Concerned Cheika wants to get back to basics

HARD taskmaster or rugby idealist? On Saturday, shorn of several of their frontline players, Leinster still managed a bonus-point win at Donnybrook, leaping to second place in the Magners League (overnight at least), yet manager Michael Cheika was far from happy.

“I’m about performance, and we played poorly. I don’t want to be too hard, but the players know we’ve got to perform better in the basics of the game.”

Cheika had every reason to be concerned. Leinster were 50 points a better side than the Dragons’, who, save a few standout performances — the powerful Nathan Brew on the wing and abrasive US international Paul Emerick in the centre — were way off the pace.

Four tries Leinster managed, their first two due to the individual brilliance of Argentine play-maker Felipe Contepomi, who lined out at first centre, with Christian Warner a late switch to out-half. They enjoyed a 20-13 half-time lead and were 32-13 in front by the 62nd minute, courtesy of a scorching try by Gary Brown.

Between times, however, Leinster should have had at least four more. They didn’t suffer on this occasion, but they did in the Heineken Cup loss to Edinburgh, and also last time out in the Magners League against the Borders. Once-off, their manager might accept; the problem is, this has now become endemic.

“Making so many breaks, then throwing the ball away,” Cheika complained. “Not building through the phases, being a bit over-eager. Sometimes you’ve got to hold yourself back a little bit, just play what’s in front of you, instead of trying to play the magic ball, but we keep putting ourselves in difficult situations. We’re falling off too many tackles, missing too many kick-offs, nowhere near them — the basics of the game. If we lose and I say that I’m happy with the performance, then when we win with a bonus point (while playing badly), I can’t just say, ‘Oh, you beauty’. It’s great in the context of the league, but there are players there who had an opportunity in this game...”

A veiled threat? You’d better believe it, as the straight-talking Aussie later expanded on that thought. “I’ve got some other young guys who weren’t in the squad for this one that I might have to look at, because a couple of guys maybe didn’t take this opportunity with both hands. I don’t expect them to make those mistakes even if they come in fresh, but there were guys playing last week who made mistakes too. You need to be ready to play every game, every day; we need to be better next week (against Glasgow Warriors), because we’ve got another class player out.”

That player is the brilliant Contepomi. A noisy, appreciative near-capacity crowd witnessed two outstanding tries, the first where his dancing feet saw him dazzle his way past four Dragon defenders, the second where he simply bulldozed his way over the line from close range, taking two defenders with him. He converted both, along with Warner’s later effort, while his fourth attempt, from wide right, hit the post. Throw in the three penalties, some magnificent tackles, several other line breaks, and about the only thing this final-year medical student didn’t do in this game was save a life or two.

“It’s difficult to judge your own performance in a team performance,” he said. “I scored the two tries, but first the forwards had to do their bit, put a lot of pressure on them, got the maul going forward, and then when their defence is threatened you can run straight forward. But it’s a team effort, and this time the team was very good, especially in the second half.”

A generous assessment on those Leinster forwards. One minute they looked like world-beaters, powerful, dynamic, blowing the opposition backwards off their own ball, the next it’s tables turned, being shunted off their ball, wheeled with ease at scrum-time.

“I don’t know what was happening, it was like a dance,” said a bemused Cheika. “They were going around in circles.”

In the loose, however, they were dynamic, the backrows especially (Keogh, Gleeson and Heaslip), but the man who most typified the forward effort was hooker Brian Blaney.

Nevertheless, five League points on an evening that could have gone better, and even in all the frustration, there were several bright notes. Nineteen-year-old full-back Luke Fitzgerald showed several flashes of the potential that marks him out as one to be watched, young scrum-half Cillian Lewis continues his impressive development, Brown showed he is still a genuine talent while another youngster, Ross McCarron, did enough in his brief appearance to suggest the Leinster backs assembly line is still turning them out.

But oh, what Mr Cheika would give for a few real hardline frontline no-nonsense heavies.

LEINSTER: L. Fitzgerald; G. Brown (1T), K. Lewis, F. Contepomi (capt. 2T 3P 3C), D. Hickie; C. Warner (1T), C. Willis; R. McCormack, B. Blaney, F. Pala’amo; O. Finegan, D. Toner; S. Keogh, K. Gleeson, J. Heaslip.

Replacements: R. Corrigan (Pala’amo 40); M. Berne (Warner 58); H. Vermaas (Blaney 65); R. McCarron (Hickey 67); N. Ronan (Gleeson 73); R. Leydon (Heaslip 73); A. Dunne (Lewis 77).

Yellow card: Contepomi (40+4).

NEWPORT GWENT DRAGONS: G. Wyatt (1T); N. Brew, P. Emerick, A. Smith, R. Fussell (1T); M. Hercus (1P), A. Walker; A. Black, K. Crawford, L. Harrison; P. Sidoli, A. Hall; J. Bearman, J. Ringer (c), N. Fitisemanu.

Replacements: B. Griffiths (Sidoli 58); C. Charvis (Fitisemanu (58); J. Ireland (Walker 60); A. Brew (Emerick 63); C. Warlow (Hercus 65); B. Daly (Crawford 74); I. George (Harrison 76).

Yellow card: Crawford (26).

Referee: G. Hannah (SRU).