Donal Lenihan: Leinster locked and loaded to leave La Rochelle chasing shadows
La Rochelle Captain's Run, The Orange Velodrome, Marseille, France 27/5/2022. Head Coach Ronan O'Gara. Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/James Crombie
When Tadhg Furlong limped off the Aviva Stadium pitch, 16 minutes into the semi final against Toulouse, Leinster hearts sank a little. Even more so when his replacement, Samoan international Michael Alaâalatoa, was minced in the next scrum, conceding a penalty to French Grand Slam loosehead Cyril Baille in the process.
With a final eventually secured against yet another bruising French pack guaranteed, Furlongâs iconic presence in the Leinster front row is a must.Â
Leo Cullen was mightily relieved when his medical team confirmed the double Lion was good to go early in the week.
Having their other injury doubt, James Lowe, also declared fit after his shin injury in the same game is a welcome bonus even if Leinster would have been able to absorb his loss easier than that of Furlong.
With both injury doubts cleared, Cullen had the luxury of naming the same side that started the quarter and semi final wins. That level of continuity is hugely comforting entering a contest of this nature.
This Leinster team is appreciably stronger to the one that La Rochelle beat last year, boosted massively by the inclusion of Andrew Porter, Caelan Doris, Jamison Gibson-Park and Johnny Sexton.Â
As a result of their availability, Leinsterâs bench is also stronger than 12 months ago with one very interesting choice in 21-year-old rookie Joe McCarthy who, at 119kg is included on merit, ahead of Ryan Baird and Devin Toner, after making massive strides in recent months.
Ronan O'Gara hasnât been quite as fortunate. As he knows well when it comes to injuries, it never rains but it pours. La Rochelle were the beneficiaries on that front when the two sides met last season.
To lose one All Black World Cup winner was bad, losing two unfortunate in the extreme. Tawara Kerr-Barlow is the driver of this team from scrum half while Victor Vitoâs massive experience and breakdown smarts will be sorely missed in an area where Leinster excel. The one bright spark, selection wise, has been the timely return to arms of the silken Brice Dulin at full back.
In the circumstances, O'Gara has taken a calculated gamble with the decision to start big Will Skelton despite his recent calf injury. Skelton, who managed 13 minutes off the bench against Stade Francais last Saturday, wreaked havoc in this game last year. O'Gara is hoping his massive presence, literally and psychologically, will prove as much a lift to his side as a menace to the opposition.
Time will tell whether that selection was based on inspiration rather than desperation. The problem with a big man like Skelton is that it can take two or three games to really hit the ground running. In the high temperatures forecasted for Marseille today, that could prove problematic. Leinster have certainly come out better in the selection stakes.
Leo Cullen made no attempt this week to sugarcoat where Leinsterâs last game against La Rochelle stands in his thought process. âItâs a game that haunts many of us. You want to be better off the back of those haunting experiences, shall we sayâ.
Leinster went into last season's semi final in France on the back of an outstanding display against the then reigning English and European champions Exeter Chiefs, recovering from a 14-0 deficit after only 10 minutes, to dethrone the holders in their own backyard at Sandy Park.
Even the loss of Sexton couldnât dampen expectation levels as they took on a La Rochelle side playing in a first Champions Cup semi final. Leinster didnât appreciate it at the time but La Rochelle are an extremely difficult side to beat on home soil.
While Ronan O'Gara was operating as an assistant coach to Jono Gibbes at that stage, his years of experience in Munster colours in the early naughties, spent welcoming more fancied opponents from England and France to Thomond Park, helped fashion his mindset as another team with high expectations arrived at a raucous Stade Marcel Deflandre.
On a day when Leinster came up short against a side carrying explosive power and physicality up front, Cullen and Stuart Lancaster were forced into a massive deconstruction of their game in order to rectify the vulnerability that saw them come up short in three successive knock out games against Saracens and La Rochelle.
While their scrum came under big pressure against Saracens, it was their inability to win the collisions and control the battle for the gain line that proved key detrimental against Mark McCallâs men. Gibbes and O'Gara came up with a similar template to knock Leinster off course last season.
