Donal Lenihan: Ultimate survivors Exeter have some unfinished business with Leinster
Leinster’s Tadhg Furlong gets involved in a maul with Exeter’s Jonny Hill during their 2017 Champions Cup clash at Sandy Park. An 18-8 defeat was a humbling experience for Exeter.
Once more unto the breach. There is simply no respite available for the top international players, especially those plying their trade at the biggest European clubs. Having that opportunity to play at the elite level week in week out, although demanding, must also be exhilarating.
Such is the lot of Leinster’s international contingent. They went straight from an eight-week bubble with Ireland for the Six Nations Championship into preparing for a Guinness PRO14 final against a Munster side most expected would bring a manic hunger for victory.
The first task for Leinster was to match that. Not a problem. Not only did they win a fourth title on the bounce at a canter, they also eclipsed the challengers with their desire to get the job done. With the customary post-match celebrations wrapped up before the Munster players even arrived home, they had already moved onto the next task at hand.
With a six-day turnaround to prepare for what was guaranteed to be a monumental physical battle against what was a gargantuan Toulon pack, several of Leinster’s Irish contingent would be called upon to front up once again.
With the likelihood of a quarter-final showdown against champions Exeter Chiefs, away at Sandy Park, the reward for victory over a Toulon side not quite in the same league as their illustrious predecessors who delivered three Heineken Cups between 2013 and 2015, the challenge in hitting top form, three weeks in a row, was one that must have exercised the minds of Leo Cullen and Stuart Lancaster as they prepared for a very demanding block of games.
In the circumstances, Lady Luck has bought them a bit of time and a chance to recharge the batteries. They didn’t need to be anywhere near their best to deal with the Munster challenge in the PRO14 final and the cancellation of the Toulon game, due to Covid-related issues, has offered some breathing space for their frontline stars.
One could fully understand the Toulon frustrations surrounding the cancellation of that game. They appeared to do everything by the book but the authorities couldn’t afford to take any chances. It’s a horrible way to exit any tournament, not least the showpiece of European rugby.
Imagine for a second if the shoe was on the other foot and Leinster were ruled out for the same reason through no fault of their own. Unfortunately, it’s a by-product of the times we live in. That said, had the game proceeded, I expected Leinster to advance.
Leinster now find themselves in a Champions Cup quarter-final having only played two games in the tournament. On the basis of Exeter’s display against a very impressive Lyon side who raced into a 14 point lead in the opening 10 minutes last Saturday, Leinster will have their work cut out to advance.
This contest is of sufficient quality to grace the final itself. If nothing else, Exeter are the ultimate survivors.
Having completed a highly impressive Gallagher Premiership and Heineken Champions Cup double over the course of a fractured 13 months season that extended into October 17, their players only had a three-week closed season before being hurtled straight back into domestic and European competition once again.
Understandably, they struggled to find the same hunger and rhythm.
With a number of their players also away for extended periods with the England squad, they have barely played together for months. That was evident in the opening quarter against Lyon but the manner with which they held their composure and imposed themselves on their visitors as the game progressed will stand to them next weekend.
Back in 2017, Leinster arrived at Sandy Park at a time when the Chiefs had the capacity to go toe to toe with Saracens in the Gallagher Premiership and Mark McCall’s men were kings of Europe. At the time they felt they were more than a match for Leo Cullen’s crew and certainly fancied their chances when Leinster arrived in their patch in Devon. Leinster absorbed everything Exeter managed to throw at them early on before countering with a few timely punches to emerge comfortable winners. You could see it in the faces of the Exeter hierarchy after the game. It was the realisation that they had a road to travel yet.
Having finally matched and surpassed Saracens on the domestic front, Exeter’s fairytale rise over the previous decade from a mid-table championship side in the second tier of English club rugby to best not only in England but, by virtue of their defeat of Racing 92 in last season’s Champions Cup final, in Europe is complete.
You sense the nature of those defeats to Leinster in the pool stage of the 2017-18 tournament not only opened Rob Baxter’s eyes to the level his troops needed to reach to succeed in the Champions Cup, but left an itch that is still to be scratched. That for me suggests Saturday’s fascinating showdown will be the tie of the round.
Of the other clubs left standing, Sale Sharks are the only English contenders outside of a quintet of quality French sides. If Fabian Galthie was restricted to picking his national side from Toulouse, La Rochelle, Clermont Auvergne, Bordeaux-Begles and Racing 92 alone, he would still have some outfit.
Toulouse and Racing have been dominant forces in the Champions Cup for some time even if Stade Toulousain have to go back 11 years since their last victory while Racing 92 have faltered at the final hurdle on three separate occasions: 2016, 2018, and 2020.
Clermont Auvergne’s travails with this competition run even deeper than that. Unfortunately, I don’t see them emerging as champions in this campaign either. Racing apart, the French side with the best opportunity of registering a first Champions Cup success is La Rochelle.
Why am I not surprised with that? The manner with which they balance their running and kicking game is a clear byproduct of O’Gara’s tactical nous and game management expertise.
Where some French sides tend to run up blind alleys and back themselves into corners, La Rochelle, admittedly on limited viewing, appear more pragmatic. Where Munster, frustratingly at times, kick often and too deep to be really effective, La Rochelle appear to be achieving the perfect blend. A home quarter-final against a Sale Sharks side laced with South Africans, including a heavy Springbok World Cup winning influence in second row Lood de Jager and live wire scrum half Faf de Klerk, come into this game slightly under the radar.
If O’Gara’s influence over La Rochelle is plain for all to see then in Alex Sanderson, who took over from Steve Diamond at Sale a few months ago and was the key man at McCall’s side throughout all of Saracens successes, the Sharks have a very astute rugby brain who knows exactly what it takes to win silverware at the highest levels of the game. That is what makes this contest so intriguing for me.
Last weekend’s action across all seven Champions Cup ties offered brilliant moments of attacking rugby. All four quarter-final ties have the capacity to thrill even further. Leinster not only carry Irish hopes of ultimate success but represent the last stand from the Guinness PRO14. Given the dearth in quality of games in our domestic league this season, that comes as no real surprise.
Further evidence, if needed, was there for all to see in the facile manner of Sale’s 14-57 win over a Scarlets side with 605 international caps and eight players who saw game-time for Wales in their Six Nations winning side at Parc y Scarlets.
Welsh club rugby is in disarray.
