Leinster see Edinburgh scare as 'shot across the bows' ahead of quarter-final tie

Tadhg Furlong, Alex Usanov, Oliver Coffey and Sam Prendergast. Pic: Will Morgan/Inpho

Leinster were flying this time last year. Their 62-0 defeat of Harlequins in the Champions Cup round of 16 had made it 19 wins from 20 for the season. 

Their one loss, to the Bulls in Loftus Versfeld in March, had come via the narrowest of margins.

They would follow that ‘Quins whitewash up with another, a 52-0 scalping of Glasgow in the quarter-finals but, as we know, there was no happy ending thanks to that shock loss to Northampton Saints in the last four.

Now? The province’s season has been a much tougher grind up to this point. 

The surreal 49-31 win against Edinburgh in the first of the Champions Cup knock-out rounds on Easter Sunday was yet another mix of the very good and the pretty bad.

It was enough to do that job. It won’t be enough to win a fifth title.

“We've had our warning,” said scrum coach Robin McBryde. “That was a shot across the bows last week really. A lot of it was down to them benefiting from either poorly executed decisions or skill or what have you.

“So, it's a fine balance, isn't it? You don't want to put the blinkers on and not play. But certainly, you've got to have an understanding of the consequences if you don't get your skill executed.” 

If the sheer volume of scores caught everyone unawares across the five rounds of this year’s Six Nations then the Champions Cup has been awash with them for some time now. Last weekend’s eight games proved to be no different.

There was an average of over 66 points scored per game, and winning margins ranging from one point to 50. The tie between Harlequins and Sale at The Stoop threw up the least number of points with 43 between the teams.

Almost half of Sale’s 26 points came from George Ford penalties. The England out-half contributed another four from conversions of Luke Cowan Dickie’s two tries so McBryde isn’t predicting another game of abandon at the Aviva this Saturday.

“It will be a different challenge this week, to be honest with you. Edinburgh came here with nothing to lose and they took their chances. They chanced their arm with a couple of those intercepts, but it paid off. High stakes.

“But if you look at the Sale game against Harlequins last weekend, they played championship rugby really; Test rugby. With George Ford there at 10, he just kept the scoreboard ticking over - 3-6-9 – so they'll be in their own mindset, really.” 

Sale won’t be helped by the absence of Cowan-Dickie and Bevan Rodd from their front row because of injury. Nor by the unavailability of the Curry boys, Tom and Ben. That said, Leinster have their own questionables.

Andrew Porter is one of those ‘still being assessed’ for the shoulder/pec injury that forced his early exit against Edinburgh last Sunday. Others in that category are James Ryan and Garry Ringrose, both of them sidelined the last day.

Few sides can boast a line-up like Leo Cullen’s but the full 23 isn’t as imposing as it has been in recent seasons. Injuries to the likes of RG Snyman, Ryan, Porter and Paddy McCarthy are a significant part of that.

Alex Usanov deputised for Porter last week given Jack Boyle is also unavailable at loosehead while the similarly long-term absence of Snyman and the short-term loss of Ryan was made up for in so small part by the returning Ryan Baird.

A broken leg against the Springboks last November was a cruel blow for Baird who, after years of promise and patchy delivery, appeared to be finding his stride as a key starter for club and country before an enforced four-month absence.

“Yeah, he has got a point of difference, and it comes through in the way that he plays,” said McBryde of the versatile forward. “He's very forceful. He's different from the majority of players and he's very single-minded, and I like that about him.

“He's very honest. He speaks up in meetings. He's more than comfortable being vulnerable in some of the questions he asks and challenging coaches, etc, and you don't see that a lot. I think that's a great strength of his.” 

Baird was one of those involved last year when Northampton edged that ten-try classic at the Aviva and McBryde referenced that game again this week and the fact that, for all the Saints’ excellence, Leinster just didn’t get it right on the day.

In Sale he sees certain similarities to that Northampton approach but there is a vow that complacency won’t be a factor here and a stated belief that all the challenges the province have faced through this far-from-perfect campaign will stand to them.

“If you’re not quite on it mentally, you’ll get found out. Sale are full of quality players, well-coached, and they’ll come here with a spring in their step.

“They probably would have been encouraged by Northampton Saints last year in coming here and winning, so it just makes our work that much harder. We’ve just got to rise to the occasion, simple as that.”