Jordie Barrett: 'The 52 points is nice, but the zero is extra pleasing'

All Blacks maestro savours another Champions Cup landslide as Glasgow have no answer for Leinster's class

Fri, 11 Apr, 2025 - 23:52

Brendan O'Brien

Eighteen tries in their first two Champions Cup knockout ties is one thing. None conceded in their meetings with Harlequins and Glasgow is quite another. Leinster have found their groove on both sides of the ball. And some.

Their nilling of Quins in Croke Park last week was the first time it had happened in 30 years of knockout ‘European’ rugby. To do it again against Glasgow, on the other side of the Liffey in the Aviva Stadium, six days later is a repeat statement that can’t be ignored.

"The 52 points [scored] is nice, but the zero is extra pleasing,” centre Jordie Barrett told TV after the Glasgow win. “We showed a lot of great control and intent with our defence. It's nice to get both parts right, but we've got to keep getting better.”

Leo Cullen’s side has now gone over three hours without conceding a single point. The last team to get on the board against them was the Sharks when Bongi Mbonambi went over for a converted try after 53 minutes in Durban. That was three games ago.

This is ridiculous stuff and proof that the Jacques Nienaber blitz defence incorporated this last 15 or so months by their South African coach has well and truly bedded in as Leinster go about the business of winning a first trophy in four seasons.

“Our defensive system is something that's really clicked this year,” said back row Jack Conan. “It took a while last year just to get on board with it, to get across the detail of it, and to see it paying dividends out there.

“The detail of Jacques, and the buy-in from the lads, it's something we've grown so much over the last while with. I know the lads absolutely love it. We have the athletes that we do, to go out there and physically dominate collisions, it gives everyone a lift.” They do say that defence wins championships. We’ll see.

The thing is, though, that the province’s attack has been sublime this last week too, even when any caveats are taken into account in the form of English and Scottish opposition that weren’t near their best.

Quins melted like snow in summer but Glasgow found themselves trailing 33-0 at half-time on Friday night without having done a whole lot wrong. Seven of Leinster’s eight tries came via superbly executed running rugby.

The eight, a penalty try, was heading the same way.

"It's something we've been working on,” said Barrett who gave a truly world-class all-round display. “It's nice to get a bit of transfer and put it out there when it matters. Look, you can only beat the team put in front of you. You have to keep getting better.”

Glasgow head coach Franco Smith summed his team’s evening up succinctly, his focus mirroring that of his Harlequins counterpart Danny Wilson who had waxed lyrical about the opposition’s strength the weekend before.

“We got outplayed by an international team,” said the South African.