'He was phenomenal' - Leo Cullen full of praise for Ringrose

Leinster head coach Leo Cullen hailed the "exceptional" Garry Ringrose, after the centre inspired the province's 55-24 Heineken Champions Cup quarter-final win against Leicester Tigers.

The Ireland international scored two first half tries, and laid on his side's crucial third score for Jamison Gibson-Park, as the four-time champions advanced to a meeting with either the Bulls or Cell C Sharks back at the Aviva Stadium later this month.

It was a first game back for the 28-year-old after almost four weeks away since suffering a bad head injury in Ireland's Six Nations win against Scotland, and he looked like he's never been away.

"He was phenomenal really, wasn't he?" Cullen said.

"His ability to beat defenders, some of his lines of running. He was exceptional, I thought."

Cullen's side blew Leicester apart in the final 30 minutes, scoring five second half tries to ease their way into the final four of the competition.

They game swung in the 10 minutes when Caelan Doris was off the field for a sin-bin, the back row having been yellow-carded for a high hit on Jasper Wiese. At the time, Leinster were 17-10 in front, but by the time Doris returned to the game they had pushed it out to 27-10, with Ross Byrne kicking a penalty, and Gibson-Park adding a try.

And Cullen says his side showed remarkable mental strength with how they found an extra gear when they needed it.

29 mins: Leinster 14-3 Leicester Tigers - Here's Garry Ringrose's second try of the night