Leinster may yet thank Munster
With the obvious exception of Munster, all the marquee names are there, with new boys Toulon in their debut season bucking the trend by making the quarter-finals at the first time of asking. The fact they achieved it at Munster’s expense makes their achievement even more noteworthy.
Of the other seven remaining teams in contention, specialists Toulouse will hope to add to their record four Heineken Cup triumphs while the only back-to-back winners, Leicester Tigers, roll up in Dublin on Saturday evening, intent on spoiling Leinster’s party just as Ireland did to England at the Aviva only a few short weeks ago.
Of the remaining quarter finalists, Ulster, Northampton and Leinster all share cherished memories of lifting the Heineken Cup while bothPerpignan and Biarritz — twice — have made it to a final but lost. In addition Toulouse and Leicester have lost a further five finals between them.
Munster are in good company in the Amlin Challenge Cup with their opponents on Saturday, Brive, former Heineken Cup champions after comprehensively beating Leicester by 28-9 back in 1997. The following season they were within a minute of retaining the trophy before Bath full back Jonathan Callard slotted the winning penalty at the death to win 19-18. Brive have had a serious fall from grace since those heady days and should just about avoid relegation from the French championship after a miserable domestic season.
Should Munster win on Saturday there is every chance they could meet twice Heineken Cup winners Wasps in the Amlin semi-final at Thomond Park. 2005 Heineken Cup finalists Stade Francais, with former Leinster cup-winning coach Michael Cheika at the helm, along with current French champions Clermont Auvergne will also fancy their chances of stifling Munster’s ambitions to win the Challenge Cup at their first attempt. Leinster’s clash with the Tigers in Dublin looks like the tie of the knockout stages with the winner strongly placed to regain the coveted trophy. Leicester are a club with a serious tradition and excel when it comes to knockout rugby. The fact that the Premiership in England converts into a top four — just like the Magners League — has helped to hone their appetite and experience in these do or die contests given that they are perennial top four finishers.
Once again they lead the Aviva Premiership and look odds on for a fourth title in five seasons. It is no surprise therefore that their primary goal this season is to get their hands on the Heineken Cup for the first time in nine years. The fact they lost two deciders since that victory over Munster back in 2002 does not sit well with their competitive instincts.
Leinster and Leicester have history in this competition having already met on 10 occasions and given Leicester’s excellent track record it comes as a bit of a surprise they are currently tied on five wins each. While Leinster can boast that final victory over the Tigers in Edinburgh two years ago, they have never beaten their English rivals in a quarter-final, losing both previous meetings in 2002 and 2005.
There is unlikely to be much between the sides on this occasion either with home advantage a definite plus for Leo Cullen’s men. To date full houses against Munster and Clermont Auvergne in their only two appearances in the Aviva Stadium have inspired two outstanding performances and victories.
This time, however, Leicester will be back-boned by a number of players who will know what to expect when they take to the field. Five of Leicester’s charges were on the receiving end when England were put to the sword last month and Dan Cole, Louis Deacon, Tom Croft, Ben Youngs and Toby Flood are unlikely to forget that visit in a hurry. Inaddition, their monstrous winger Alesana Tuilagi suffered defeat in the Aviva in the colours of Samoa last November but had the consolation of scoring a memorable try. He will prove a handful once again and will be used up the middle all day in an effort to suck in Brian O’Driscoll and Gordon D’Arcy.
Given the direct style adopted by the Tigers — and typified by the older Tuilagi where they literally try and bash their way to victory — I cannot think of better preparation for Leinster than the second-half they encountered in Limerick on Saturday night. While they were undoubtedly shattered to lose that contest against Munster, come Saturday they may have reason to thank their near neighbours for providing the best rehearsal possible for what they are about to face.
Ulster are on a roll at the moment with last Friday’s win over the Scarlets providing their sixth win on the bounce. However four of those successes have been by margins of either two or three points and could have gone either way. They will have to produce the performance of the season to beat a Northampton side that, since the return of their international contingent, have been scoring tries for fun — 14 in total in their last three Premiership outings.
Ulster do not possess that type of strike rate and have an over-dependence on the boot of Ruan Pienaar to produce points. Astute Northampton coach Jim Mallinder will be very mindful of this and will place a massive emphasis on his players to produce a very disciplined performance. It they can reduce their penalty count to a minimum, Ulster will find it difficult to register points.
Overall it promises to be a cracking four days of knockout rugby with La Rochelle and Clermont Auvergne setting the ball rolling in the Amlin tomorrow night before Biarritz and Toulouse close proceedings late on Sunday afternoon. If you are left a little goggle-eyed after that, at least you have the sedate surroundings of Augusta National to look forward to on Sunday night. Better order a spare kettle.
