RUGBY / European Cup / Leinster 62 Border Reivers 14 : Once again Felipe Contepomi, the master puppeteer of this free-scoring Leinster outfit, missed the "man of the match" award.
This one went to Guy Easterby for another livewire, ever-alert performance - but the Argentinian was assuredly Leinster's man of the day.
Earlier in the morning his partner, Paula, gave birth to their first child, Catarina, and Contepomi duly masterminded much of Leinster's nine-try dissection of the Borders. He also chipped in with 22 points, the leading scorer in the Celtic League and Heineken European Cup taking his tally for the season to 281 points in 17 matches.
This was very much a complete, collective effort, and slick isn't the word for it. You wonder how only 4,125 can turn up for the amazing brand of rugby Leinster seamlessly maintained despite international disruptions.
Of course, there might have been more international call-ups, and the likes of Keith Gleeson, with another all-round masterclass in openside play, Jamie Heaslip, Easterby and Denis Hickie had plenty of points to prove.
The work of the pack in ensuring good setpiece ball and quick ruck ball provided the platform for Contepomi to open his bag of tricks - running at the defence and checking them with hands and feet.
And the lines the support runners took frequently bamboozled the Borders, who must have felt they were facing 20 men.
About the only blemishes were the concession of two tries.
"I asked the boys not to concede any more soft points in the second half and they didn't," said coach Michael Cheika. "That was good, and we didn't let it become a side-to-side-fest."
The fun and games began inside the first minute with Bryce Williams rumbling over off a Contepomi half-break and offload.
Heaslip, another to have a big game, having forced a turnover in the tackle and Calum MacRae having spilled Contepomi's missed penalty to touch, the Argentinian then looped around - after Jonny Hepworth set the midfield target - with a show and a shimmy to convert his own try.
The Borders were typically gamy, tapping virtually every penalty and playing with width, but their two tries for Nikki Walker, the second after Contepomi's pass was picked off by Charlie Hore (the biter being bit) were brief interludes.
The bonus point was secured in the 28th minute by Gary Brown's second try in four minutes, Lewis and Gleeson making inroads off Contepomi's offloads.
Soon Gleeson won turnover ball in the tackle and Eric Miller was twice involved in putting Hickie over with a fantastic pass out of the tackle.
Leinster were even more clinical in the second half. Brown repeated his hat-trick in last season's corresponding fixture; Kearney finished off the sixth, a fantastic move featuring a fleetfooted inside line by Gleeson and support from Heaslip, and more weaving and bobbing by Contepomi, before Kearney took a great line off Hickie's inside offload to put Niall Ronan in. Then Hepworth, who showed a fine range of passing skills, danced over for his first Leinster try.
SCORING SEQUENCE - 1 min: Williams try, Contepomi con 7-0; 6: Contepomi pen 10-0; 18: Contepomi try and con 17-0; 23: Walker try, Hore con 17-7; 25: Brown try, Contepomi con 24-7; 28: Brown try, Contepomi con 31-7; 32: Hickie try 36-7; 39: Walker try, Hore con 36-14 (half-time: 36-14); 50: Brown try, 41-14; 58: Kearney try, Contepomi con 48-14; 60: Kearney try, Contepomi con 50-14; 62: Ronan try, Contepomi con 55-14; 64: Hepworth try, Contepomi con 62-14;
LEINSTER: D Hickie; G Brown, K Lewis, J Hepworth, R Kearney; F Contepomi (capt), G Easterby; R Corrigan, B Blaney, E Byrne; A Byrnes, B Williams; E Miller, K Gleeson, J Heaslip. Replacements: N Ronan for Miller (56 mins), R McCormack for Corrigan (59 mins), B O'Riordan for Easterby, B Burke for Kearney (63 mins), D Toner for Byrnes (65 mins), D Blaney for B Blaney (66 mins), J Sexton for Contepomi (75 mins).
BORDER REIVERS: C MacRae; S Moffat, B MacDougall, G Law, N Walker; C Hore, B McKerchar; P Thomson (capt), R Ford, G Cross; S Macleod, O Palepoi; K Brown, A Miller, S Sititi. Replacements: S Scott for Ford (56 mins), J Dalziel for Sititi (59 mins), T McGee for Thomson, J Weston for Miller, J King for McKerchar (all 63 mins).
Referee: P Fear (Wales).