Leinster addressed their issues in the scrum by promoting Andrew Porter from back up tighthead to Tadhg Furlong to first choice loosehead with spectacular results. Since that switch, Porter has taken ownership of the No 1 jersey for club and country. The other significant tweak surrounds Leinsterâs clinical accuracy around the breakdown with every player, regardless of the number on their backs, fully aware of their roles and responsibilities in and around the ruck.
Whether operating as the ball carrier or the nearest support player, your role in relation to ball presentation and cleaning out the opposition tackler and potential poacher is crystal clear. As a result, Leinster are producing lightning quick ball for Jamison Gibson-Park to set his runners in motion.
With the opposition defence offered very little time to set, Leinster are now winning that crucial gainline battle, even against the massive French packs, as Toulouse discovered to their cost. To have any chance of competing today, O'Gara has to devise a way to slow down Leinsterâs recycle of possession at the breakdown.
The winners' rostrum in Heineken Cup history is populated by some of the best out halves to have played the game, especially when it comes to multiple triumphs. When Toulon and Saracens dominated proceedings over the last decade, with six titles evenly spread between them, Jonny Wilkinson and Owen Farrell were the controllers in chief at No 10.
Munster and Leinster had O'Gara and Johnny Sexton pulling the strings for the six titles accumulated between them while current holders Toulouse had the world class pairing of Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack directing traffic last season.
Itâs very difficult to succeed at this level without a really dominant and influential figure at half back. Sexton has an opportunity to create another piece of history today by becoming the first No 10 to steer a side to five Champions Cup victories.
That fact that heâs still Leinsterâs key figure at 36 is testimony to his resilience, determination and warrior mentality. Having missed last year's defeat, heâll be more determined than ever to show that he could have made all the difference.
It helps that Sexton is playing better than ever at the moment. Missing out on last summer's Lions tour to South Africa has proved a blessing in disguise, even if he didnât appreciate being left out by Warren Gatland at the time.
Another key element in Sextonâs consistency is the form of Jamison Gibson-Park inside him. Having won his personal battle for the Irish scrum half shirt with Conor Murray, Gibson-Park has risen his game to new levels.
His ability to keep the opposition back row fully engaged, with his searing pace and ability to break from the base of the ruck, has offered Sexton an extra second on the ball. Thatâs all he needs to assess where the potential gaps in the defensive alignment of the opposition midfield are.
Sextonâs ability to play flat on the gain line and make decisions at the last second as to when and who to pass or kick to has created havoc with Robbie Henshaw and Garry Ringrose the main benefactors. O'Gara has resisted the temptation to start the bruising Fijian Levani Botia with another highly physical player in French Grand Slam winner Jonathan Danty to counter Henshaw and Ringrose, opting instead for the more silken skills of Jeremy Sinzelle.
Opposite Sexton today, a gifted but vulnerable figure in Ihaia West. O'Gara is letting the former Auckland Blue go to Toulon at the end of the season. Heâs been aware for some time that this potential weakness at out half can prove insurmountable in knockout rugby.
Westâs lack of consistency as a front line place kicker has proved costly in the past and could have scuppered La Rochelle as recently as the semi final win over Racing 92 two weeks ago when he missed two very kickable penalties and a conversion in the opening 45 minutes.
To be fair, if he starts well, as he did against Leinster last season when he delivered 22 points from the boot, his confidence takes off and his exceptional running skills can come to the fore. The big challenge for him today is in delivering the game of his life without the comfort blanket provided by Kerr-Barlow inside him.
Leinster are fully aware of the pressure on West today and will seek to flood his channel, with and without the ball. Without Vitoâs considerable presence to help stem the tide of lightening ball at the Leinster breakdown, West will be asked to operate with far less time and space than he is offered on a weekly basis in the French Top 14.
This contest comes down to who dictates the tempo and intensity of the game. If Leinster can reproduce the masterclass from their last two outings at the breakdown and survive the inevitable physical onslaught early on, La Rochelle could be left chasing shadows.
