Leinster pay a heavy toll for victory
Leinster earned their place in the Magners League Grand Final on May 28 against either Munster of the Ospreys, who meet at Thomond Park this evening, but their progress may cost them the services of talismanic Ireland captain O’Driscoll, one of a number of players from the province who will undergo scans over the weekend to determine the extent of their injuries.
With the Heineken Cup final against Northampton Saints looming a week today in Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium, the sight of O’Driscoll retreating to the dressing room having taken a bang on his right knee just before the interval will have been the last thing coach Joe Schmidt would have wished for from this Magners League semi-final at the RDS last night.
O’Driscoll suffered the knock taking the ball into contact in the 37th minute. Ulster scrum-half Ruan Pienaar drove him backwards and off balance, aided by his fellow former Springbok Johann Muller. The Ireland centre seemed angry at the manner of the tackle and television cameras captured him apparently swinging a fist in the direction of an Ulster player before he hobbled away from the scene and called for medical attention.
Despite playing on until the half-time whistle blew, he did not reemerge for the second half. By that time, scrum-half Isaac Boss and tighthead prop Mike Ross had also been replaced while the second half also saw injury concerns arise for Ross’s front-row companions Cian Healy and Richardt Strauss, both of whom were replaced having shipped knocks.
It got worse for Leinster as man of the match Sean O’Brien also received treatment on the pitch before the inspirational flanker was substituted in the 73rd minute, although his problems seemed to be blood-related.
Injury concerns aside, Leinster appeared in complete control throughout, pinning Ulster in their own half for long periods as a cool breeze swirled around the RDS.
Jonathan Sexton opened the scoring in the fifth minute with a penalty inside the Ulster 22 following a charge up field from flanker Sean O’Brien.
Further indiscipline from the northern province gave fly-half Sexton another opportunity from just inside the visitors’ half in the 20th minute and although he missed with that effort, Leinster were back on the scoresheet within minutes.
Full-back and player of the year Isa Nacewa sprinted down the right wing before cutting inside and breaking two Ulster tackles before spreading play across the line until wing Luke Fitzgerald was bundled into touch on the left with Leinster back in the opposition 22.
A subsequent scrum on the Ulster five metre line saw Jamie Heaslip pick and go off the back. The impressive Gordon D’Arcy carried to the line before the ball was recycled right and through the hands of Sexton, O’Driscoll and Nacewa, who released Fergus McFadden for the try in the corner.
Sexton’s difficult conversion from the right touchline rebounded off the upright to keep the score at 8-0 and while it was not the fast start Leinster had enjoyed during the regular season fixture last month on the same pitch, Joe Schmidt’s side were not experiencing any pressure from the Ulster attack.
That is not to say this was a lacklustre tussle, an interprovincial affair such as this never would be, and despite a far from convincing lead, Schmidt felt the contest was sufficiently physical to withdraw scrum-half Isaac Boss after 32 minutes of his Heineken Cup final audition while tighthead prop Mike Ross was called ashore a minute later.
It took until three minutes before half-time that Ulster managed to progress into the home 22 but the moment was shortlived as Leinster’s lineout on their five-metre line held firm and the backline ran the ball out of trouble. And into some more, O’Driscoll causing considerable angst among the home fans as he hobbled away from his clash with the South Africans.
Sexton had time to add a penalty to end the half but it made for a sobering interval as Leinster retreated to their dressing room, O’Driscoll having played his last.
As the casualties began to mount for Leinster in the second half, Ulster’s impotence in attack continued and even their first score of the match came from inside their own half when Ruan Pienaar, assuming the kicking duties from the substituted Paul Humphreys, landed a huge penalty kick from just shy of his own 10-metre line.
It was Ulster’s only bright spot on an otherwise frustrating evening, compounded by Luke Fitzgerald’s 72nd-minute try, converted by Fergus McFadden, to put the match beyond doubt.
LEINSTER: I Nacewa; F McFadden, B O’Driscoll (D Kearney, h-t), G D’Arcy, L Fitzgerald; J Sexton (I Madigan, 56), I Boss (E Reddan, 32); C Healy (Van Der Merwe, 62), R Strauss (J Harris-Wright, 56), M Ross (S Wright, 33); L Cullen – captain (D Toner, 73), N Hines; S O’Brien (K McLaughlin, 73), S Jennings, J Heaslip.
ULSTER: G D’Arcy; C Gilroy, D Cave (I Whitten, 76), N Spence, S Danielli; I Humphreys (P Marshall, 58), R Pienaar; T Court, R Best — captain (A Kyriacou, 76), D Fitzpatrick (J Cronin, h-t); J Muller, T Barker; P Wannenburg (TJ Anderson, 76), C Henry, R Diack.
Referee: G Clancy (Ireland).
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