Get set for pre-Christmas crackers

GIVEN the drama, close shaves and theatrics of the last two weekends, perhaps it’s no harm that the Heineken Cup enters a brief period of hibernation for a few weeks.

This tournament seldom fails to deliver, but by any standard the quality of the games, the close nature of almost every contest and the level of excitement generated in the opening two rounds has made this season a tournament you can’t get enough of.

The intensity of the back-to-back fixtures in December will serve to make the lead into Christmas very short with some mouthwatering contests in prospect. What a difference a few weeks has made. Last season’s beaten finalists Northampton looked certain to step up their challenge for honours this season and were clear favourites to top Pool One. Yet after just two games, they look dead and buried.

Perhaps we underestimated the psychological effect that Ronan O’Gara’s brilliant drop goal at the death in Thomond Park would have on them but against the Scarlets on Friday night they looked drained, demoralised and despondent. From a position of relative strength entering injury time in Limerick, they find themselves in a precarious position.

Lady Luck has not been kind to Jim Mallinder’s men as there was a clear knock-on in the build up to the Scarlets’ opening try and some fortunate bounces on the way to two others. However there are times when you make your own luck and much of that stems from the amount of pressure you can exert on the opposition and your hunger for battle. In a word, it comes down to honesty.

Incidents involving three wingers of differing styles — Denis Hurley, Isa Nacewa and Chris Ashton — will illustrate the point. When it comes to finishing pace, Hurley would not rank in the same class as the other two but he brings honesty of effort to everything he does that reflects the core values of his Munster team. His workrate off the ball led directly to one try on Saturday in Toulouse from the pressure he exerted in chasing kicks and closing down the space available to the receiver.

Nacewa was Leinster’s most influential back last season, scoring some crucial tries as well as offering solidity and assurance at full back when Rob Kearney was out injured. On Sunday at the RDS one specific cameo from him highlighted just why Leinster are flying high at present.

Down to seven forwards (with Devin Toner yellow carded), Leinster had an attacking scrum with the Fijian winger filling the gap vacated on the side of the scrum when Kevin McLaughlin shifted to the second row. When Jamie Heaslip picked off the base, Nacewa was the first up in support to clean out at the ruck. When the ball was eventually recycled, he was first up to the next ruck cleaning out once again. From the next phase, Eoin O’Malley was under the sticks for his second try.

Contrast the effort of the two ‘Irish’ wingers with that of Chris Ashton on Saturday. Having dropped a straightforward pass from one of his team mates, Ashton just stopped, turned his back and made no effort to recover his mistake, instead looking for someone else to blame. With the ball being buck rooted the length of the field, Rhys Priestland scored under the posts. Sometimes you reap what you sow. Attitude is everything in this game and it is no coincidence how the teams that have it, like Munster and Leinster, get rewarded for their efforts.

Leinster are in a good place right now and have been the one of the most impressive sides in the tournament. Competition for places is fierce and the manner in which players like O’Malley have slotted in seamlessly generates even more confidence within the group.

Munster look a little threadbare for backs at the moment and could badly do with getting Keith Earls and Felix Jones back in action as quickly as possible. The second half showing of Will Chambers demands he will be given more of an airing over the next two Pro 12 games against Edinburgh on Saturday and the Ospreys before the crucial visit to Parcy Scarlets.