What a difference a year makes

IT’S BEEN quite a week for the RDS, with a pair of soccer internationals and a Magners League final over a five-day period.

Unfortunately for the team that has made the Ballsbridge venue its impregnable fortress for some time now, Leinster were the only Irish team to experience the bitter pill of defeat.

For the first time in 16 consecutive home Magners League outings, Leinster faltered in a contest that, for a variety of reasons, they dearly wanted to win. On a night the most successful coach in their professional history prepared to sign off on a very productive five-year stint, and crowd favourites Malcolm O’Kelly and Girvan Dempsey bade farewell, it seemed nobody in the capacity audience had contemplated defeat.

That, in many respects, is a reflection on an Ospreys side that has an abundance of talent at its disposal but all too often let themselves down when it mattered most. It was clear right from the off, with tangible silverware on offer in the form of the Magners League trophy, that this was not going to be one of those occasions.

Any side that boasts 15 internationals, including eight British and Irish Lions and a pair of All Blacks, deserves respect. Unfortunately in the past the Ospreys have not always earned that – but to me it appears that this Welsh outfit have turned a corner in their development. Ever since their narrow loss away to Biarritz in the Heineken Cup quarter-final, they have looked like a side on a mission. It may have been a while coming but at last the Ospreys showed the character to match the quality that has always been part of their make up.

Once they got that combination right, they were always capable of delivering.

Forced to undertake a crazy schedule of three games in Ireland in the week after that defeat in San Sebastian, they regrouped and beat Munster and Ulster in Thomond Park and Ravenhill, and lost narrowly to Leinster. Those two wins were crucial in securing their final slot. Once that opportunity presented itself, they set about putting a tactical plan together to stop Leinster from playing.

The Leinster midfield of Brian O’Driscoll and Gordon D’Arcy offer the platform for their attacking game with much of their set-piece ploys revolving around the creativity and passing ability of that magnificent duo. Ospreys coach Scott Johnson was well aware of that and flooded the midfield area with bodies, constantly forcing Leinster into errors. Leinster’s attack, which looked so menacing against Munster in the semi-final, was floundering. It also helped that with the array of quality backs on offer on their side, the Ospreys had the firepower to expose a hitherto invincible Leinster defence, producing two excellent tries from Tommy Bowe and Lee Byrne.

The breakdown was the other key area and here the outstanding Ospreys back row combination of All Blacks Jerry Collins and Marty Holah and Welsh captain Ryan Jones were masterful. It didn’t help the Leinster cause that Kevin McLaughlin was injured early on and his replacement Stephen Keogh was also forced off right at the start of the second half. When their captain Shane Jennings departed with an ankle injury, Leinster were left trying to compete with a makeshift back row of Jamie Heaslip, second row Nathan Hines and replacement hooker Richardt Strauss. In the meantime the Ospreys were able to call on yet another All Black, the ageless Filo Tiatia, to supplement that crucial area.

Leading 14-3 at the break, the Ospreys had the luxury of playing territory and forcing Leinster to create. They were content to concede penalties when in the danger zone and on more than one occasion were flirting with yellow cards. In this respect I thought referee Chris White, who otherwise had a fine game, was too lenient and Byrne was extremely fortunate to stay on the field for a high tackle on D’Arcy.

It has been a great week for the Welsh regional sides with this win following up on the success of the Cardiff Blues over Toulon in the Amlin Challenge Cup last weekend. By way of contrast, it has been a disappointing season for Irish rugby across the board. This time last year the trophy cabinet was full to the brim with the Six Nations championship, Grand Slam, Triple Crown, Heineken Cup, Magners League and Churchill Cup all on board.

Twelve months on and the shelves are bare.

Saturday night offered a grim reminder that in sport, sentiment plays no part. Declan Kidney now has a job to do to lift his charges for the forthcoming tour of New Zealand and Australia after a succession of crushing blows.