Garry Ringrose leads Leinster to semi-final victory over Leicester in Champions Cup.

Currently, Dublin is not a happy place for English hunting grounds. However, Leicester managed to avoid any red cards. Nevertheless, as with England in the Six Nations last month, there was still no danger of an eye-catching away win. Leinster is now on track for a dream home final on the same stretch of turf next month after securing a spot in the last four of the Champions Cup, awaiting either Toulouse or Sharks in the semi-finals.

The stadium atmosphere was lower than the grand slam decider on St. Patrick’s weekend, but it's still a tough place for opposing sides to come. Two first-half tries and an excellent all-round display from Garry Ringrose kept Leinster on track. They racked up points with tries from Scott Penny, Jimmy O’Brien, and John McKee on top of 20 points from Ross Byrne’s boot, ensuring a lopsided final scoreline, only slightly massaged by consolation scores from Olly Cracknell and Harry Potter. Though better opposition awaits, it will be hard to stop Leinster, as they have home advantage throughout.

Despite the absence of injured Johnny Sexton, Josh van der Flier, and Ronan Kelleher, Leicester couldn’t escape from a comprehensive loss in the last half-hour. “We fought hard but if you give them a sniff they just kill you,” admitted Leicester fly-half Handré Pollard.

From the start, the signs weren't good, with Hugo Keenan stealing the opening kick-off from the experienced Mike Brown. Leinster moved slickly through the phases, and Ringrose scored the opening try after just 73 seconds. While Tommy Reffell and Julián Montoya were reliable irritants over the ball, Leinster’s quality was ultimately too much.

Even Ryan Baird's early departure and Caelan Doris’s redeployment to the No 7 jersey did little to disrupt Leinster’s rhythm. Byrne’s second penalty made it 17-3, but before the first half ended, the visitors notched a diving Anthony Watson try. The seven-point halftime deficit was better than Leicester anticipated, but they still had to negotiate the Irish rugby equivalent of Amen Corner.

Leinster were reawakened when playing with 14 men, a result of Doris’s sin-bin, and they won a raucously acclaimed scrum penalty. They added crucial 10 points without reply, including another well-conceived try set up by Ringrose and finished by Jamison Gibson-Park. The game had already slipped away down the River Liffey before Charlie Clare was sent to the bin, and Leicester conceded a penalty try.