Leinster v Bath Reaction | Champions Cup Rugby | 2024/25

[@martingavin3147]

Thanks Mark I thought Barrett showed today why he is such a world class player.

[@TwoCentsRugby]

Yeah man good on the carry, quick hands, won at least one turnover - cracking addition to the squad

[@Finderskeepers.]

100%. He has really impressed me at how well and how quickly he has integrated while also playing different positions.

[@lawLess-fs1qx]

Rabah Slimani was sublime. Terrifying depth that Furlong wasn't missed. As the commentator said, Leinster scored 8 tries coming into this game and added 7 today Good time of the year to lace up the scoring boots. Great to see Gazza yesterday.

[@matt248]

As long as you have a national Union behind you bending their own rules, yeah great depth!

[@jmo8934]

Bending what rules exactly? I love the smell of bitterness in the morning.

[@matt248]

Let's see come St Patrick's weekend has the IRFU game plan come off. Follow the €€€

[@michaelmartin2075]

​@matt248 what are you talking about?

[@paulwalsh598]

That’s an easy answer Michael, he is fluent in Gibberish.

[@barryb90]

What a shift by Snyman in just 30 minutes.

[@DEvilParsnip]

He is just ridiculous, he is a walking GI-Joe action figure with magic extendo arms.

[@burncarlow]

​@DEvilParsnip with unbelievable one handed grip on a ball.

[@paulcostello1807]

​@@DEvilParsnipdoes he remind you of a certain Sonny Bill Williams

[@barryb90]

@@DEvilParsnip we got more out of him in a few months than Munster did in years. Absolute beast of a man.

[@SchmozzleGTO]

@@barryb90 he's like a "cheat code"... unreal.

[@neilmontgomery3470]

Bath deserves full respect for what they brought to the game. No one has dealt with the Leinster defence as well as they did in the first half. It was unfortunate that they got the red but I feel Leinster were starting to pull away anyway. Bath looked like they had been put through the mincer and were starting to fragment even before the red card. I think Leinster would still have won handily enough even if Bath had stayed at 15.

[@declanburke2703]

Bath were brilliant first half , very fast and I thought anyone’s at about 60 mins but red card or loosing and or running lower on pace but Leinster seemed to dominate after that but great game , Leinster fan on way home from match

[@AbeHopwood]

I agree leinster probably would have still won, but I just feel like it would've been much closer if bath hadn't gotten the red card. You could just tell the first yellow card was the turning point of the game

[@davidwalker2402]

So many Leinster and Irish people worried about the Irish attack,I think ulster, Leinster , Munster, and Connacht showed the Irish attack is still knocking about, the 4 provinces scored a total of 169 points with 22 tries. Good performance from the Irish provinces.

[@neilmontgomery3470]

Exactly, I'm so tired of that narrative. It's just talked up by some pundits and the fans just parrot it. Leinster and the other Irish sides know how to attack. I think Leinster have built a foundation on defensive pressure. Now they are layering back in their traditional attacking game. I think they will be in a very good place by the time the knockouts start.

[@readesiun988]

Yep, Mark, Leinsters defence dropped today, but I and most Leinster fans are happy chipmunks today, attack is back, rusty, but back, put their Ireland heads on , Bath are all gone to the hospital, Leinster getting very vicious these days, great to see Keenan back, Prendergast is improving all the time, he has some moves, kicking was on point. But why oh why does Leo keep taking him off and killing the momentum with Byrne. Barrett had a great game, he is enjoying his Leinster time, Snyman is having the time of his life, he is some man. The atmosphere was electric at the end. Looking forward to the Six Nations a lot more today, Munster had a great game, super close at the end, Munster boys looking good, Ulster had a great win all the boys coming into form at the right time. Get well soon Bath, tough day at the office.

[@Natedawg38]

Nice to see leinster rolling out the tries again

[@DEvilParsnip]

It is , it so is.

[@larrytasker7043]

From a Kiwi. Have to say I am most impressed with Sam Predergast. Brilliant running, linking and goal kicking.

[@peadarr]

Are you high? Or were you watching a different game

[@pilgrim3387]

Half the bath team will be in hospital after that. Ringrose and Osborne caught out on the wings in the first half, which is understandable as they're not wingers

[@Paul-te8mz]

Fair play to Bath, who really put it up to Leinster in the first half. Red card was unfortunate, but as you said Mark, game management would probably have seen the player subbed at half time. Good to see Ross Molony returning to play his old team mates, and he certainly seemed to get a great reception from the crowd when he was subbed off, and then when he came back again! Continuing the negatives for Bath was Beneton's excellent win at home against La Rochelle, but great for Italian rugby. Thanks again Mark for excellent instant analysis.

[@Kenny-zn6dl]

Was a little bit worried about our national team in up coming six nations tournament, leinster produced it today against a top class bath team, munster had a chance to steal a win in Northampton, another top class English team, came away with bonus points, zero injuries and throw in aki, bealham, hansen, Henderson , herring and we go into the six nations in good form, saw a different leinster today, scoring 7 tries and played very well for 60 minutes

[@neilmontgomery3470]

Ulster and Connacht both won their European games well too. The Irish teams seem to come into form just in time for the Six Nations.

