Josh van der Flier and Caelan Doris scored tries for Leinster as they saw off the Lions 24-6 to become the last remaining unbeaten side in the United Rugby Championship (URC).
Leinster were also awarded a late penalty try as they moved to a six wins from six matches record as the previously unbeaten Lions came off second best in Dublin.
The Lions‘ only points came via two Kade Wolhuter penalty goals as their impressive start to the URC season was finally ended by Ireland‘s pace-setting province.
Unlike some of their recent bonus-point victories, Leo Cullen’s men had to show their persistence against a Lions outfit that defended physically and smartly for much of this encounter.
Two Wolhuter penalties had Lions leading 6-3 before player-of-the-match Van der Flier’s 31st-minute converted try gave Leinster a 10-6 interval lead.
Also adding to his earlier penalty, Sam Prendergast converted Doris’ score on the hour mark and a last-minute penalty try from a collapsed maul left the margin at 18 points.
The in-form RG Snyman blocked a Morne van den Berg box-kick inside the opening minute, leading to Ireland prospect Prendergast claiming the first points.
Boosted by holding up Hugo Keenan, the Lions ventured forward and Wolhuter split the posts twice, his second strike coming from just inside the Leinster half.
The 23-year-old fly-half then pulled a long-range penalty wide before Leinster got into range to break the try deadlock.
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Doris, Ireland’s captain for the Autumn Nations Series, carried hard off a scrum, leading to van der Flier eventually forcing his way over.
The Lions’ well-organised defence continued to frustrate Leinster, allied to the hosts’ indiscipline.
Henco van Wyk was quick off the mark to deny James Lowe, getting his fingertips to a dangerous grubber kick from Prendergast.
Finally, the hosts got the cushion they wanted when van der Flier, off the back of a tap penalty platform, sent Doris over from close range and Prendergast converted for a 17-6 scoreline.
The Lions’ hopes of hitting back were ruined by a crooked lineout throw and Leinster were then awarded a penalty try via a dominant drive.
The teams
Leinster: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Andrew Osborne, 13 Hugh Cooney, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 James Lowe, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Luke McGrath, 8 Caelan Doris (c), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Max Deegan, 5 Ryan Baird, 4 RG Snyman, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Gus McCarthy, 1 Michael Milne
Replacements: 16 Stephen Smyth, 17 Andrew Porter, 18 Thomas Clarkson, 19 Brian Deeny, 20 James Culhane, 21 Cormac Foley, 22 Ross Byrne, 23 Charlie Tector
Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Richard Kriel, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Rhynhardt Jonker, 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Kade Wolhuter, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Francke Horn (c), 7 Jarod Cairns, 6 JC Pretorius, 5 Ruben Schoeman, 4 Reinhard Nothnagel, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 Jaco Visagie, 1 Juan Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Franco Marais, 17 Heiko Pohlmann, 18 RF Schoeman, 19 Ruan Delport, 20 Renzo du Plessis, 21 Sanele Nohamba, 22 Marius Louw, 23 Erich Cronje
Referee: Craig Evans (WRU, 60th league game)
Assistant Referees: Peter Martin (IRFU), Stuart Gaffikin (IRFU)
TMO: Aled Griffiths (WRU)
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