Leinster relieved to overcome 'sluggish' start against Sale

JOSH VAN DER Flier said Leinster were delighted to overcome a “sluggish” first-half performance as the province made it two wins from two in Europe with a 37-27 Champions Cup defeat of Sale Sharks.

Leo Cullen’s side were heavy favourites heading into the game against a depleted Sale team but struggled for cohesion in the first-half, with the visitors leading 13-11 at the break. 

Yet a much-improved Leinster scored 26-points across a dominant second-half display to record a five-try bonus-point win in front of a sold-out RDS.

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“It was a tough first-half, Sale are a really good team and showed it today. Especially that first-half, we were sluggish,” said Van der Flier.

“Proud of the lads to get that maul try at end of first-half, we played with speed in the second-half. Disappointed with the two tries in the finish, but we’re happy.

“It was really good how we dug in and came back with a couple of scores in the second-half. The goal was to go into Christmas with two wins and we’re delighted, two big games in January, but we’ll enjoy Christmas first.”

Leinster now head into URC derbies against Munster and Ulster before resuming their Champions Cup campaign with January fixtures against Stade Francais (home) and Leicester Tigers (away).

This evening’s result leaves the province top of pool four with nine points, as second-placed Leicester (five points) prepare to take on Stade Francais tomorrow.

“We’d a lot of respect (for Sale) and it was a good challenge to be emotionally and technically there,” added centre Garry Ringrose.

“They’re a good side and put us under pressure, we prepped well for them and they challenged us to take a step forward.

“To get five points off them is a good result. We finished the first-half well and carried that through. We’re there. We’ll take that.”