Leinster go through in thriller
Leinster survived a remarkable comeback from Wasps in the battle of the former champions at the Ricoh Arena, to qualify for the quarterfinals of the European Champions Cup as Pool Two winners.
The Irish province looked on their way to a comfortable win when they went in with a 20-6 lead at half-time, but the English side staged a formidable rally in the second half and saw flyhalf Andy Goode miss a drop-goal attempt with the last kick of the game.
The teams finished deadlocked at 20-all.
Leinster now have to wait to see if they get a home draw in the knock-out stages, while Wasps, who finish level on points with Harlequins in the Pool, will have to wait and see if they qualify as one of the best runners up.
But Wasps indiscipline ultimately cost them in a one-sided first half when they had to play for 20 minutes with 14 men with flank Ashley Johnson and prop Lorenzo Cittadini both yellow carded.
The Dubliners will be wondering how they surrendered such a strong position and two sides and will be happy they that came away with a defeat.
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The visitors took full advantage of their one-man advantage with their first real attack of the game when wing Fergus McFadden crossed in the corner to give the Irish side the lead.
Centre Ian Madigan slotted over the conversion before flyhalf Andy Goode steadied the ship for Wasps with a penalty to make it 7-3.
Despite the return of big flank Johnson to the field from the sidelines, Wasps were under the cosh for most of the first period and struggled to escape Leinster's stranglehold on territory and possession.
Madigan, who missed his first two penalties of the game, landed a penalty midway through the first half to give the Dubliners a seven point lead before Wasps' indiscipline reared its head again.
Italian prop Cittadini became the second Wasps player to be shown a yellow card when he was penalised at the tackle and Leinster flyhalf Jimmy Gopperth slotted over the penalty.
Goode replied with a second penalty for 14-men Wasps before Leinster scored their second try with replacement scrum-half Isaac Boss getting the touchdown from short-range to make it 20-6 to the Irish province.
Leinster then incurred the wrath of French referee Jerome Garcès when he brandished a third yellow card to lock Kane Douglas for a late tackle on Johnson just before half-time.
Wasps looked to have take advantage of their extra-man when wing Tom Varndell crossed for a try in the corner but the score was ruled out for obstruction by referee Garcès.
But the home side were not to be denied when prop Matt Mullan burrowed over from short-range from a line-out to close the gap to seven points before number eight Nathan Hughes did the same minutes later to level the scores and to set up a thrilling finale.
The scorers:
Tries: Mullan, Hughes
Cons: Goode 2
Pens: Goode 2
Tries: McFadden, Boss
Cons: Madigan 2
Pens: Madigan, Gopperth
Yellow cards: Ashley Johnson (Wasps, 1), Lorenzo Cittadini (Wasps, 28), Kane Douglas (Leinster, 40)
Teams:
Wasps: 15 Rob Miller, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Elliot Daly, 12 Ben Jacobs, 11 Tom Varndell, 10 Andy Goode, 9 Joe Simpson, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 James Haskell (captain), 6 Ashley Johnson, 5 James Gaskell, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Edd Shervington, 1 Matt Mullan.
Replacements: 16 Carlo Festuccia, 17 Simon McIntyre, 18 Jake Cooper-Woolley, 19 Kearnan Myall, 20 Guy Thompson, 21 Ed Jackson, 22 Alex Lozowski, 23 Andrea Masi.
Leinster: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Fergus McFadden, 13 Luke Fitzgerald, 12 Ian Madigan, 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Jimmy Gopperth, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Jamie Heaslip (captain), 7 Jordi Murphy, 6 Dominic Ryan, 5 Kane Douglas, 4 Devin Toner, 3 Marty Moore, 2 Sean Cronin, 1 Michael Bent.
Replacements: 16 Richardt Strauss, 17 Jamie Hagan, 18 Tadhg Furlong, 19 Mike McCarthy, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Isaac Boss, 22 Gordon D'Arcy, 23 Darragh Fanning.
Referee: Jérôme Garcès (France)
Assistant referees: Salem Attalah (France), Maxime Chalon (France)
TMO: Hervé Dubes (France)
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