McFarland refuses to blame winger after narrow loss
ULSTER head coach Dan McFarland refused to lay blame on Jacob Stockdale after the wing’s second-half blunder. The visitors were leading 13-11 when Stockdale scythed through Adam Byrne, Jordan Larmour and Sean Cronin for what looked like another audacious solo-try from the prolific 22-year-old.
But Stockdale failed to ground the ball, with Leinster launching a subsequent finalquarter fightback to snatch victory. Brian O’Driscoll branded the winger’s error ‘unforgivable’, but McFarland stood by the youngster last night.
‘Not many people in the world can beat that many players where you can even get into that position to get the ball down,’ he said.
‘I’m proud of Jacob, Jacob played a great game. He did a lot of really good things. He’s disappointed, but that’s not the reason we lost the game.’
Rory Best will be assessed over the next 48 hours after the Ulster and Ireland captain suffered an ankle injury after just 16 minutes of last night’s derby thriller in Dublin.
The reigning champions have booked a semi-final spot against the winners of today’s quarter-final clash between Racing 92 and Toulouse.
A 16-point haul from Ross Byrne and a try from Adam Byrne proved the difference as the hosts survived an almighty scare.
‘We’re a little bit frustrated that we didn’t quite give a full account of ourselves but we’re relived to have gotten through,’ said Leinster head coach Leo Cullen.
‘I thought the players showed composure. When it’s 18-all, it’s in the balance because it turns into a different type of game, the way you think the game is going to pan out and the way you plan for it, that goes out the window and it was real cup rugby, that last 10 or 15 minutes.’
Dan Leavy suffered a serious knee injury in another crual blow for the Leinster and Ireland flanker.
Leavy – only just back from a calf injury – replaced Sean O’Brien in the 52nd minute, but left the action soon after on a motorised stretcher. It is another blow for the province, who recently lost Josh van der Flier for the rest of the season due to a groin injury.
‘Dan’s had a bad injury, but I don’t want to get into too much detail,’ Cullen added. ‘He’ll be out for a while. We’ll get it assessed and take it from there.’