Missed chances irk Schmidt

THE European champions can win these games the hard way too, you know.

Leinster were kept try-less at the Recreation Ground, the first time they have failed to touch down in a Heineken Cup match since the opening game of the 2009-10 campaign when they were beaten at home by London Irish.

That was under Michael Cheika’s watch and though his successor Joe Schmidt was left to ponder the tries that got away there will be much to cheer the New Zealander as he prepares his side for the return fixture in this Pool Three double-header at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday night.

Bringing a high intensity to their defence against a Bath side down on their luck after a miserable run of form in the Aviva Premiership, Leinster maintained their unbeaten start to the campaign thanks to the boot of fly-half Jonny Sexton, who kicked six successful penalties from seven attempts.

Ian McGeechan’s injury-hit Bath side restored more than a little pride to cheer their fans and looked in with a chance of victory when Matt Banahan finished a finely constructed try that, when converted by Olly Barkley, gave the hosts a 13-12 lead heading into the final 15 minutes.

Leinster, though, should have been home and dry by then and Schmidt’s frustrations were evident in his post-match analysis of a string of chances let down by some botched play, not least when the otherwise excellent Sean O’Brien butchered a move by taking a ball into contact on the Bath line that left three teammates outside him wondering what might have been.

“There were a couple of chances that looked gilt-edged,” Schmidt said with an audible sigh, “that we managed to make look very difficult. So difficult that we couldn’t get the ball over the line.”

Of O’Brien’s squandered effort in the 49th minute, when the Ireland back-rower was caught in two minds in front of the line and was wrapped up by the Bath defence, Schmidt added with a chuckle: “I think he rates himself to beat the tackle most of the time but Stephen Donald did a fantastic tackle on him. It still had to be made to bring Sean down but perhaps the three guys outside him might have had an idea that he could have given them the ball.

“I think he’s pretty aware of that, he did make some telling breaks though, and he was pretty robust in his ball carry.”

The Rec is as picturesque as a rugby ground gets but there was nothing pretty about much of this game, played with an intense physicality throughout.

Bath had played most of the rugby in the first half but lacked the necessary cutting edge to make it tell and Leinster’s defence held firm in the face of several periods of sustained pressure in front of their posts, slowing Bath ball down and restricting the home side to just six points from the left boot of Barkley.

“It was a physical game,” said Leinster flanker Kevin McLaughlin.

“We knew that coming over here to play a Premiership team in England. We knew they’d try and beat you up, no different from Leicester, Northampton or those teams.

“In the first half they came at us hard but we dug in well. They had most of the possession in the first half and we were only 6-3 behind.

“We knew we needed to up the tempo in the second half to tire them out and I thought we did that. We made all the breaks, you could see they were tired but we didn’t finish them off. We just need to be more accurate, that’s what it comes down to.”

With Sexton’s kicking enough to counter and exceed Bath’s lone second-half try from Matt Banahan, Leinster left the Rec with the desired win and with it the psychological boost ahead of next weekend’s return contest in Dublin.

Sexton had been the source of some invention, none better than when he caught Bath napping with a penalty in his own half on the hour mark, sending the ball cross-field from left to right to an unmarked Isa Nacewa instead of finding touch on his nearest line.

The move did end with Leinster driving Mike Ross over the line but referee Jerome Garces went to the television official who ruled the Irish prop had been turned and held up by opposite number Dave Wilson. Yet for all the positives, Schmidt still cut a frustrated figure at full time.

“You win in Bath, jeez, you’re delighted.

“The manner in which it happened, look, I’m never delighted. I’ve always got something that I want done.”

BATH: N Abendanon; J Cuthbert, D Hipkiss (S Vesty 63), O Barkley, M Banahan; S Donald, M Claassens (C Cook 65); D Flatman (N Catt 74), C Biller, D Wilson (A Perenise 74); D Attwood, R Caldwell; F Louw, G Mercer, S Taylor.

LEINSTER: R Kearney; I Nacewa, F McFadden, G D’Arcy (E O’Malley 70), L Fitzgerald; J Sexton, I Boss (E Reddan 63); H Van Der Merwe (C Healy 41), R Strauss (S Cronin 63), M Ross (N White, 63); L Cullen, D Browne (D Toner, 52); K McLaughlin (S Jennings 52), S O’Brien, J Heaslip.

Referee: Jerome Garces (France).