Why overburdened Leinster need helping hand from IRFU
The 20 minutes of extra-time in Marseille last Sunday will have done them no favours either.
Their quest to make the play-off stages of the Guinness Pro12 should never have come to this. Despite the indifferent form that has plagued them all season, the most experienced amongst their ranks will know that, with a bit more ambition, they could well be contesting Twickenham’s first ever Champions Cup final on Saturday week.
Leinster were always going to turn up and make a real contest of their semi-final against tournament favourites Toulon at the Stade Velodrome. The fact that the game extended into extra time shows just how difficult they made life for a side chasing a first ever European Cup three-in-a-row.
The thing that will haunt Leinster most is that the game was there for the taking. With a forward unit containing seven players who started for Ireland in the Six Nations, Leinster were always going to be competitive up front. As things transpired they were more than that, dominating the key set piece battle against the Top 14 champions.
If I was a Leinster forward last Sunday, I would be seriously pissed off with how hard-earned possession was used. To win this one, Leinster needed to show a bit more ambition. Unfortunately they were far too conservative and paid a heavy price for that.
Given Leinster’s proud history in Europe there is no such thing as moral victories for them anymore. Their supporters have every reason be be proud of the way they fronted up to the French challenge but the bottom line is Toulon looked vulnerable throughout the contest.
The French facilitated Leinster ambitions from the outset with two serious errors in selection - the decision to omit breakdown specialist Steffon Armitage from the starting line-up and to start Freddie Michalak at out-half. With Armitage watching from the sideline for the first 30 minutes, Sean O’Brien and Jordi Murphy had a field day on the deck.
That, allied to an excellent set-piece platform meant Leinster had ample possession to carry the game to Toulon. Yet the sad thing was that they failed to put any width on their game until they found themselves 10 points in arrears in extra time with the opposition down a man. When they did decide to go for it, their reward was instantaneous. Toulon were stretched and forced into conceding the penalty that ultimately led to O’Brien’s try.
The question Leinster must ask themselves is why they left it so late to pressurise a Toulon defensive system that offers acres of space to attack out wide? Yet all Leinster did was kick away possession almost every time they managed to generate a turnover. It was crazy. Wingers Luke Fitzgerald, Fergus McFadden and his replacement Zane Kirchner barely got a pass while rugby league convert Ben Te’o, who looked as if he was finally coming to terms with the differing demands of the union game against the Dragons the previous week, didn’t touch the ball in play until the 63rd minute.
In the quarter-final against Bath and again on Sunday, Leinster attempted to replicate what Ireland’s kicking game achieved in the Six Nations but their execution was nowhere near as accurate and clinical. All they succeeded in doing was giving away hard-earned possession.
Despite that, Toulon were unable to capitalise — their error count was shocking. While I accept that the rain made handling more difficult, the number of knock-ons and dropped passes from the hosts was woeful. In addition Michalak had a nightmare and the game cried out for Matt Giteau to be shifted to out-half. The fact that Bernard Laporte waited until the 47th minute to effect that change offered Leinster further opportunity but they were unable to capitalise on it.
The talk before the game was that Michalak was back in the running to make the French World Cup squad. If he is included in that at the expense of Camille Lopez, Remi Tales, Francois Trinh-Duc or Jules Plisson, then Ireland will be thrilled.
Laporte was forced into introducing Armitage on 34 minutes when Juan Smith was injured. His impact was immediate. All of a sudden the Leinster back row had competition and the turnovers started to flow Toulon’s way.
The suspicions prior to the game that the ageing Toulon pack was showing signs of reaching their sell-by date were well founded and Leinster, through the excellence of Mike Ross, Devin Toner and Sean Cronin, made them look very ordinary. If they had kept the ball in hand and shifted the Toulon forwards around the field even more, I am convinced that gaps would have opened up and try scoring opportunities would have presented themselves.
The further you progress in this tournament, the less likely you will survive on kicking alone and that over-reliance on the boot of Ian Madigan finally cost them.
In the 180 minutes of rugby played over the quarter and semi-final, Leinster scored a single try, that was from a line out maul in the 174th minute of action in Marseille.
So where to from here for Leinster? Matt O’Connor is under the type of intense pressure that ceases to relent until change comes. Following Joe Schmidt was always going to be a difficult task, regardless of who took on the reins. Suggesting that all will be resolved next season with Johnny Sexton back in harness is too simplistic and Leinster’s attacking play needs a complete overhaul.
With so many players away with Ireland throughout the season, the spotlight inevitably shines on the rest of the squad and despite the well documented success of the Leinster academy, one might have expected more talent to come through in midfield and in the second row by now.
In Ireland U20 centre Gary Ringrose, Leinster have quality waiting in the wings and he should be afforded a serious opportunity of making the breakthrough next season. Failure to make the Pro12 play-offs will have an immediate effect in terms of their Champions Cup seeding and Leinster will, almost certainly, be facing a more difficult pool.
Having Harlequins, Castres and Wasps in their pool this season - none of them will make the playoffs in the Aviva Premiership or Top 14 this year - offered Leinster some breathing space. With so many of their players away on World Cup duty over the opening months of next season, things are unlikely to get better any time soon.
Sometimes success comes at a cost and Leinster are seriously disadvantaged at present as a consequence of back-boning the national squad. The time has come for the IRFU to offer a helping hand on that front, given the circumstances Leinster are likely to find themselves in again over the next twelve months.
