Leinster want to finish with a flourish
The atmosphere around Donnybrook after Saturday’s defeat of Edinburgh was that of a schoolyard on the last day of term but Michael Cheika knows their group campaign is still a work in progress.
The trip to Gloucester may no longer be a case of do-or-die but a win would still have far-reaching effects on Leinster’s ambitions of emulating their compatriots to the north and south and lifting the Heineken Cup.
Though Leinster would have to travel to somewhere like Reading, Leicester – or Ravenhill – for a ‘home’ last-eight fixture, the order of seeding would allow them avoid the likes of Munster or Llanelli in the last eight. Quite a carrot.
“We’re nearly there,” admitted Cheika. “We’ve still got a week’s business to take care of, to be in charge of where the quarter-final is going to be. That’s important to us too because we don’t want to be going somewhere we would prefer not to.
“It’s very important to us to finish in a position where we can claim the management of the quarter-final. I know it won’t be in Dublin but it will be somewhere and we’ve got to make sure that we do that.”
The group may not be a ‘fait accompli’, but Leinster will still head across the Irish Sea this week in fine spirits and in the sort of position they could have only dreamed about after the careless defeat in Murrayfield last October.
Back then it looked odds-on the Kingsholm encounter would be a ‘winner takes all’ affair. Instead, Gloucester’s demise in Agen on Friday has stripped the game of much if its allure.
“Gloucester are still a good side,” warned Malcolm O’Kelly. “They have a good back line and a formidable pack. They were very unlucky against Agen. If they had just taken a few better options they would have come away from there with a win.
“I certainly know how hard it is to win down there. This will be a tough test. I’ve played in Kingsholm a couple of times and I know what the atmosphere is like. It’s a very tight ground.”
No arguments there but Leinster make the journey in the rudest of health. Brian O’Driscoll should be fit by then while the groin strain Gordon D’Arcy picked up against Edinburgh won’t affect his availability, according to Cheika.
Girvan Dempsey will also be back but, should Cheika rest one, two or all three of them, he has the luxury of any number of capable deputies waiting in the wings.
Rob Kearney, Kieran Lewis, Luke Fitzgerald, Christian Warner and Guy Easterby all saw game time and, with Felipe Contepomi’s return to fitness confirmed by a man of the match display, the back line is in full swing.
Six more tries on Saturday – all of them beautifully crafted running moves – offered further evidence of their capacity for mayhem. Importantly, they scored their first two tries from their only serious attacking manoeuvres in the first quarter.
To ignore the efforts of their forwards does a disservice to a pack that’s finally beginning to punch its weight. Will Green, Bernard Jackman and even the derided Stanley Wright have all shaken off the cobwebs brought on by various periods of inactivity and the result is a front row which, though far from perfect, is now offering a semblance of stability.
Trevor Hogan and Stephen Keogh are revelling in the province’s freestyle policy as well, although their ongoing inability to reduce an escalating penalty count may yet work against them.
Their commitment to play sumptuous rather than sensible rugby is another potential booby trap, as evidenced by the try they conceded soon after the restart when, rather than lump to touch from their own 22, they attempted to run their way out of danger and were made pay dearly.
Still, they have more reasons to smile – six tries, three from Shane Horgan, eight successful kicks from nine by Contepomi among them – than they have to frown.
“As far as achieving qualification is concerned we’re very happy, said Cheika. “I was particularly happy with the way they played in the second-half. Often when you’re under pressure to achieve something you might not play the style of football you want to and I was happy that they played the running football.”
R. Kearney, S. Horgan, K. Lewis, G. D’Arcy, D. Hickie, F. Contepomi, C. Whitaker; S. Wright, B. Jackman, W. Green; T. Hogan, M. O’Kelly; S. Keogh, K. Gleeson, J. Heaslip.
G Easterby for Whitaker (68), L Fitzgerald for Hickie (69), R Corrigan for Green (71), O Finegan for O’Kelly (71), C Jowitt for Gleeson (71), C Warner for D’Arcy (74), H Vermaas for Jackman (74).
Heaslip 40.
H. Southwell, C. Paterson, M. Di Rollo, M. Dey, B. Cairns, P. Godman, J. Senio; A. Jacobsen, S. Lawrie, F. Pringle; S. Turnbull, S. Murray; A. Strokosch, A. McDonald, S. Taylor.
A Easson for Di Rollo (33), P Jorgensen for Dey (40), D Hewitt for A Dickenson (52), A Kelly for Lawrie (54), A Dickenson for Taylor (58), S Turnbull for Pringle (64).
Jacobsen 56.
D Pearson (RFU).
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