Leinster cruise past Castres

Leinster took another huge step towards progressing from Pool Two of the Heineken Cup as they maintained their 100 percent record with a 33-3 win over Castres.

The victory, albeit not a bonus-point one, puts the Irish side six points clear of Wasps at the top of the pool with three games remaining.

A scrappy and unspectacular first 40 minutes saw Leinster take a 9-0 lead into the break, however the Dubliners turned on the style in the second half as Bernard Jackman, Brian O'Driscoll and Simon Keogh went over unanswered.

Jonny Sexton added 14 points with his boot, however credit must be given to Castres as they held on stoically to deny the hosts a precious bonus point.

As the game settled down in front of another packed-out RDS, both sides enjoyed prolonged spells of possession without threatening either try-line.

Thwarted

Indeed the first points didn't come until the 14th minute as Sexton fired over two close range penalties in the space of five minutes to give the hosts a 6-0 lead.

The highlight of a scrappy first-half was the lineout masterclass on show as a mixture of Malcolm O'Kelly, Devin Toner and Rocky Elsom plucked the ball out of the sky off nearly every set play.

Sexton added his and Leinster's ninth point of the afternoon with a superb long-range penalty just before the half hour, and the lead would have been greater at half-time had Elsom and O'Driscoll not been thwarted with the Castres line in sight.

As Leinster took to the field in the second half a bonus-point victory may have seemed a long way off, however when Jackman latched onto Shane Horgan's chip kick to score under the posts almost immediately, such hopes were reignited.

It was one for the copybook from the Irish hooker as he collected the ball inside the Castres 22 before dropping his shoulder and crossing the whitewash.

Sexton's conversion was cancelled out immediately by an Anthony Lagardere penalty as the French outfit picked up their first points of the afternoon to make it 16-3.

Leinster's No.10 then smashed over his 13th point of the match with another penalty, however the RDS crowd began to vent their frustration that their side were opting to kick for goal, rather than touch.

Powerful

To their credit, Castres were putting in a stoic defensive display, thwarting Leinster's seemingly relentless assaults on their try-line.

However, their cause wasn't helped when Yannick Forestier was sent to the sin bin with 14 minutes remaining for cynically killing the ball, and that soon culminated in Leinster's second try.

A powerful drive from Jamie Heaslip saw him held up just inches short of the line, however when the ball was recycled it was O'Driscoll who squeezed in at the corner for his 24th Heineken Cup try.

David Holwell added the extras as Leinster put the result beyond doubt at 26-3 and that left the hosts just over 10 minutes to find two further tries.

With the clock looking like it was going to beat Leinster's hopes of clinching a bonus point, replacement Keogh crossed the line with four minutes remaining to put the RDS crowd on the edge of their seats.

However, the 14 men of Castres held firm at the death to deny the hosts a bonus-point win which would have all but killed off Wasps' hopes of clinching top spot from the pool.