Donal Lenihan: Leinster eyes drift towards Marseille, not Munster
Hugo Keenan of Leinster with Matthis Lebel of Stade Toulousain during the Heineken Champions Cup semi-final at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Donall Farmer/PA Wire.
The catch phrase that flashed from the advertising hoardings and from the massive banner behind the Havelock Square end of Lansdowne Road last Saturday captured Leinster’s upper most thoughts succinctly. “The one to win”.
With four domestic titles on the bounce and a home draw throughout the knockout phase to the final already secured by their top seeding in this season’s inaugural United Rugby Championship, Leinster know exactly where their priorities lie right now. For them, nothing else matters, other than securing “the one to win”, namely, a fifth Heineken Champions Cup success.
That will become more evident when the Leinster team to face Munster at the Aviva Stadium in the final round of URC games on Saturday evening is announced on Friday.
Despite the prospect of losing to what will surely be a fully locked and loaded Munster side, desperately chasing a home draw in a massively congested URC table (just three points separate Munster in second place and the Vodacom Bulls in sixth), Leinster will field a completely changed team.
Right now, Leo Cullen and Stuart Lancaster have but one game on their minds, a tantalising Heineken Champions Cup final in Marseilles on Saturday week against their conquerors in last season’s semi final in La Rochelle. Munster just don’t figure in their thought process right now.
Instead they will use Saturday's game as another opportunity to expose the next generation of players who did so well for them in securing top slot in the URC, with two losing bonus points, against top quality South African opponents on their recent trek down south.
In doing so, Cullen enhances the feelgood factor within his squad as the international contingent who put Toulouse to the sword last weekend and who will be lining out in the final in Marseille, act as opposition in training this week and do everything in their power to prepare the remainder of their squad for a tilt at Munster.
Having performed admirably in their last four outings, Munster will look back on their Champions Cup quarter final against Toulouse and realise they left it behind them. The game was there for the taking entering the final quarter but they couldn’t get over the line.
Having watched Leinster deliver an attacking masterclass in picking Toulouse apart last Saturday, Munster appreciate there is a journey to travel yet. That said, on the basis of their performances in their Champions Cup semi final in Lens last Sunday, Leinster look far superior to both Racing 92 and La Rochelle.
Munster suffer by being continually compared to Leinster, who fielded fifteen players against Toulouse that featured for Ireland in the recent Six Nations campaign. That alone sets them apart from any other club in Europe at present.
In addition the way they have been managed their load, both at provincial and national level, has seen them hit the business end of the season in rude physical and mental health at a time when most opponents are beginning to feel the strain from a very demanding season.
If anything, the only side under pressure at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday night will be Munster, who have to deliver a win against Leinster’s second string side. Anything else will not only scupper their quest for an all-important home quarter and, hopefully, a semi final at Thomond Park, but it would also severely dent the feelgood factor generated within the squad over the last two months.
Europe has proved a chastening crucible for Leinster since last lifting the trophy in Bilbao four years ago. Since then, Toulouse beat them to the draw when becoming the first club to win five Heineken Cups.
The hurt and pain endured after back-to-back defeats to Saracens, in the 2019 final in Newcastle and the 2020 quarter final in Dublin, coupled with last season’s semi final defeat to La Rochelle in France, has been the sole driver of everything Leinster have done since the final whistle blew at the Stade Marcel Deflandre last May.
While all of Leinster’s front line players will be sitting in the stand on Saturday night, Ronan O'Gara has to negotiate a crucial Top 14 clash at home to Stade Francais. Sitting one place outside the play-off spots with just two rounds to go, O'Gara has some really tough selection calls to make this week.
The next three games will shape his first season as a head coach, even if he’s done remarkably well in leading his side to consecutive Heineken Champions Cup deciders. He doesn’t need me to highlight that his charges will have to be far more accurate across the board when they meet Leinster.
Their lineout efficiency against Racing 92, where fledgling forwards coach Donnacha Ryan couldn’t have been happy with his side's execution, has to be addressed while the handling errors and questionable off loads that hampered La Rochelle in attack on Sunday will also need to be ironed out before they face Leinster.
The biggest challenge facing Cullen and Lancaster is in dealing with the hype and expectation levels surrounding their side. Right now they are red hot favorites to deliver another European crown. That brings its own pressures.
Speaking of being hot favorites, perhaps the biggest obstacle Leinster could face in Marseille is the searing heat. Top temperatures in the city this week are set to range between 26-29C which will bring its own complications. The La Rochelle players will be a lot more in tune with those demands. Cullen will be hoping that, with a 17.45 kick off local time, temperatures might be a little more accommodating.
Leinster may have bigger fish to fry at this stage of the season but for Munster, and a host of other contenders including Ulster, this weekend’s final round of URC action couldn’t be more evenly balanced. After the difficulties in reaching this stage of the tournament due to Covid, the organisers can’t believe their luck with so much to play for entering the final round of action.
What we know with certainty is the make up of the eights quarter finalists, with a decent mix across the board in three Irish provinces, three of the new South African additions, the Stormers, Sharks and Bulls, Edinburgh and Glasgow keep the Scottish flag flying and sadly no Welsh or Italian representatives.
The priority now is to finish in the top four, guaranteeing a home quarter final or, at the very least, trying to avoid traveling to South Africa for a quarter final. Wins for Munster and Ulster, who are at home to third placed Sharks Friday night, would see both secure that all important home tie.
As the last side in action this weekend, Munster will have a big advantage in knowing exactly what’s required of them to hold on to second place in the final table which presents them with the opportunity of also hosting a semi final should they make it that far.
With Leinster the only remaining URC side with a European final to distract them - Lyon and Toulon contest the Challenge Cup final in Marseilles on the eve of the big one - the fight for the best possible knockout draw will see the remaining challengers for URC honors go flat out in what promises to be a highly entertaining final round of domestic action.
