Leinster fire warning shot
Michael Cheika had reason to feel upbeat: “It was one of the best days for us in the Heineken Cup.”
Still, he recognised that his side would have to be more ruthless in their execution, especially in tight games.
Towards the end of the game Leinster almost allowed Leicester in for a score that could have secured a bonus point. It was careless and Cheika was quick to pick up on a seemingly insignificant fact in a game already won.
“We have one big win, but we have to realise that we’ve got to do that another five times in order to secure a place in the Heineken Cup quarter finals,” he said.
“We have to be clever when we’re in a position of strength. The game is never won until the final whistle and we have to realise that.” Still, he could hardly complain: “Now, we just have to go on from here, build on it and we have a massive challenge ahead of us in Toulouse. The only good thing I suppose, is that the guys have won out there before and they won’t be as intimidated as they might have been a few years ago.”
Marcel Loffreda, the new Leicester coach, had mixed feelings, recognising that one of his Argentinean World Cup stars, Leinster’s Felipe Contepomi, had been the game-breaker.
“We were not so clever at stages of the game. We were not so bright in the first half; we didn’t use the wind, so that was a big difference.”
But if Contepomi was a major influence, it would be unfair not to mention Leicester’s former forwards, Leo Cullen and Shane Jennings.
Though Loffreda said all line-out calls had been changed to ensure neither of the two would have an influence, the pair had a major say.
Despite Leicester fielding Louis Deacon, Ben Kay and Martin Corry, they actually lost four of their own throws, and insider information had to play a part in that success. Leinster struggled in the scrums early on but began to manage their own ball comfortably as the game progressed, and Leicester’s usual method of bullying teams into submission didn’t work. The Irish side defended from the Leicester goal line, not just on their line. Tackles went in and sometimes there were three Leinster men waiting for their opponents. It was impressive, even if the game didn’t take off until the second half.
Loffreda admitted: “Leinster put us under pressure but they were also efficient when they didn’t have the ball. We became repetitive in the way we tried to play our game and they were able to come to terms with that. We have to change some things maybe for next week so that the opposition will not know what we are trying to do.”
But Loffreda is not about to be turned off his inauguration into European rugby: “It’s a start, maybe a bad start, but this team is a good one; they have a system, a structure and I have to go smoothly to get into that structure. You cannot build a new coach into a structure like Leicester’s over a couple of weeks.”
When Loffreda insisted Leicester’s back row forwards will compete for possession on their feet, it was a tribute to the Leinster back row of Jennings, Jamie Heaslip and Keith Gleeson.
“Today,” he said, “we went to ground too quickly. We have to stay on our feet to be competitive in recognition of the way referees are judging the situation.”
In front of 17,000 spectators, Contepomi and Andy Goode exchanged penalties before the Argentinean knocked over two more to give Leinster a 12-6 lead at the break.
They were lucky, for Alesana Tuilagi was stopped inches from the line and then Bernard Jackman crashed into Lewis Moody to stop a certain try.
Scary stuff for the boys in blue, but they produced the goods 13 minutes into the second half with a brilliant try from Shane Horgan after Contepomi (twice), Brian O’Driscoll and D’Arcy had combined.
The out-half converted for a 19-6 advantage; though Goode pegged them back with a penalty, Contepomi responded with another 12 minutes from the end.
However, Leinster then scared their fans. Contepomi, seconds after being named as man of the match, missed a penalty and then sent out a wild pass that almost led to a Leicester try at the other end of the pitch.
The Tigers failed to score because Horgan chased Geordan Murphy down and another couple of tackles went in to deny the visitors a try and a possible bonus point.
G. Dempsey, S. Horgan, B. O’Driscoll (captain), G. D’Arcy, R. Kearney, F. Contepomi, C. Whitaker, O. Le Roux, B. Jackman, S. Wright, L. Cullen, M. O’Kelly, S. Jennings, J. Heaslip, K. Gleeson.
Replacements: B. Blaney for Jackman (77, plus blood sub, 11-17), L. Fitzgerald for Kearney (injured, 57), J. Gomez for Wright (70).
G. Murphy, S. Rabeni, O. Smith, J. Murphy, A. Tuilagi, A. Goode, F. Murphy, M. Ayerza, B. Kayser, J. White, L. Deacon, B. Kay, M. Corry (captain), J. Crane. L. Moody.
Replacements: M. Castrogiovanni for White (51), M. Davies for Keyser, J. Hamilton for Deacon (both 76).
C. Berdos (France)
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