Cotter: we were ripped apart

LEINSTER’S ability to attract a massive crowd of 45,000 for a Heineken Cup pool match was less significant than the victory that followed, as Joe Schmidt’s boys powered into a virtually unassailable position in Pool 2 at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.

French teams tend not to ‘do’ away fixtures, but Clermont, under New Zealander Vern Cotter, try not to subscribe to that standard practice. And Cotter was disturbed to say the least: “It was very disappointing, very poor. We were dominated in every sector of the game. I’m not sure of what I can say, what I should say, but we were taken to pieces. Little by little, as they got better, we lost our way,” the visiting coach admitted.

Leinster strengthened their position at the top of their pool and it was an obvious source of satisfaction for Cotter’s rival Schmidt, who admitted it should be a happy Christmas, albeit with a self-warning that advancement to the quarter finals is not yet a done deal.

“We just have to look at what Saracens did away to Racing Metro to realise the fight for places in the knock-out stages isn’t over,” he said.

But if he looked a tad disappointed at his side’s failure to nail the extra bonus point, Schmidt said the victory over his former club was “particularly satisfying.”

“Okay, we didn’t get a bonus point but we stopped them from getting one. In the head to head it means we’re five points to four, so if it comes down to something at the end of it we are ahead of them,” he pointed out.

Leinster’s scrum play was a revelation and national coach Declan Kidney must now take serious note that Mike Ross provided the anchor at tight head for that stability against quality opposition, whilst taking on board that Cian Healy was his usual industrious self, grabbing two of his side’s three tries.

If scrummaging was an area for concern in Munster in Wales on Saturday and at national level for a big part of the Autumn series, Leinster coped admirably with the challenge from the French champions and Cotter acknowledged that superiority.

“The set pieces? We got ripped apart, and we will have to use the game as a lesson and put it behind us as quickly as possible,” he said.

Schmidt, however, didn’t highlight the contribution of his front-row, taking the discussion as a no brainer. He did enthuse about some of the unsung heroes, like winger Shane Horgan, whose contribution cannot be underestimated, as well as No 8 Jamie Heaslip and dynamic flankers Sean O’Brien and Shane Jennings.

Heaslip’s participation (ankle injury) was in doubt right up to the kick off as Schmidt revealed: “We made the decision as he jogged off from the warm-up. I asked him if he felt he could play, he said yeah. I said you have got to make at least 40 and he said he would make 80.

“As it happened, the back row was a crucial area for us. I thought we might come under pressure in the set piece, particularly (from) reading what the French media was saying during the week. But we coped there and a lot of our advantage elsewhere was down to our back row.

“When you look at it, Julian Bonnaire (for Clermont) wasn’t half bad, but some of our guys looked as if they were glued together. Shane Jennings may not be the block bursting ball carrier, but he’s the kind of guy who gives his colleagues massive confidence (disputing possession everywhere) by bringing organisation to the game.”

Even Cotter conceded he was surprised by Leinster’s dogged performance up front as the Irish side changed their game plan from last week’s brash attacking stance to a much more measured approach.

“Our intention was not to give them any opportunity to play the kind of game they played against us last week. But we couldn’t deliver. We got beaten up at ruck time and we lost most of the one on ones; we also missed a lot of tackles in the first part of the game which kept them in control and boosted their confidence.

“We didn’t figure in this game, didn’t fire a shot and we can’t complain about the fact we didn’t get a bonus point. We have more serious things to look at than the failure to get something more (bonus point) from the game.

“It has been something about us all year; we can’t put two good performances together, we get in one and then feel we know where we are going but then lose our way very quickly.”

After an encouraging, but difficult first half, Leinster pulled away after the break against opponents who took far too long to realise their potential.

Cotter’s side were in the hunt when trailing by just 3-10 at the interval when Morgan Para responded with a penalty to Jonathan Sexton, who also converted Healy’s opening try.

But, with the visitors imploding, Leinster were powered by the brilliance of Horgan time and time again. The home side seized the initiative when Healy grabbed a second try and Sean O’Brien a third, with Sexton knocking over both conversions to secure a 24-3 advantage.

Naipolioni Nalaga boosted his side with a try when there was still enough time on the clock to make it meaningful. But Leinster ‘s defensive lapse was only temporary.

With Brian O’Driscoll calling the shots in midfield, the home side finished the game in the comfort zone.

As Schmidt relished the idea of having a peaceful Christmas, things are going to be much tougher for Cotter who admitted qualification from one of two Pools of Death will now be “very difficult.”

“Leinster’s fate is in their own hands; it’s a much more complicated issue for us, unfortunately,” he said.

LEINSTER: I. Nacewa; S. Horgan, B. O’Driscoll, G. D’Arcy, F. McFadden; J. Sexton, E. Reddan; C. Healy, R. Strauss, M . Ross; L.Cullen (captain), N. Hines; S. O’Brien, J. Heaslip, S Jennings.

Replacements: H. van der Merwe for Healy, D. Toner for Cullen (both 63), C. Newland for Ross (70).

CLERMONT AUVERGNE: B. Baby; N. Nalaga, A. Rougerie (captain), G. Williams, J. Malzieu; B James, M. Parra; T. Domingo, T. Paulo, D. Zirakashvili; J. Pierre, T. Privat; J. Bonnaire, S. Lauaki, A. Lapandry.

Replacements: L. Jacquet for Privat (64), K. Senia for Para (67), C Ric for Zirakashvili (74).

Referee: N. Owens (Wales).