Despite a strong fightback from Leo Cullen's men, Leinster's chances of reaching the knockout phase of the European Champions Cup took a huge blow this afternoon.
Leinster once again found themselves on the wrong end of the scoreline in the European Champions Cup after a defeat to Bath on Saturday afternoon.
The first half was a story of the boot, as Jonathan Sexton and George Ford, who might have been hoping to impress new England coach Eddie Jones, traded points.
It was a tight affair all the way up to the end of the first period, as Bath went in just three points to the good, in a 6-3 scoreline. Leinster had failed to really put any strong passing moves together, and were being dominated in the scrum by their opposite numbers.
The trend of kicking points continued in to the second half, as Sexton and Ford once again traded points. Sexton eventually brought his team level at 9-9, but Cullen's side had failed to really get any meaningful attacks going at any stage.
Despite some fantastic passing moves and great hands from the Bath backs, their only try of the game was awarded by referee Jerome Garces in the second half, although it appeared as though Bath had gone over the line before he eventually blew his whistle to give them a commanding lead on the scoreboard of 16-9.
It was at that point that Cullen's side came to life, as Josh van der Flier and James Tracy came on. The latter's first carry was a stunning one, as he made up huge ground, kicking the team into gear and giving them some confidence.
Van der Flier continued that momentum and went over the line, somewhat out of nowhere, and Sexton slotted over the conversion to bring things level at 16-16 and all of a sudden the momentum looked to be with the Irish side.
Sexton had the chance to give his side the lead for the first time since the opening stages, but despite it looking as though it was on target, the penalty proved to be just outside of his range.
Bath once again attacked with some quick passing that Leinster's tired legs failed to cope with, before another penalty was awarded to Bath and North slotted it over to give his side a winning margin with just three minutes on the clock.
Image: ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan
A late yellow for Alafoti Fa’osiliva for a high tackle on Dave Kearney meant that there was another chance for Leinster to get back into it as Sexton kicked down the line.
However, they lost the resulting lineout and Garces blew the final whistle as Leinster lost by a score of 19-16, and while they are mathematically still in the Champions Cup, they will need to win against holders Toulon to have any chance of progressing.
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