EDINBURGH fans had been enjoying themselves this week.
A place in the Heineken Cup semi-finals was something to look forward to, a grand day out full of promise for those in the stands and perhaps even success for those on the pitch. That positive outlook was punctured abruptly when they returned their focus to the RaboDirect PRO12 last night.
Michael Bradley's side will face Ulster in their semi-final later this month but it was another Irish province that discomfited Edinburgh here, with Leinster running eight tries past them to secure a home semi-final in the RaboDirect PRO12. The league leaders are now guaranteed to finish in the top two following their 16th win of the campaign, which became a rout following five second-half tries.
Shane Jennings' fortuitous early try for the hosts was cancelled out by Nick De Luca's effort after 11 minutes, before scores from Fergus McFadden and Sean Cronin saw Leinster break into an 18-7 lead. Fionn Carr's 43rd-minute try sealed the bonus point but the Scots duly leaked four more touchdowns as the Irish side tore them apart.
Edinburgh bore a close resemblance to their European line-up, making five changes to the side that shocked Toulouse in the Heineken Cup last weekend. Leinster, on the other hand, retained only Isa Nacewa, Gordon D'Arcy and stand-in captain Jamie Heaslip from their win over Cardiff Blues.
The game burst into life as a number of players looked to press their claims for more regular outings, and the sight of Devin Toner galloping into the Edinburgh 22 delighted the home support. McFadden watched a penalty attempt flick away off the left post, but covering winger Lee Jones failed to control the difficult bouncing ball and Jennings swept in to ground it for the opening try.
McFadden failed to add the conversion, though, and Edinburgh scored an immediate riposte, with Laidlaw's pass sent De Luca over for a well-worked try. The conversion was landed by Laidlaw to move the Scots 7-5 ahead, but their lead would not last long.
Countering from deep, Nacewa sent David Kearney surging down the right wing and his inside pass was perfectly timed for McFadden to gather and complete a 40-metre dash to the corner. He was less emphatic with his conversion and a penalty, both going wide of the posts.
He made amends soon enough, seizing on an infringement to kick over after 29 minutes. Laidlaw then missed a long-range effort and Leinster, retaining possession well, added a third unconverted try when hooker Cronin charged on to Isaac Boss' pass.
They continued to attack, and score, after the break. Edinburgh conceded an early try from Carr and Nacewa converted. Two penalties from Laidlaw kept Bradley's side in touch at 25-13 down, but their defiance couldn't last. It didn't.
A Nacewa penalty put 15 points between the sides and then the full-back burst on to a Boss pass to score the fifth try. A powerful lineout maul led replacement Leo Auva'a to add a sixth, while Brendan Macken and Toner added two more scores late on.
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