Champions Cup: Leinster see off Edinburgh in Champions Cup classic
Leinster thought they had made the perfect start to the second half when Josh van der Flier crossed, but, after a television match official [TMO] review, the try was chalked off for a knock on.
They continued to pile the pressure on in the early stages of the second half as they looked to extend their advantage, but failed to add to their tally and were caught out on 53 minutes when Edinburgh went ahead for the first time.
The ball bounced favourably for Darcy Graham after Thompson’s charged down kick and he gleefully took full advantage, chipping the ball over Keenan before touching down ahead of Gibson-Park.
Leinster responded well as van der Flier made amends for his failure to ground the ball 15 minutes earlier as he scored following a tap and go from Sheehan.
Two tries in quick succession from Thomas Clarkson and Ioane finally gave the hosts the breathing space their attacking display deserved.
Ioane set up Clarkson to power over on 63 minutes before the New Zealand international sold a dummy to Graham, skipped down the left-hand side and scored two minutes later to seal the victory for the four-time European Cup winners.
Leinster: Keenan; T O’Brien, Ioane, Osborne, J O’Brien; Byrne, Gibson-Park; Porter, Sheehan, Furlong; J McCarthy, Baird; Conan, Van der Flier, Doris (capt).
Replacements: G McCarthy, Usanov, Clarkson, Deeny, Deegan, McGrath, Frawley, Henshaw.
Edinburgh: Schoeman, Ashman, Rae, Sykes, Gilchrist, McConnell, Richardson, Muncaster; Shiel, Thompson, Satala, Lang, Currie, Graham, O’Conor.
Replacements: Blyth-Lafferty, Venter, Hill, Young, Douglas, Vellacott, Tuipulotu, Brown.
