The 42 Reports from the Aviva Stadium

Leinster 47

Bath 21

THIS WAS A proper battle in the first half and there’s no doubt that Leinster’s cause was helped by the visitors playing 30 minutes of the game with 14 men, but Leo Cullen’s side eased their way to a dominant win in the end.

A seven-try bonus-point win means Leinster have definitely topped Pool 2 of the Champions Cup and will probably go into the knock-out stages as one of the top two seeds overall, which would ensure home advantage in the Round of 16, quarter-finals, and semi-finals.

But they will almost certainly have to wait until the last pool-stage game between Sale and Toulon tomorrow to be sure of that.

For now, they can reflect on a highly entertaining meeting with Premiership leaders Bath, whose Finn Russell-inspired attack caused them major problems in the opening 40 minutes.

This season, Jacques Nienaber’s defence had only conceded 20 points or more twice before tonight. So in that sense, keeping Bath scoreless in the second half would have been pleasing.

Read Murray Kinsella’s full report from the Aviva Stadium on The 42