Jordan Larmour makes Ireland statement as seven-try Leinster ...

Leinster cruised to a 43-7 victory over Stade Francais as they booked their place in the Champions Cup last-16 on Saturday.

It was a marvellous performance from Leo Cullen’s charges, who only conceded when time was up on the clock as Joris Segonds finally found a way through the Jacques Nienaber-led defence.

James Lowe, Josh van der Flier, Dan Sheehan, Jordan Larmour (2), and Caelan Doris (2) crossed over for tries for Leinster, with Ciaran Frawley adding one conversion and Sam Prendergast adding three.

Ireland head coach Andy Farrell was in attendance to witness Leinster’s masterclass and will be pleased by the performance of many of his stars, particularly Doris, Ringrose, Lowe and Larmour, as they breezed past Stade.

Lowe’s return from injury and finishing the full 80 will please Farrell with Mack Hansen and Jimmy O’Brien sidelined, but it was Larmour who really shone and put his hand up for a potential recall. His brace was impressive, but overall, he had a superb outing.

The hosts quickly gained the ascendancy and had Stade Francais under the pump. Sheehan looked to have opened the scoring for the Irish province, but his effort was ruled out due to a hold off the ball.

It would not take long from that point for Leinster to finally get on the board as they lethally punished a poor clearance kick. Jamison Gibson-Park fired a bullet pass out to Garry Ringrose, who sped through the defence before sending Lowe through for an easy walk-in on his return to fitness; Frawley added the extras from out wide.

Van der Flier was then the beneficiary of some outstanding work from Doris on the half-hour mark. The number picked up a loose pass, pirouetted past the first attempted tackle, and beat another three before going just five metres short. Leinster quickly recycled the ball, and Larmour executed a simple draw and pass to send Van der Flier over the line.

Sheehan would not be denied a try with his second attempt as Ringrose’s deft kick landed safely in his grasps out on the wing, and he powered over the tackle of Kylan Hamdaoui to add his name on the scoresheet. Frawley would miss the second and third conversion attempts as Leinster held a comfortable 17-0 lead at the break.

Leinster started the second half as they ended the first as Ringrose made a scintillating break from a lineout just inside his own half. He was eventually dragged down inches short before the ball was whipped wide to Larmour to score. With Frawley forced off with an injury that will concern the Irish staff ahead of the Six Nations, Prendergast entered the fray, but he, too, struggled from the tee, missing his first shot from out wide.

They did not have to wait long for the second as Ryan Baird made a glorious break from his own 22 from the restart and managed to charge his way into the opposing 22. Leinster did not waste the field position as Larmour went close before Doris rounded off the score; this time, Prendergast was successful from the tee to extend the lead to 29-0 inside the first ten minutes of the second half.

Doris doubled his tally soon afterwards, thanks to a well-worked set move from the lineout. Robbie Henshaw and Ringrose again linked up at the tail of the lineout, with the latter stopped just shy of the whitewash, and again, Doris finished off the attack.

Having been denied a second score, Larmour would get a brace as he, too, benefitted from a slick move from the lineout. After setting the maul, Ronan Kelleher fed the winger inside, and the speedster hit the line superbly and tore through the defence to score Leinster’s sixth try.

Nienaber will be pleased by the performance of his charges on defence, too, as they managed to nil the French outfit for 80 minutes, with Lowe and van der Flier epically denying Stade in the final ten minutes.

There will be one caveat as Segonds managed to cross the whitewash with time up on the clock as Stade Francais’ playoff hopes officially ended.

Leinster will now be able to rest their stars next week against Leicester Tigers while Stade Francais can do the same in their final Champions Cup game of the season against the Stormers.

Leinster: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Jordan Larmour, 13 Garry Ringrose (c), 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 James Lowe, 10 Ciaran Frawley, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Ryan Baird, 5 Jason Jenkins, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements: 16 Ronan Kelleher, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Michael Ala’alatoa, 19 James Ryan, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Sam Prendergast, 23 Tommy O’Brien

Stade Francais: 15 Leo Monin, 14 Peniasi Dakuwaqa, 13 Stephane Ahmed, 12 Noah Nene, 11 Kylan Hamdaoui, 10 Zack Henry, 9 Brad Weber, 8 Giovanni Habel-Kuffner, 7 Ryan Chapuis, 6 Mathieu Hirigoyen (c), 5 JJ van der Mescht, 4 Pierre-Henri Azagoh, 3 Hugo N’Diaye, 2 Lucas Peyresblanques, 1 Clement Castets
Replacements: 16 Mamoudou Meite, 17 Vasil Kakovin, 18 Paul Alo-Emile, 19 Giorgi Tsutskeridze, 20 Andy Timo, 21 Jules Gimbert, 22 Paul Gabrillagues, 23 Joris Segonds

Referee: Christophe Ridley (Eng)
Assistant Referees: Luke Pearce (Eng), Gareth Holsgrove (Eng)
TMO: Tom Foley (Eng)

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