Champions Cup: James Lowe scores four as dominant Leinster reach quarter-finals after thrashing Connacht

Colin Newboult

2J4H350 Leinster's James Lowe on his way to scoring his side's sixth try of the game during the Heineken Champions Cup round of 16, second leg match at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Picture date: Friday April 15, 2022.

There was to be no upset at the Aviva Stadium as a dominant first half laid the platform for Leinster to reach the Champions Cup quarter-finals after defeating Connacht 56-20 on Friday.

It secured an 82-41 triumph on aggregate following the Dublin outfit’s 26-21 win in Galway last weekend.

The visitors were the better team in the early stages, going 3-0 ahead through a Jack Carty penalty, but after the fly-half missed a second opportunity soon after, Leo Cullen’s men ran rampant.

Jamison Gibson-Park got the ball rolling before Robbie Henshaw, Tadhg Furlong and James Lowe touched down to open up a 28-3 advantage at the break.

Henshaw completed his brace at the start of the second period and Lowe then went over twice more to seal his hat-trick.

Connacht were spirited and responded with tries via Tiernan O’Halloran, Sammy Arnold and Abraham Papali’i but they had been outplayed by the four-time champions, who duly had the final word.

Leinster‘s intensity had understandably dipped but they put together one final attack which ended in Lowe going over for a fourth time.

Click here for teams and scorers

The visitors immediately ate into their five-point deficit from last week’s Champions Cup game. Cian Prendergast was quickest to the breakdown and Carty knocked over the penalty.

The Connacht fly-half frustratingly pulled a penalty wide soon after, and Leinster duly thundered clear in the 10th minute.

Henshaw and Josh Murphy led a slick surge down the right wing, linking inside with Lowe who fed Gibson-Park to go over untouched. Captain Jonathan Sexton converted from the right.

Henshaw shrugged off his Ireland team-mate Aki to crash over in the 17th minute, and tighthead Furlong drove over 10 minutes later to make it three converted tries.

Aki’s subsequent yellow card for a high tackle on Sexton was also punished in clinical fashion. Sexton’s lovely inside pass sent Lowe powering over for a late seven-pointer before the interval.

The floodgates were well and truly open, with Jimmy O’Brien prowling and Henshaw crossing just 59 seconds after the restart. Sexton’s right boot made it 35-3.

O’Halloran replied for Connacht, released by Carty’s delayed pass, but Aungier’s yellow for a shoulder charge on Josh van der Flier prompted uncontested scrums.

The westerners, with a groggy Finlay Bealham already replaced, had to toil away with 13 men for the next few minutes.

Sexton’s short pass unleashed Garry Ringrose from halfway and he spun the ball wide for Lowe to beat two defenders and double his contribution.

Sexton departed with a dozen points following his sixth successful conversion, but Connacht replacement Arnold soon barged over to leave it 42-13.

Lowe’s hat-trick score followed, with replacement Ross Byrne’s initial dummy setting it up, and the same two players combined again right at the death.

Byrne’s chip kick put Lowe over to the left of the posts after replacement Papali’i had muscled over at the other end.

READ MORE: Peter O’Mahony, Joey Carbery and Simon Zebo back for Munster’s clash with Exeter Chiefs