The last month has been hugely important in developing the Aviva as a Fortress for Irish rugby teams with England and Leicester having been sent packing in comprehensive fashion. This Leinster team is the real deal. They responded from a last minute loss away to Munster 7 days earlier with a performance full of passion, accuracy and commitment that left the Leicester team in no doubt that to get a win they would have to produce a display that was far better than they need to do on a weekly basis in the Aviva Premiership. We expected that Leicester would attempt to “Bully” Leinster and their selection affirmed that theory. Richard Cockerill went for Jordan Crane at Number 8 for his physicality over Thomas “The Tank” Waldrom who is a more creative player and loosehead prop Boris Stankovich ahead of Martin Castrogiovanni for his ability in the scrum. This tactic proved to be a mistake as since Leinster won the Heineken Cup in 2009 they have a mental steel which means that they wont be dominated physically by any team even when they meet a side that is more powerful and bigger.
At the post match press conference Leicester coach complained about the referee Nigel Owens performance and said that it was the difference of interpretation at the breakdown between the Magners and the Premiership that cost his side on the day. While they may have been harshly penalised on a couple of occasions it wasn’t the ref that cost them. They were taken apart in the Lineout where Leo Cullen, Nathan Hines and Kevin McLaughlin created havoc on George Chuters throw. Leo is a lineout “nerd” and having played for the Tigers for 2 seasons he understands the principles of how they set up and their calling systems. He had us very well prepared at Lineout time in Murrayfield in 2009 and we stole 5 of the first 6 lineouts, which laid the foundation for our win. Leicester would have expected to dominate at the scrum too but Cian Healy, Richard Strauss and Mike Ross refused to give an inch in this area and in fact possibly just edged it.
The biggest difference between the 2 teams was Leinsters ability to run at space and offload pre and post contact. Leicester’s game plan was based on running straight and hard mainly through the Tuilagi brothers. Leinster actually created 2 or three try scoring opportunities that they didn’t take which would have put the match out of reach by half time. Luke Fitzgerald dropped a couple of passes at unfortunate times and I feel for him at the moment as he is struggling for form and despite working his socks off its just not happening for him. He is a class player and one of the strongest players mentally around and he will bounce back but he must be under pressure to keep his place form Fergus McFadden for the semi final. The two best players on the pitch amongst many good performances were the official Sky Sports Man of the Match Richardt Strauss who showed great speed and his ability to tackle and contest the ball immediately gives Leinster an additional Back row forward around the pitch. The man who scored the winning try Isa Nacewa was brilliant yet again. He always seems to have time on the ball which they say is a sign of a class player. He has proved to be one of Leinster’s best ever foreign players and the great thing about him is that he no longer plays International Rugby and is therefore available for selection for Magners League matches during the November Internationals and the 6 Nations. Not only does he play every week but he is consistency personified and it is irrelevant to him whether he is playing with Leinsters best players or the inexperienced academy lads.
With Toulouse having beaten Biarittz after extra time in San Sebastian they are next up for Leinster in the Aviva in the Heineken Cup semi final on April 30th. Toulouse are the most experienced side in Europe and they won the Heineken Cup last year having beaten Leinster in the semi final at their home ground. It wont be an easy match by any means but I feel that Leinster at home will have enough to get through to the final in late May at the Millenium where they will face either Northampton or Perpignan. Should Leinster make the Final in Cardiff it will probably be a case of who ever is left in Ireland that weekend turn off the lights as its probable that Munster will be playing on the Sunday of the same weekend in the Final of the Amlin Challenge Cup after their very exciting win away to Brive by 42-37. It was an incredible game of running attacking rugby from both teams however I would have to question the defensive performance of both teams particularly their kick chase which allowed soft counter attacking opportunities.
On Sunday morning hopes were high for a great day for Ulster sport with the Ulster rugby team set to face Northampton in their first time out of the group stages since they won the trophy in 1999 and Rory McIlroy was 4 shots clear in the Masters. Unfortunately the Ulster rugby team came up against Northampton who had learnt from their defeat away to Munster in the Quarter Final stage last season and deserved to win on the day. Rory McIIroy like Ulster found that experience is worth its weight in gold and like this Ulster team he will come back stronger next year and beyond.
Leinster having lost to Munster now need to pick up every point on offer to secure a top 4 finish in the Magners League. I fancy Leinster to beat Ulster in the RDS tomorrow night and Cardiff to get the better of Connacht in the Sportsground this evening. If you fancy a punt on the Guinness Premiership this weekend I think that Newcastle at home with a 10 point start should be a winner despite Newcastle’s poor recent form. Northampton could be on a high after getting into the Heineken Cup semi and a trip north might not be a high priority.
