Leicester v Leinster: Five talking points
James Lowe during the Leinster Rugby captain's run. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile
Nothing will matter other than the final scoreline when Leicester Tigers and Leinster go at it in their Heineken Champions Cup quarter-final today, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t a whole host of intriguing subplots to mull over beforehand.
We picked out five of them.
It seems to be the eternal debate when it comes to Irish provinces and their encounters with English and French opposition but Leinster’s decision to leave almost their entire contribution to Ireland’s Six Nations squad at home while a younger group flew to South Africa to fulfil two URC fixtures has only emphasised it more here.
Andrew Porter was the only one from the XV that starts against Leicester today who made the journey and he returned home after less than an hour of duties against Sharks in the first of the two fixtures. Three of those on the bench today saw game time as well. That’s two weeks for the others back in UCD war-gaming for this quarter-final.
Leicester, meanwhile, have chosen 14 of the side that fronted up against Bristol Bears at home last weekend and the differences only begin there. Leinster’s XV here have played an average of 15.2 games this campaign. Leicester’s equivalent is 21.4. That’s a major discrepancy with the season far from finished.
Not one of the Irish side’s starting players has played 20 games or more this season. Garry Ringrose and Josh van der Flier come closest with 19 between club and country. Tigers have a dozen in that category with Calum Green leading the way on 26, all for the midlands club. Today’s result will only feed this conversation further.
Mathieu Raynal had a mare as referee when England and Ireland met in Twickenham earlier this year. That’s being blunt about it. The French official penalised Ireland six times at the scrum even though plenty of those who have experienced life in the setpiece were saying then and since that Ellis Genge was all but driving in at right angles.
Jack Conan said subsequently that Raynal had held his hand up over some of those decisions through the usual official back channels while Leo Cullen put that particular day down to the fact, at least in part, that Raynal had sent Charlie Ewels off ten minutes in and that there may have been a sub conscious need to counter that thereafter.
Whatever the rights and wrongs of it, the decisions at scrum and at the ruck will be raked through with a fine tooth pick by both sides and spectators. Ireland were good enough to beat England by double scores that day. Would Leinster be good enough to produce the same with similar weight against them? Better that they don’t find out.
Dan Leavy loved describing James Ryan as ‘Le Grand Fromage’, as our French cousins would call it, and the lock’s return for this one is an undoubted boost given his absence from the park since shipping that high hit from Charlie Ewels in London in March.
The second row hasn’t quite hit the heights that were expected of him when he burst onto the scene with club and country and some average form last season came at precisely the wrong time given it ultimately cost him a place in the British and Irish Lions squad.
He is still a player of undoubted class, not least at club level, and Leinster have looked light in his department lately. Josh Murphy did well despite being known as a flanker and Ross Molony will continue his record of having started every European game this season.
Backing them up will not be Ryan Baird despite his return to training from injury, or the veteran Devin Toner, but young Joe McCarthy who Leo Cullen expects to bring added power off the bench when called upon for what will be his debut in the Heineken Champions Cup.
“Where was James Lowe? He’s dragging a dresser back there. He’s too big. He’s dragging a tractor, turning. I watched him during the game. He is too big, too heavy, too slow.” Not our words but those of Mr Ashton after watching the Ireland winger try in vain to chase down Jonny May in November of 2020.
Lowe admitted some weeks later that the barbs had stung but he had bigger concerns the following spring when Andy Farrell dropped him for the closing Six Nations game, also against England., after some worrying defensive efforts in green.
Lowe’s response has been superb, typified by what may have been a game-saving tackle late on against New Zealand last November and he remains an absolute menace with ball in hand. His last five appearances for Leinster have produced a ridiculous eleven tries.
The Kiwi native scored four in his last outing against Connacht. Ashton claimed a hat-trick last week against Bristol to make him the highest try scorer in Premiership history but then there have always been doubts expressed about the defensive side of his game too.
They line up on the same tramline today. Magic.
EPCR’s decision to award Montpellier all five match points after their home tie with Leinster was called off for Covid reasons back in December has bugged Leo Cullen and everyone else at the province pretty much ever since.
Right or wrong at the time, it’s thanks to that decision that the four-time champions find themselves playing in the English midlands this weekend and not – on the assumption they would have beaten the Top 14 side – in the Aviva Stadium.
Leicester are unbeaten at Mattioli Woods Welford Road this season across league, domestic cup and Europe and the hosts are hoping for another 20,000-plus crowd for what will be the first knockout Champions Cup game played at the ground since they hammered Stade Francais 41-13 there six years ago.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
