Leinster and Munster roar into the semi finals!

 

 Gary Ringrose

Saturday was a red hot day for Leinster and Munster, with two dominant wins in the Champions Cup.

First up, a full Aviva Stadium were treated to a free flowing match, with Leinster scoring four tries and kicking penalties on a  regular basis to steadily keep extending their lead. For a side that are top of the Premiership, Wasps seemed strangely muted, relying on superstars like Curtly Beale and (cough) Willie Le Roux, to make the breaks and get the scores. On the whole, Leinster had them at arms length in defense, but dazzled them with ball in hand on attack. The handling of our forwards in particular is pretty special. We have a good blend of young players like Carberry and Ringrose (who looks like a superstar in the making), and then the balance with Sexton and  McFadden.  Add in a great family atmosphere there, and Leinster's future looks bright.

In the second match Munster went toe to toe with Toulouse, a real heavyweight contest. To be honest, Toulouse didn't offer much - or maybe Munster didn't let them, but the Frenchmen are a long way down from the sides that won four Heineken Cups. Their only try came courtesy of a pass that redefined the concept forward! POM was outstanding again, their forward play is really menacing, and their defense is suffocating, drawing a few tries at the end to really blow the score out.

In the other matches, Saracens ended up hammering Glasgow, they are machine like in their efficiency. I think rain must have affected the handling in the Clermont Toulon match, but that was s pretty dull match on the whole. a few enjoyably bonkers moments, but not what I was expecting. Clermont were clearly on top though.

So Munster take on Saracens at the Aviva next (might try and get to that) and Leinster travel to Lyon to take on Clermont. On the evidence of these four matches, Leinster, Munster and Saracens are incredibly well organised and focused, on a different level from the reat of the teams on show. Clemont are semi organised, semi mercurial, and enjoyable to watch!