Ni en a ber has unlocked true Blue warrior spirit

Byrne embodies steely effort in statement victory

This rivalry will endure, but at last Leo Cullen can reflect on a knockout success against Ronan O’Gara — and Leinster can put their La Rochelle demons to bed. They were dogged and organised in defence from the first whistle. With the ball, they kept their French visitors guessing by shifting their point of attack.

Tactically and technically, they were brilliant as they produced a statement performance and a 27-point winning margin few saw coming.

Some aspects of the latest titanic duel between these two were more predictable. The aggressive line speed implemented by Jacques Nienaber was always going to be a fascinating subplot of this quarter-final, and Leinster forced a number of La Rochelle errors with their urgency in defence.

Leinster leaving a few chances behind them in the first half, and La Rochelle striking just before the break to threaten the start of a now customary comeback, has been in the script before. But, to be fair to Cullen’s charges, they refused to be burdened by their past.

How they started the second half, with that sumptuous Ryan Baird try, at the end of a slick attacking move, drained away any interval momentum Ronan’s O’Gara’s visitors were counting on. That try was a huge moment, it was Leinster’s way of saying that they weren’t for breaking.

Ross Byrne was the key man in getting the Leinster attack to click. He may be 29 but it felt like a coming-of-age display by the outhalf. He was almost perfect off the tee but it was how he directed the Leinster orchestra that impressed the most. He was also a key cog in a massive defensive effort that required every Leinster man to play their part.

Remember, Byrne was on the end of the field at the end of the last two final defeats to La Rochelle, following disappointing performances. For him of all people, stepping out of Johnny Sexton’s shadow, it was a massive display at Lansdowne Road. He laid down a marker — he clearly still has plenty to offer at the highest level.

Cullen’s side also had their fair share of success at the breakdown, snaffling a couple of massive turnovers when La Rochelle were on the march in an area that Karl Dickson was refereeing keenly.

Despite all the advances in tactics and technical progression, the laws of physics are still extremely important in rugby. Power leads to momentum, that creates pressure which converts into points — and points win matches.

Leinster sent former Springbok double World Cup-winning coach Nienaber out to the press last week and his message was interesting and surprising.

Leinster badly lost the communication and PR battle last year ahead of the final and every word from their camp last week would have been well planned and choreographed to try and control the narrative.

That narrative isn’t just important to the fans but it seeps back into the dressing rooms. Any player or coach who tells you they don’t hear it is a liar.

Nienaber said: “Leinster have never had issues with La Rochelle’s power and are actually bigger men than their arch rivals”. His players certainly looked like they believed him yesterday.

I watched the previous four clashes back last week and my eyes and the stats told me one of the main reasons O’Gara’s team won the three previous knockout games was because they dominated Leinster in the contact zone. They actually bullied them at times.

It would seem that, privately at least, Leinster agreed with me, their selection confirmed as much. Will Connors the chop-tackling specialist had only been involved in one of the Champions Cup matches this season before yesterday, the group game away to La Rochelle in December.

Connors is fearless and he brings a level of physicality and a lack of respect for his own body that has led to him spending a lot of his career recovering from injury. He lost his international and provincial place to Josh van der Flier but that was a horses for courses selection and it made sense.

The other selection which showed Leinster wanted to overcome the French side’s power game was Jason Jenkins over Ross Molony. Both players are moving on this summer, with Jenkins heading to the Sharks and Molony to Bath, but when Leo Cullen signed Jenkins from Munster it wasn’t for a run-ofthe-mill URC game.

It was to help them get back to the top table in Europe and win that fifth star. Connors and Jenkins both added grunt to get Leinster an early nudge in the arm wrestle, their selections paid off.

The group game was a dog fight in the rain and Leinster got the win but they didn’t manage to land a lethal shot, and La Rochelle came to Dublin with desire to go down in history as only the second team to win three European titles in a row.

O’Gara said they were chasing immortality and I couldn’t help but feel for Leinster that a loss could have been a fatal blow. Losing at home two seasons in a row when you have the quality that Leinster have is just not good enough.

There was lots of talk about Leinster’s improved line speed and how that could help shut down La Rochelle.

It’s hard to quantify line speed but one stat that I think is a good indicator is passes per defensive action (PPDA). According to a UK analyst Carrick Blake, Leinster pre-Nienaber were ranked 69th compared to being third now.

All URC, Top 14, Premiership and Super Rugby teams are included in the ranking. PPDA tells us how many times a defence allows an attack to make a pass before a tackle. A faster line speed allows fewer passes.

Nienaber’s impact on their line speed is plain for all to see. But he’s clearly had a deeper impact on this group of players. Leinster now have a team of warriors.

They have been the most consistent team in Europe for some time. With Nienaber stoking the fire, they look like the best team in the competition again.

All roads lead to Croke Park for a semi-final against Northampton.