Firhill phoney war underway

KEEP an extra sharp eye on the breakdown this Sunday when Nigel Owens gets things underway at Firhill.

Leinster may be on a roll right now but they aren’t happy with their work in the trenches. Thing is, neither are their opponents. So, while Leinster are bemoaning that area, others areharping on about their methods.

Both Bath and Cardiff have taken issue to their wheelings and dealings on the floor in the last month — and the penalty count against them in Wales last week was quite high — but skills coach Richie Murphy has launched a strong case for the defence.

“Cardiff obviously made a couple of comments after the game but we could just as easily have made some of the same about their entry and off-the-ball stuff but that’s not the way that we are going to go,” he said.

“We feel that we try to play the game in the right way. We are very competitive at the breakdown and it is something we try to pride ourselves on but at no time do we try to do anything illegal.

“It’s up to us to paint a positive picture for the referee and to make sure we are square going through the breakdowns and make sure we are trying to be as accurate as we can. We can’t really worry about what referees think.

“We just have to play the game the way we see it. There’s two sides to the game. When you have the ball you attack and when you don’t, you have to defend. The breakdown is an area where you can pressure the opposition and if we do that and do it well, then fair dues to us.”

Joe Schmidt’s side was admirably ruthless at the breakdown — and everywhere else — against Glasgow when the sides met in the Heineken Cup at the RDS in November, so much so they had virtually secured the five points before the turn of ends.

Sean Lineen’s Warriors pitched up in Dublin that day on the back of some promising form and a week after a dramatic home win against Montpellier but the visiting coachdescribed their evisceration byLeinster as a mismatch between men and boys.

It was hard to see then how the Scots would reach this juncture with their hopes still intact but intact they are. More: They are very much alive and are once again zeroing in on their Irish opponents with serious wind in their sails.

Leinster have visited Firhill, the home of Partick Thistle, on European duties just once before. That was back in late 2005 when they claimed a 33-20 win, but their last five league assignments in the Scottish capital have ended in defeat.

Edinburgh, too, has been a less-than-favoured destination for the Irish province in years past but Murphy doesn’t detect any one underlining reason for a run of defeats in Firhill which will surely give the hosts further hope this weekend.

“It is quite a small pitch, both lengthwise and in width. It is a heavy enough pitch for a soccer track and it hasn’t been a happy enough place for us to play the last couple of years but there is no real reason for that.

“It is really up to us now to get right this week for a game that could qualify us for the quarter-finals.”

Regardless of the pitch or the past, this is the type of occasion Leinster have become so adept at bending to their will but that is not to say there won’t be warning signs flashing at some point or other on Sunday.

Glasgow are clearly going places. “If you look at where they are now and where they were last year, they are a far better side. They are very difficult to play. They put a lot of pressure on around the breakdown and make it uncomfortable for teams. There seems to be a good team spirit, they work hard for each other and seem to be going in the right direction.”