Irish rugby’s remarkable season continued as Leinster became only the sixth side to achieve a European and domestic double. Given Ireland’s recent Six Nations Grand Slam, this season has been a rhapsody in green and blue.
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The Guinness Pro14 may have been lower down Leinster’s list of priorities but this achievement should not be underestimated. After being crowned kings of Europe in Bilbao a fortnight ago it would have been easy for Leo Cullen’s side to lose focus.
But to their credit they defied history and a stubborn Scarlets side to join Toulouse, Leicester, Wasps, Toulon and Saracens to back up a European Cup with domestic glory.
This 40-32 victory in front of a record 46,092 for a Pro14 final was built on the same foundations on which they smashed Wayne Pivac’s side in the Champions Cup semi-final, with their physicality too much for the Welsh to handle.
Leinster began the stronger as the visitors made a number of sloppy mistakes during the opening exchanges. And Leinster drew first blood with a Johnny Sexton penalty after Luke McGrath made a clear break off the back of a driving lineout. The scrum-half was brought down only for the visiting defence to be caught offside.
However, it served to waken the Scarlets up with Leigh Halfpenny levelling the scores a few minutes later after Rob Evans was tackled early as they were building some pressure.
Halfpenny further extended the Scarlets’ lead with a penalty from 40 metres out. Cullen’s side began to showcase the physicality with which they tormented their visitors a month ago with their forwards starting to get over the gainline and make metres.
Their forward dominance led to Sexton levelling the scores with a simple penalty attempt from straight in front of the posts.
Leinster grabbed the game’s opening try when Devin Toner powered over from short range as the Scarlets struggled to cope with their dynamic ball carriers. The hosts went through 22 phases before the Ireland international crept over the line.
Despite losing the physical battle the Scarlets always looked threatening whenever they had possession. The Kiwi winger Johnny McNicholl sparked the Welsh region into life when he raced clear after a snipe from the scrum-half Gareth Davies. He was eventually brought down but the ball was recycled for McNicholl to touch down from short range.
The Scarlets were dealt a significant setback when their flanker Aaron Shingler hobbled off with a knee injury which could put him in doubt for Wales’s tour of Argentina.
Just as the Scarlets seemed to be gaining a foothold in the game Leinster set up a series of menacing driving lineouts on the opposition tryline. The visitors managed to repel the forward surges but the ball was spread wide for James Lowe to sneak in at the far left-hand corner.
Leinster began the second half with the sole intention of killing their visitors off early and went for the jugular after turning down an easy three points. Just when Toner thought he had scored his second try the openside flanker James Davies saved the day with a turn-over penalty.
A high tackle from Scott Williams on Sexton left the crowd incensed but the referee, Stuart Berry, opted not to punish the Ospreys-bound centre.
But Wayne Pivac’s side could cope only with so much pressure as Sean Cronin crossed at the right-hand corner, leaving the defending champions with a mountain to climb.
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It was the young winger Jordan Larmour who put the game beyond doubt, showing great pace to touch down for his side’s fourth try after a neat kick through from Sexton.
To their credit the Scarlets kept battling and McNicholl gave them a slight glimmer of hope with a stunning finish for their second try of the afternoon.
But Leinster were in no mood to take their foot off the gas as the replacement outside-half Joey Carbery sliced through the defence to put Jack Conan over for a score.
The Scarlets grabbed their third try in the dying stages of the game when the replacement tight-head prop Werner Kruger smashed his way over the line.
McNicholl completed a hat-trick with a scintillating late score after a stunning break from the Wales centre Scott Williams who raced down the touchline before putting the winger over.
But it was too little too late as Leinster ensured the Pro14 crown went back to Dublin.