Why O’Meara can be a real Leinster leader
Last year’s competition was delayed because of the World Cup.
This year, the pool games are spread over three periods of two matches, thus depriving this great competition the continuity it deserves.
While the first round of pool games was somewhat disappointing, the quality improved immeasurably last weekend.
Toulouse and Biarritz in particular looked highly impressive.
Given their strong showing in the early rounds of the Celtic League, there is shock and horror in the valleys at the performances of the Welsh sides in the Heineken Cup. With eight games played they have registered one solitary victory.
The absence of Ireland’s international stars from the early rounds of the Celtic League enabled the Welsh to gain an early foothold on the competition. This resulted in a false sense of their overall strength.
While the Welsh are somewhat deflated, one can only imagine how their Scottish counterparts must be feeling. With Matt Williams and Willie Anderson about to lead Scotland into four consecutive internationals, player confidence must have taken a battering from the fact that Glasgow nor Edinburgh have yet registered a victory on European soil this season.
When one considers that Edinburgh qualified in spectacular fashion for the quarter-finals of Europe last season this is a dramatic fall from grace.
Unfortunately the Scottish sides are also propping up the Celtic League.
The recent announcement that all three provincial teams have been forced to part company with their chief executives for financial reasons paints an even bleaker picture.
Given the trauma endured by our Celtic cousins, it is tremendous to see both Leinster and Munster topping their respective pools.
Munster’s victory at The Gnoll can be attributed directly to the experience generated on their European travels in recent seasons.
When it mattered most in the last 10 minutes, their control and discipline in defence was superb.
Very few teams would have survived that examination. The confidence generated from such an achievement will be of huge benefit when they travel to Castres in four weeks’ time.
The other major plus is the strong likelihood that over the next few weeks, the majority of the forward pack will have sampled at least two strong physical tests against South Africa and Argentina.
It was notable that the likes of Paul O’Connell, Marcus Horan and John Hayes were back to normal match sharpness against the Ospreys.
While some people have pointed to the fact that Brian O’Driscoll, Ronan O’Gara and Gordon D’Arcy have impressed on the back of limited games, it has always been different for front five forwards.
Despite the quality of training undertaken by the modern international player, there is no substitute for the physical confrontation that forwards encounter in matches.
Certainly Leinster’s international backs have hit the ground running in their two Heineken Cup games to date. The midfield pairing of O’Driscoll and D’Arcy was outstanding against Bath on Saturday.
One hopes that D’Arcy’s groin injury does not deprive him of too much rugby over the coming weeks as there is every possibility that this duo could end up as the test centres for the Lions in New Zealand next summer.
That would be tremendous, given that Ireland also supplied the centre combination for the last Lions test series in Australia.
While new out-half David Holwell has made an impressive start to his Leinster career, Brian O’Meara’s contribution has been somewhat overlooked.
In recent seasons he attracted unwarranted criticism, primarily due to frailties with his place-kicking on the big occasion.
O’Meara deserves credit for taking on additional responsibilities when others shirked. In times of need, he has also manned the number 10 position with good effect.
With the place-kicking duties now handed to Holwell, O’Meara can concentrate on his primary game. His service on Saturday was outstanding and contributed to the overall effectiveness of Leinster behind the scrum.
The other major plus has been the remarkable return to form of Denis Hickie.
When he hobbled out of Ireland’s World Cup clash with Australia last year with a torn Achilles tendon, many feared for his future in the game. Yet after only a handful of matches he looks better than ever. His return will be a major plus for Ireland in the forthcoming international clashes.
With the national squad now in preparation for the upcoming clashes with South Africa, US and Argentina, few could quibble with the announcement of Eddie O’Sullivan’s first panel of the season.
The inclusion of up-and-coming talent like Tommy Bowe and Denis Leamy augers well for the future, and the return of Anthony Horgan is well merited.
It was therefore somewhat surprising that neither Alan Quinlan nor David Wallace managed to make any of the three additional back row slots filled after the weekend (though Quinlan has been called in as a precaution).
It now looks certain that Johnny O’Connor will gain his first cap against South Africa on Saturday week. I am looking forward to seeing him perform at the top level.
The quality of back-rows available to O’Sullivan is impressive. And this is without reference to Keith Gleeson’s replacement for Leinster, Shane Jennings. He is another sure to make his mark in the next 12 months.
Rich pickings indeed.
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