SEXTON RISES TOU OCCASION
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LEINSTER swarmed tired Toulouse at the Aviva Stadium to reach a sixth Heineken Champions
Cup Final.
Leo Cullen’s side will face Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle or Johnny Sexton’s former club Racing 92 in the final in Marseille on Saturday week after Sexton pulled the strings in this semi-final victory.
Success for Leinster in the south of France would see them equal Toulouse’s record of five triumphs in Europe’s premier club competition.
But Sexton warned fans not to get too carried away by the margin of victory after Toulouse had been taken to extra-time and penalty kicks by Munster in last week’s semi-final.
“We need to be better again in the final because, at the end of the day, Toulouse played 100 minutes against Munster, had to travel home, had to travel here again,” said Sexton.
“So we’ve got to take it with a pinch of salt. We’ve been a champion team before but we all remember the Saracens final [their 2019 defeat].
“I never thought I’d get another chance, so it’s great, and we’re all so driven to put a fifth star on the jersey.” The visitors drew first blood with Antoine Dupont’s early 95-metre breakaway try but lacked the sparkle that earned them the top prize last season.
Their skills coach Jerome Kaino described Leinster’s display as “ruthless”, adding: “If they play like that against any team, they’ll be hard to beat.”
Leinster shrugged off Dupont’s early strike and crossed for their first try in the 11th minute, wing James Lowe taking a pass from Sexton to score. The impressive Tadhg Furlong limped off in the 17th minute but the hosts added a second try soon after. Ross Molony released Sexton, who whipped the ball to Josh van der Flier, and he tumbled over.
Their third was a fine counter-attacking effort, led by Molony’s lineout steal, Lowe finishing for his second try from Sexton’s long pass.
A Selevasio Tolofua reply kept the game alive but hopes of a comeback were snuffed out by Ross Byrne’s 75th-minute penalty before Hugo Keenan’s late try added gloss to the scoreline.
LEINSTER: Tries: Lowe (2), Van der Flier, Keenan. Cons: Sexton (3), Byrne. Pens: Sexton (3), Byrne. TOULOUSE: Tries: Dupont, Tolofua. Cons: Ramos (2). Pen: Ramos.