Montpellier mauled by hit-man Henshaw
RUAN Pienaar nailed a late penalty to secure a key bonus point for Montpellier at the RDS, but Leinster got off to the perfect start with a five-point haul.
Joey Carbery and Josh van der Flier put Leinster five up at the interval, but Robbie Henshaw was outstanding after the break and scored his side’s third before he helped Barry Daly to a bonus clinching fourth 13 minutes from time.
A rarity for a modern hooker, Montpellier’s Bismark du Plessis almost lasted 80 minutes, and he delivered a performance laden with moments of class, and after all six pool rounds are played out, Nemani Nadolo’s two tries and Pienaar penalty could be crucial.
“We felt we needed to come out and earn some respect,” said Nadolo. “We all know what happened the last time we came here – we got 50 put on us. We wanted to put in a solid performance, so to come away with a point is good for us.”
Montpellier looked very bright early on but the points did not arrive and instead Carbery lifted Leinster with their first try after 18 minutes.
The young Ireland international was involved on the left as they gained a penalty advantage, but he did well to spring up on the right moments later to run in Ross Byrne’s long, flat pass through a yawning gap between Frans Steyn and Nadolo.
That was Carbery’s first Champions Cup try, but also Leinster’s 400th in the competition, and 14 minutes from the break they added another to their tally.
Again Nadolo’s suspect defensive work was punished as Adam Byrne twice produced linebreaks in quick succession, but after some patient play, Van der Flier squeezed over the line despite the best efforts of Bismark du Plessis. Isa Nacewa converted for a 12-0 lead.
Montpellier looked primed to experience another heavy defeat at the RDS after those two tries – they lost 57-3 here last season – but a couple of brilliant jackals from Bismark du Plessis denied Leinster a couple of scor- ing chances in the immediate aftermath.
And two minutes from the interval Steyn barged past Henshaw, which almost resulted in a try for Nadolo, but he was held just short.
From the resultant scrum the ball squirted out to the Fijian who scored easily from close range. Pienaar’s conversion Montpellier only trailed 12-7 at half-time.
It didn’t take Montpellier long to press the self destruct button, though. They conceded of a couple of penalties and they then failed miserably to deal with Ross Byrne’s crossfield kick to Adam Byrne, which eventually fell kindly to Henshaw who scored try No.3.
While his kicking from hand was loose at times, Ross Byrne nailed the conversion for a 19-7 lead, and moments like Henshaw’s brilliant double tackle on Nadolo after 59 minutes kept Montpellier at arm’s length.
Nadolo did slip through for a second try with 18 minutes remaining and Pienaar’s conversion cut the lead to five points, but Daly wrapped up the bonus point and Leinster held on for the win despite Adam Byrne’s late yellow for a deliberate knock-on.