Reds scare sharpens Leinster’s final focus
THE double dream is alive and well for Leinster as they take their season into one final and potentially historic week, but they can thank their lucky stars that they found themselves facing their most bitter rivals in Saturday’s Pro14 semi-final.
No jersey stirs Leinster’s blood quite like the red of Munster, and after a week in which their preparations were disrupted by a couple of extra late nights following last week’s Champions Cup heroics, in truth, Leo Cullen’s men probably needed this challenge to help focus minds.
Cullen was part of the Leinster teams that crashed out in the league just one week after winning European Cups in both 2011 and 2012, so was well informed on how the days leading up to this game needed to be managed.
‘Making some changes was a big thing, the way we trained, the way we celebrated appropriately last week,’ he explained after seeing his side edge Munster at the RDS on Saturday.
‘They will remember this game forever. This was the talk leading into the game – good or bad.’
His message was clearly taken seriously by the squad, as the Blues looked hungry and determined from the off, taking just eight minutes before Jack Conan raced over following some excellent play from man of the match James Lowe, who was back in the starting 15 after failing to make the match-day squad for Bilbao.
At that moment, it was hard to envisage that the following 70plus minutes would fail to produce another Leinster try, let alone the nervy ending that saw them scrape home by a point.
On another day, and certainly with a more structured week of preparation behind them, Leinster would not have allowed Munster back into this game.
Johann van Graan has done an admirable job in his first season with Munster, particularly given he only arrived midway through the campaign, but the manner in which they lost this game will itch away at him over the summer.
Leinster, for a period, were there for the taking, but Munster simply couldn’t find the killer touch. There was loose tackling, careless forward passes and poor decision making when attacking in numbers, all of which contributed to a mixed display after two full weeks to prepare following their last outing against Edinburgh.
Equally frustrating was their discipline. Jean Kleyn was lucky to escape with only a yellow card for a dangerous head-on-head collision with Ross Byrne approaching half-time, while they also conceded 14 penalties to Leinster’s six, despite having more possession and territory.
Simon Zebo managed to show his teammates just what they will be missing on what turned out to be his final appearance for the province before he joins Racing, showing excellent hands to set up Keith Earls for his try in the early stages of the second half.
However, out-half JJ Hanrahan and his replacement Ian Keatley both left opportunities from the tee behind them, while the decision to turn down a shot at the posts with just five points between the teams and 12 minutes left to play failed to pay off.
Leinster will not survive against more ruthless opponents, with familiar foes the Scarlets lying in wait for the Pro14 decider at Lansdowne Road on Saturday.
Of course, it was always going to be difficult to reach their usual high standards just one week on from their exploits in Bilbao, and so Cullen shuffled his team accordingly, making six changes in total, but there was still plenty to admire about the way Leinster went about this challenge.
Lowe was magnificent, mixing his usual attacking dynamism with some welcome confidence in defensive mode. So too Conan, who has seen injury disrupt what
looked a promising season in the No8 shirt. James Ryan was as assured as ever — for those still keeping count, that’s now 22 games and still no defeats for the 21-year-old — while Garry Ringrose continues to show just how important he is to the Leinster cause. Not only does the young centre possess a shimmy that Mick Jagger would have been proud of in Croke Park last week, but he is also a ferocious tackler, at one point hitting Zebo so hard the Munster full-back couldn’t help but spill the ball. Ross Byrne and full-back Joey Carbery shared kicking responsibilities and were both guilty of fluffing their lines when Leinster could have stretched their lead. Sexton, watching on from the stands, will be needed for Saturday’s final.
Munster’s Gerbrandt Grobler, who was excellent following his second-half introduction, sprung for a late try that left Leinster defending a one-point lead with two minutes on the clock.
The fact that it was 21-year-old back-row Max Deegan that capped his 60-second cameo with the vital turnover penalty was yet another reminder of the resources available to Cullen.
Following the highs of Bilbao, this, he felt, would be more a difficult challenge to negotiate than the turnaround to Saturday’s clash with Scarlets.
Job done. A historic double is now just 80 minutes away.