Leinster have kicked off their Champions Cup bid with a forgettable 35 - 12 win over Pat Lahm's Bristol Bears in poor conditions at Ashton Gate.
In what was a frustratingly slow and gritty opening half, it was Bristol who opened the scoring with Max Lahiff taking full advantage of Leinster's two yellow cards to dot over on the half-hour mark.
Max Lahiff gets the breakthrough! 💥@BristolBears with the game's opening try against Leinster 🐻#InvestecChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/BkbCv0Aq0z
— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) December 8, 2024
Despite being without Max Deegan who was sent to the bin for a trip and Ronan Kelleher who was also sidelined for repeated infringements, Leinster bounced straight back through a Jordan Larmour try that levelled the affair against the run of play.
While Bristol were the better side in the opening forty, they were no match for Leo Cullen's bench who were unloaded between halftime and the forty-fourth minute.
As Jordie Barrett, RG Snyman, and Caelan Doris all entered the fray, Leinster put the accelerator down with Prendergast and Barrett adding twenty-one unanswered points before the clock struck sixty.
While Van Der Flier would seal the Leinster win five minutes later, an injection of pace from former Connacht star Kieran Marmion set Gabriel Ibitoye up for a breakaway conciliatory try that would only be enough to soften the scoreline for Bristol.
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Jamie Roberts makes all too familiar Sam Prendergast comparison
While the conditions in England did little to help Sam Prendergast in his biggest start for Leinster to date, the 21-year-old certainly built on his recent Irish performances, delivering two tries for Leinster and kicking all five of his conversions.
Speaking about the young talent on Premier Sport after Sunday's game, Welsh legend Jamie Roberts said exactly what many others have been saying and compared Sam Prendergast to his predecessor, a one Johnny Sexton.
He's impressive isn't he, he reminds me of Johnny Sexton when he first came on the scene, looks like he's got it all, passing game, kicking game, he's quick, deceptively strong, he's quite big, he's probably bigger than he looks on TV up close.
Super impressive though, looked so calm for a young man, he has time on the ball, super impressive.
While Sam Prendergast got his fair share of credit for dotting over the whitewash not once but twice, it was Kiwi legend and Leinster debutant Jordie Barrett who made Prendergast's second try possible.
Speaking alongside Roberts, former Leinster and Connacht lock Mike McCarthy hailed the impact he had on Leinster's win over Bristol.
He had a massive influence, as did a few others coming off the bench, Jordie Barrett he's incredible, both sides of the ball, both sides of the ledger, in attack; running hard lines, drawing defenders, great hands.
Then defensively as well there was a choke tackle there where he held one of the Bristol players up, so yeah his appetite for work as well, he brings in so much experience as well.
For Barrett, Prendergast and Leinster there'll be little time to recover however, with Clermont Auvergene travelling to the Aviva Stadium next Saturday for Leinster's first home game of the Champions Cup.
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