[@Kenny-zn6dl]

@neilmontgomery3470 yes they certainly did, watched leinster on rte two, but all four provinces played well and three of them won, Borthwick watched closely at bath's rushed defence today but it didn't work, he will no doubt try the same in two weeks time with England.

[@ruairiosullivan3763]

I’m glad that Bath and Russell unlocked our defence and we reacted and went to our attack. Being honest we need to be losing to see how to win.

[@jackconway7961]

Rg Snyman was absolutely ridiculous, Henshaw had a amazing game, Van der Flier and JGP were their usual excellent and Osborne to me was the man of the match just on another level look better on the wing than hansen or lowe. Bath play well but a few calls against them and the leinster bench was too much

[@unleashedmystery]

Snyman has aimbot hacks with those offloads

[@brianmsahin]

Happy Leinster fan here. Bath started very well indeed with 2 good tries. After that Leinster decides to wake up. Kudos to Bath though. Though the second yellow resulting in a red was very unfortunate, Leinster had already taken the game by the scruff of the neck at that point. It was a very entertaining encounter !

[@gerryrafferty7500]

It feels like we getting there , was at the game and we looked really good

[@tomc2581]

This pool shows the gulf in class between English club rugby and the rest. Bath are top of the prem and Bristol are second and both struggled

[@AbeHopwood]

Leinster and the French teams aren't "the rest"

[@neilmontgomery3470]

Leinster seem to be improving as they move forward in this competition. I don't claim to be an expert, but it looks to me like they are merging their traditional attacking game back into their fairly new defensive system. This is in contrast to previous years when they were more or less playing the same game all the way through, blowing teams away but running out of gas towards the end of the competition. I think they still have considerable potential to improve as we move into the knockout stages. I could be wrong but that is how it seems to me.

[@fawltyoldboybasil.2178]

Seems a good analysis to me.

[@DEvilParsnip]

Scary scary start, but great quick response and Leinster and really grew into the game. Very happy to see the width that leinster were using and passing of old. Still plenty of errors but happy with the performance, hopefully they are starting to dind their mojo again.

[@bernieob9577]

Wow great game . Well done leinster.

[@poo2764]

They say the Gallagher Premiership the best in the world! But yet again the the best Irish team Leinster hammering them????

[@x-latetv-x6816]

The red card killed it, they would of still won but not by a margin of 26

[@LFire12]

Those saying that are almost uniformly those in the Gallagher Premiership. It's not a patch quality wise on the Top 14. The URC is more entertaining to boot. And getting stronger. To whit, Benneton taking La Rochelle this evening.

[@gavshan]

Just back from the match, we were a bit nervous at the start and in the crowd it did look like Prendergast was a bit uncomfortable at the start but the attack really did click in the end. Fair play to Bath in the first half forcing errors before we could score.

[@clongownian1]

Snyman is a ridiculously good player, as is Barrett. Doris made a huge difference when he came on. I thought the second yellow leading to red was a little harsh. Excellent win for Leinster. The margin flattered Leinster, but they were worthy winners.

[@aidanmasterson50]

Their defence left a lot to be desired in the first half. But that 4th try…. And then just as the game was opening up, they took off Prendergast again.

[@ItsBellers]

Leo cullens love affair with Ross Byrne needs to be investigated be the gardai at this point. Somethings not right. He came on and pissed away one sure try and another likely one

[@Finderskeepers.]

@@ItsBellers Fair comment but I wonder if Prendergasts performance was a factor even if he did make a try. 10 is a big issue for Leinster

[@Dreyno]

Both wings were playing out of position. Asking for issues out wide.

[@ItsBellers]

@@Finderskeepers. I think the answer to 10 is fairly straight forward. Sam is still young but undoubtedly has the highest potential in the Leinster camp and potentially even the Irish system as a whole as it stands. I think he needs game time to grow his decision making. Frawley is well able to calm a game down and take control of it at 10 if needs be off the bench. Also a good versatile option to have coming off the bench. I think we have more of a wing issue than a 10 issue personally

[@Finderskeepers.]

@@ItsBellers Agreed, he has potential but I thought he had the weakest performance of the starters and was given a lot of space by Bath. I hope he took a lot from the game as TBF that may of been his biggest step up yet in terms of opposition. Fingers crossed.

[@bengormley2517]

Toulouse v Leinster..can't wait

[@gezzarandom]

Leinster keep rolling on, looking like a repeat from last year Toulouse v Leinster. BUT there’s a lot of rugby to be played between now and then.

[@martinodea1292]

Ringrose on wing did not work defensively and wont work v tolouse. Two line breakers beside each other has benefits for sure but defensively too much lost for ringrose not at 13 Barret can either come on with RG or start on wing...let him drif off wing freely in attack

[@patrickcusack8292]

Sitting there, even after going 14 points down,I wasn’t worried. Bath started well, Ringrose was startled early on but we ground it out, Happy Out!

