Colin Sheridan: Don't compare Mayo to Leinster, Mayo never dropped Jordi
DON'T COMPARE: There were some rather unkind comparisons made between Leinster and the Mayo footballers in the fallout from last weekend's loss, but these lack merit because Mayo - although incredibly innovative in finding excruciating ways to lose big matches - never entered any All-Ireland final as anything other than an underdog. Pic: ©INPHO/Tom Maher
As a chronic overthinker myself, I have a little sympathy for Leo Cullen and Jacques Nienaber’s decision to not pick the best rugby player in the world last weekend against Northampton. Jordi Barrett’s selection was such a no-brainer it must have fallen into the category of “what’s the one thing we could do that they won’t expect?” To their credit, the duo nailed it. Like a teenager with low self-esteem at a teenage disco, they talked themselves out of a shift.
Literally every rugby scholar has opined this week that had Barrett played the entire game Leinster would’ve won. What confidence it must have given Northampton to see the legendary All Black on the pine rather than marshalling the defensive line. There are out-of-shape accountants playing tag-rugby tonight in Bushy Park who will bring more energy to the breakdown than almost all of Cullen's men last Saturday. Maybe it’s too simplistic to say Barrett would have lit the fire required to eradicate such flagrant complacency. Or maybe playing the simplistic card, along with the “hindsight is a perfect science” joker, is just a poor attempt to mask an epic failure of management. Either way, Leinster are in the dock, and no amount of higher-learnings will recuse them.
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