SALE AND HEARTY..
Second win in row has Blues in rude health
IGNITION took time but Leinster got there – and Leo Cullen hopes the Blues’ late decline doesn’t come back to bite them in this Champions Cup campaign.
The province are stepping into Christmas with the top seeding for the knockouts still in their sights after two pool games successfully negotiated and two to go in the new year.
Cullen watched his side trail at half-time for the first time in a Champions Cup pool game since 2017 but then blitz Sale with 34 unanswered points from just before the break right through to the 70th minute.
If that was pleasing, conceding two tries in the last five minutes was tough to swallow.
The contest was over by then but points difference could come into play at the end of the pool stages.
Overall there was good and bad in the performance as Ciaran Frawley played at No.10 in Europe for the first time and Thomas Clarkson and Ben Murphy made their debuts in the competition.
Asked if he was content with where Leinster are placed, the Blues boss replied: “Content is not a word you’d use very often in professional sport, is it?”
“We were pretty much on top and then unfortunately we lose all our bench. Maybe that’s on me because Charlie Ngatai gets injured and we lose Hugo Keenan to the bin.
“We finished the last five minutes with 13 players and concede two tries which is frustrating because you know the way this competition is.
“Every point can matter when it comes down to the seedings, it’s not just your own pool but it’s all the other pools as well. We’ll see if it comes back to bite us.”
Cullen added: “I’m not sure if we were at our very best but that’s the challenge for us. We’ve got through this block of games – we’ve managed to win eight games in a row.
“Sale are a very dogged team. They have a lot of tough men in there. Even though they left players at home, we said all week that they would come with a plan, a strong kicking game and they would try and frustrate us.”
Sharks started much the stronger and raced into a 13-3 lead through Connor Doherty’s try and two penalties and a conversion from Robert du Preez.
But a try just before half-time from Josh van der Flier off a lineout drive was a momentum changer.
Jamison Gibson-park – and created by a moment of magic from man of the match van der Flier – added a second early in the second half and Leinster were up and running.
The Blues kept the pressure on and Robbie Henshaw’s 57th minute try secured a bonus point, then Cian Healy came off the bench and added the fifth with 10 minutes to go. However, the hosts were forced to defend with 13 men in the final stages with Ngatai injured and Keenan in the sinbin.
Converted tries from Tommy Taylor and Tom Curtis late on left a bitter taste.
Co-captain Garry Ringrose insists that there wasn’t a hangover from last week’s victory at defending champions La Rochelle and the six-day turnaround for the Sale game.
“No, it’s the quality of them,” the co-captain said, referring to Sharks. “We’d a lot of respect for them and it was a good challenge to be emotionally and technically there.
“They’re a good side and put us under pressure, we prepped well for them and they challenged us to take a step forward.
“To get five points off them is a good result. We finished the first half well and carried that through. We’ll take that.” LEINSTER: