Jacques Nienaber’s fingerprints were all over Leinster’s defence as the Irish giants did not concede a single point in hammering Glasgow Warriors in Dublin on Friday to reach the Champions Cup semi-finals.

No one has been granted access to the scoreboard by Leinster since their two-match Vodacom URC tour of South Africa, where they went down 21-20 at Loftus Versfeld and won 10-7 at Kings Park. Restored to full strength on their return, Leinster blanked Harlequins 62-0 to book this Champions Cup quarter-final where they crushed Franco Smith’s Warriors, the URC defending champions.

All Blacks centre Jordie Barrett played a big role in the eight-try victory, the second-highest winning margin for a quarter-final in the tournament’s 29-year history.

The 28-year-old provided a deft pass in the build-up to Max Deegan’s 13th-minute try before the loose forward claimed his double with five minutes to play.

“It’s easy for a side to get up, do it once – but we showed a bit of character six days later and do the same thing,” Barret told Irish broadcaster RTE. “We had to work for it, they’re a side that throw punches and don’t go away.”

Elsewhere, the latest chapter in Munster’s storied relationship with the tournament takes place on Saturday as the two-time champions head to Bordeaux-Begles.

Castres travel to Northampton for their first Champions Cup quarter-final since 2002.

On Sunday, holders Toulouse travel to three-time champions Toulon, who are hosting a Champions Cup last-eight tie for the first time since winning a third straight title in 2015.

Champions Cup quarter-final fixtures:
Saturday
Bordeaux vs Munster, Stade Chaban-Delmas, 4pm
Northampton vs Castres, Franklin’s Gardens, 6.30pm
Sunday
Toulon vs Toulouse, Stade Felix Mayol, 4pm

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