Where are all the leaders gone?

IF IRELAND’S bid for Six Nations glory ended in anti-climax as a result of Elvis Vermeulen's injury time try against Scotland, the feeling of disappointment was far more acute after the exit of Munster and Leinster from the Heineken Cup last weekend.

A season that promised so much and featured the highs of Croke Park has come to a premature end in the worst possible manner. With due respects to the Magners League, it bears no resemblance to its European counterpart, particularly at the business end of the season.

The overwhelming problem at Stradey and Adams Park in London was the lack of leadership once again evident in the absence of Ireland’s talismen, Brian O’Driscoll and Paul O’Connell. This problem first raised its head against Australia and New Zealand in November 2005 when both inspirational figures were absent.

It also impacted on the last quarter in Rome when O’Driscoll joined O’Connell on the sideline as a result of his hamstring tear. Ireland had dominated the third quarter to such a degree that they outplayed and outscored a brave Italian side by 26-0. With the captain off the field, Ireland somehow contrived to lose the last quarter by 12-3.

The question of leadership is one that has fascinated me through the development of the professional game.

In an era where every player’s daily routine is structured and their needs catered for - from dietary requirements, training regime and even attire - the opportunity for individuals to melt into the background is too easy. Too many players are content to perform their individual roles within a clearly defined team structure. The system does not encourage decision-making under pressure. In the amateur days many players were forced to assume responsibility and make decisions in their daily working lives. It helped to make them more assertive on the sporting field.

Last Friday night, Munster's problems were twofold. The first related to the lack of high quality game time due to injury or too much bench time for Jerry Flannery, Mick O’Driscoll, John Kelly, Trevor Halstead and Christian Cullen. In the intensity of a European quarter-final that was a big disadvantage.

Secondly, in pure leadership terms, the loss of O’Connell was a major blow. This is not a criticism of Friday’s captain Ronan O’Gara. God knows he shoulders more than his share of responsibility as goal kicker and tactical director for this team. With Anthony Foley also confined to the reserves bench, none of the other experienced international forwards welcome the pack leader’s armband.

In the absence of O’Driscoll, Leinster appointed out half Felipe Contepomi despite the presence of 10 Irish internationals, four of whom have in excess of 50 caps.

While I am all for professional players pursuing third level education as a means of occupying their time and preparing for life after rugby, it was a huge ask to hand the captaincy to Contepomi given that he sat his final medical examinations in the days prior to the Wasps match. His appointment was a reflection of the shortage of quality leaders in the Irish game at present.

Leinster's other major frailty revolves around the quality of their front five. They are simply not up to the standard required to win a European competition. Bernard Jackman should be exempt from any criticism given his performance on Saturday and Malcolm O Kelly was also lacking game time.

It was especially frustrating to see four overseas players make up the Leinster front five in the period when O’ Kelly was in the sin-bin. At that stage prop forwards Stan Wright and Will Green were supported by a second row of Cameron Jowitt and Owen Finegan.

The fact that Leo Cullen and Shane Jennings are now on the way back to Leinster is a big plus. While one wonders why they felt the necessity to leave in the first place, they return to Dublin as better players. Jennings was outstanding in Leicester’s defeat of Stade Francais on Sunday while Cullen performed heroically in the victory over Munster in Thomond Park last January.

Ironically Cullen has displayed leadership qualities to such an extent that he has captained Leicester on numerous occasions this season and was even tempted to stay next year with the offer of assuming that role on a more permanent basis. Jennings who had also captained Leinster at a young age led Ireland in the Churchill Cup last June.

MUNSTER will also delve into the transfer market over the coming months given the necessity to add pace to the makeup behind a scrum. With outstanding servants like Shaun Payne and John Kelly approaching the end of their careers and the probability that Trevor Halstead is heading home to South Africa, Munster need to invest wisely.

With all the distractions out of the way, Eddie O’Sullivan can now begin an un-interrupted approach to his build up for the world cup. No doubt he will have taken cognisance of the outstanding performances of the three Argentine internationals in the Stade Francais line up on Sunday. Loose head prop Rodrigo Roncero and scrum half Agustin Pichot were excellent throughout while full back Juan Martin Hernandez was the best player on the field.

The fact that Ireland's other pool opponents France have no team in the semi final of the Heineken Cup for the first time in the competition’s history will come as some light relief to French coach Bernard Laporte given the number of French championship games his players still have to play.

One would have got long odds in January on three English teams reaching the penultimate stage of the Heineken Cup. Llanelli are there on merit and play an outstanding brand of rugby. One wonders how the likes of Dafydd James and young centre Gavin Evans failed to feature in the Welsh squad this season.

I would love to see the Scarlets go on to win the tournament for the first time. The only question mark is whether their front five pack enough power to outmuscle Leicester. I await that clash with interest.