[@Cpchurch87]

Great game. Bath came firing out from the word go. They are not Premiership leaders for nothing, and they needed a win. As a Leinster fan, im glad of the test. While the two yellows in isolation were correct, having it result in a red always feels harsh. I think it changed the margin but not the result. Nice to see that, when we needed to we could score some points. Thats been my worry with this Leinster team. Its fine not scoring much when your defence is on top, but what happens when you leak a few tries

[@TwoCentsRugby]

Yeah a red card for scrum penalties sucks.... but with the rate Obano was being pinged, surely van Graan needed to sub him....

[@alexherbert9404]

World Rugby needs to legislate against Leinster's filthy filthy bench. Haha

[@grahammccready2647]

Ref stands far too close to the back of a line out. The ball is overthrown and heading to a Bath player but hits the ill positioned ref who has to award a scrum then cards a Bath player at a scrum on half way for driving in & it is second yellow=red. That just seems incredibly harsh.

[@degsiemcdegface459]

Champagne rugby in the second half from Leinster. Competition is in the bag 💙💙💙

[@ruairiosullivan3763]

I know Henshaw got MotM but Salimi and Porter were awesome

[@amosc768]

I've been saying it for years but Henshaw is a better 13 than he is a 12

[@x-latetv-x6816]

Where do you put ringrose then even though i seen him catch a lineout😂

[@Dreyno]

Henshaw played 13 through schools, academy and most of the time at Connacht. He broke through at 15 only because Gavin Duffy had a season (career) ending injury and, being Connacht, there was nobody else. Leinster signed him as BoD’s replacement but in the interim Ringrose emerged. So when Leinster finally got him, they shifted him to 12 as a best use of resources. He’s big and could truck it up but I always felt the lack of time and space wasted much of his ability as a player.

[@declanburke2703]

I thought match was anyone’s up to 60 minutes . Bath were fast very fast and at full steam first half , whether the red card or loosing energy but after 60 mins Leinster dominated , I was at match , really enjoyed

[@bryanellis459]

Bennetton beat La Rochelle to knock Bath into the CHallenge Cup as well

[@Stereo_mike]

A better ref would have blown bath off the park. I felt he was what kept bath in the game. Not good enough for this level

[@Irish780]

Henshaw was fantastic.. I think that was his first time wearing 13 .. man o match too😊 his second try a bit dubious I will say as a leinster fan ... but them calls are like a raffle at times ... still unbeaten 💪

[@aonghus3860]

Have you been watching rugby? Henshaw has played 13 loads over the past year, for Leinster and Ireland

[@Irish780]

@aonghus3860 I thought that too but believed that fool commentator on rte 2

[@Hometruths29]

My grandad can run faster than Ross Byrne 😂😂

[@timrobinson2587]

😭😭😭

[@InsanelyIrish]

Honestly the ref really didnt help todsy. Bath can feel justifiably hard done by today. Leinster did well but the red card really did take the gas out of them.

[@Nieljoyceniel]

What decision did the ref get wrong?

[@SchmozzleGTO]

​@@NieljoycenielObano's red was too harsh... I suspect ref made a mistake awarding it, as he was nervy having let Sam P. tap and go, despite stopped clock and Bath in a huddle he'd told them to have...

[@Dreyno]

@@SchmozzleGTOIt was a second yellow. That’s the law.

[@SchmozzleGTO]

@@Dreyno it was very very harsh and ruined the game... I played loose head, Id have taken the card easier if was on 5m line but going down closer to half way, in an unimportant scrum, already on a yellow for a mitigated first yellow... it was verrrry harsh and Im not convinced the ref intended to send him off... As mentioned, I think ref was flustered/nervy, particularly after mistakenly telling Leinster the could tap n go while closk was off... I'm a Leinster fan btw, Im not whingeing... The tap was an objective mistake, I think the second yellow was a subjective mistake- ref had scope to leave card out of it i.m.o.

[@Dreyno]

@@SchmozzleGTO He had gotten away with a head to the face earlier and was warned about the scrum. Mitigating the first offence down was generous. You don’t have a god given right to make a hit if you can’t do it legally. You don’t have to like it but the referee was well within his rights to give him the second yellow and the red was automatic.

[@douglaswright2143]

Like your dad, I am old school and hate to talk about referees, they are the only arbiter of truth. Like your dad, I was screething at the bloody box when the worst guy on the pitch has a whistle to play with!

[@ColmOkeeffe-f8u]

Barrett, what a brilliant player, what a signing for leinster,, great player and leinster really looking good,

[@liamoshaughnessy]

No Munster review?

[@TwoCentsRugby]

That game was 4 something in the morning so I opted to sleep this time 😅

[@liamoshaughnessy]

@TwoCentsRugby NB mark we lost again anyway so probably a tough away day in France after that result

[@ltyjk7553]

Im just suprised that some of the big news outlets do not avail of your expertise. You have more knowledge than most rte and bbc commentators. Great job man

[@kh7431]

@@TwoCentsRugby You should watch it if you get a chance , it was probably the game of the day