Three things Leinster need to do to beat Toulon
The defensive ruck is the most impressive part of the Toulon game. They have an incredible ability to slow down or steal opposition ball at the ruck and if Leinster are to win, they really need to make sure that their ball carrier is dominant.
The first two arriving support players must clean past the ball and then Issac Boss gets it away immediately.
My team, FCG Grenoble, went down to Toulon last weekend in the Top 14, despite outscoring them four tries to two. We lost because they were able to steal three balls cleanly that we carried into contact and they won another five penalties because our ball-carrier didn’t release quickly enough.
They kicked nine from 10 attempts at goal and the way they built a score felt like death by a thousand cuts. When the likes of Mathieu Bastareaud, Steffon Armitage or their French international hooker Guilhem Guirado get locked on the ball it’s virtually impossible to get them off it before the referee awards a penalty.
The three players I named are so good at tackling, you might see Leinster ball carriers stepping left or right to run into their more dangerous players and force them to be the tacklers.
Toulon defend quite narrow and there is space on the outside. Leinster have played with less width on their attack under Matt O’Connor but to beat Toulon, I don’t think you go into the area where they are strongest. I would be getting the ball out to Kearney, Fitzgerald and McFadden as often and quickly as possible.
Barnes wasn’t popular in Ireland after our defeat in the Six Nations in Cardiff but many Leinster players were involved on the day and can use that experience.
The high penalty count against Ireland that day was uncharacteristic. Our players are very good at adapting their behavior to fit the likes and dislikes of a referee and Leinster’s abilty to get in Barnes’ good books will be a key factor.
From very early in the Welsh game, Barnes picked up Ireland for the tackled player not exiting the tackle zone quickly enough, and also the tackler not supporting his own body weight. Leinster will need to be whiter than white in this area tomorrow. If Barnes refs the game with the same interpretation and rigour, I think Toulon will be punished a lot. When I analysed them before our game, I felt they are often illegal at the defensive ruck and I h
ighlighted that to referee Jerome Garces beforehand. He didn’t pull them on it during the game but Top 14 matches are reffed differently and Toulon may not be able to adapt as easily as Leinster.
Leinster conceded just four penalties against Bath and realistically they will need to keep that number ateight or less to have a chance tomorrow.
The Toulon pack picked for tomorrow contains only two good jumpers in Ali Williams and Juan Smith, although they will throw the odd time to Chris Masoe. Leinster have more variety and options and should be able to win more possession at lineout-time.
Statistically, Toulon have the second-worst defensive lineout in the Top 14, but they have a very strong maul and they use it frequently to wear down the opposition pack.
It’s vital that Leinster can steal some possession on the Toulon throw. If they can’t win it in the air, they must get it to ground quickly before Toulon get their maul constructed.
Leinster’s scrum was dominant against Bath and has Ireland’s first choice loosehead and tighthead so they should be confident of dominating this sector too. However, Toulon have reacted to an uncharacteristic scrummaging performance in their quarter-final win over Wasps by demoting their loosehead Alexandre Menini to the bench and bringing in the better scrummager Chocci to start.
Carl Hayman is still a brilliant scrummager and he will look to nullify Healy’s superior power with excellent technique and guile.
Leinster dominated Bath in the scrum but we mustn’t forget that Bath started the match with their third choice tighthead due to injury. If Leinster can out-scrum Toulon, they can claim to be the best scrummaging unit in European club rugby.
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