A rout which should force Sweeney and O’Shea to go
THOSE who want to turn rugby union in England into a protectionist franchise sport should reflect long and hard on the way Leicester were on the receiving end of a 55-24 quarter-final drubbing by Leinster in Dublin.
The reigning Premiership champions conceded seven tries despite fielding a starting side in which there were seven current internationals. Yet the three Englishmen (Freddie Steward, Anthony Watson, Jack van Poortvliet), two South Africans (Handre Pollard, Jasper Wiese), one Argentine (Julian Montoya), and one Welshman (Tommy Reffell), were part of a team which was outclassed in every facet of the match.
While the Tigers are often strong enough up front to bully Premiership opponents, their pack came a distant second to Leinster, who rubbed in their superiority by using a dominant lineout maul as the platform for their last three tries.
Leicester’s midfield defence was also disappointingly disjointed, with Garry Ringrose taking full advantage to get Leinster on their way with two first-half tries.
Apart from the crossed-wires at centre, the Tigers defence could not be faulted for commitment in the first half, or for the intensity it brought in pegging Leinster’s lead back to 17-10 at half time. However, because of the lack of sustained competitive edge in the ring-fenced Premiership, the resistance crumbled in the second half – and resulted in Leicester conceding the highest number of points by any Tigers side in the European Cup.
After England’s record Six Nations defeat by France at Twickenham, this rout of the Premiership champions is another scoreline that should make the RFU’s leading ring-fencers, chief executive Bill Sweeney and performance director Conor O’Shea, take stock of their ruinous strategy – and resign.