mounted a second-half comeback, overturning a nine-point deficit to defeat a resilient Leicester Tigers side 23-15 in their Champions Cup pool stage encounter.
A commendable defensive display, coupled with impressive tries from wingers Adam Radwan and Ollie Hassell-Collins, had propelled the Tigers to a 15-6 advantage.
The visitors were compelled to make a late change to their lineup after prop Tadhg Furlong was ruled out due to illness. Further compounding their challenges, flanker Jack Conan and full-back Jimmy O’Brien sustained injuries within the opening 15 minutes.
However, a Leinster team brimming with talent, including several Ireland internationals and New Zealand centre Rieko Ioane making his first start, ultimately weathered these setbacks and their first-half disadvantage.
They responded with 17 unanswered points in the second half, courtesy of tries from Lions representatives Jamison Gibson-Park and Dan Sheehan, securing Leinster’s second consecutive victory in the pool stage.
Leicester, on the other hand, have suffered defeats in their first two Pool Three matches, leaving them with an uphill battle to qualify for the last 16.
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Leinster, a four-time champion, are perennial contenders in the Champions Cup, consistently reaching at least the semi-final stage in eight of the past nine seasons.
Widely tipped as contenders in 2025-26, they were made to work diligently for their second victory against English opposition within a week, ultimately emerging as deserving winners.
Their two injuries occurred during an eventful opening 20 minutes at Mattioli Woods Welford Road.
Conan sustained an injury in a collision with Leicester’s Freddie Steward while attempting to gather a crossfield kick and subsequently failed a head injury assessment, while O’Brien limped off with an apparent knock.
That frenetic passage of play also included a disallowed try for Leinster’s Tommy O’Brien and a significant altercation stemming from James Lowe’s objection to being tackled in the air by Radwan, whose sensational length-of-the-field try followed shortly thereafter.
Leicester captain Tommy Reffell dislodged the ball in a tackle as Leinster attacked, and it bounced loose inside the Tigers’ 22 to Radwan, who kicked ahead on several occasions and outpaced the chasing defenders before touching down in the corner.
Just before half-time, Lowe was unable to gather cleanly when Hassell-Collins controlled Billy Searle’s crossfield kick with his foot, and the Leicester player capitalized on the opportunity to score.
Leinster, frustrated in attack during the opening 40 minutes, began to capitalize on their sustained pressure and secured the crucial breakthrough shortly after the interval.
The ball emerged from a scrum near Leicester’s 22, and Gibson-Park was the first to react, evading a couple of tackles before diving over.
Harry Byrne’s conversion, along with a subsequent penalty, propelled Leinster into the lead, and replacement hooker Sheehan powered over from a line-out catch-and-drive to deny Leicester a losing bonus point.
Both teams will play their final two pool matches in January. Leicester will host Bayonne and travel to face Stormers, while Leinster will host La Rochelle before visiting Bayonne.
The Tigers’ next match is a home Premiership fixture against Gloucester on Friday, 19 December, the same day on which Leinster return to URC action at home to Ulster.
Leicester: Steward; Radwan, Wand, Kata, Hassell-Collins; Searle, Whiteley; Smith, Blamire, Heyes, Henderson, Wells, Thompson, Reffell (capt), Moro.
Replacements: Theobald-Thomas, Van der Flier, Hurd, Manz, Williams, Allan, Bailey, Woodward.
Leinster: J O’Brien; T O’Brien, Ioane, Henshaw, Lowe; Byrne, Gibson-Park; McCarthy, Kelleher, Clarkson, McCarthy, Ryan, Conan, Van der Flier, Doris.
Replacements: Sheehan, Boyle, Slimani, Mangan, Deegan, McGrath, Prendergast, Frawley.
Referee: Pierre Brousset (France)
Assistant referees: Vincent Blasco Baque (France) and Julien Caulier (France)
TMO: Tual Trainini (France)
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