Flippin Bans!

Read an interesting article about ex-Wallaby Tim Horan’s call for “tournament-specific bans” courtesy of my fellow Leinster blogger holyschmoke and had a few thoughts…

Yes, Quade Cooper deserved a ban for his tackle on Morné Steyn.

Yes, the fact that he misses two big Bledisloe Cup Tests while Messrs de Villiers and Fourie serve their bans via the Currie Cup, in which they probably wouldn’t have featured anyway, is grossly unfair.

But no, I don’t think “tournament-specific bans” are the answer.  I suggest a much simpler soundbite.  Common sense.

Think about the notion of a tournament-specific ban.  You transgress in the Tri-nations, you get banned for the Tri-nations.  Sounds logical, right? Wrong!

What about the last game of the season?  With the title on the line? Sure, kick lumps out of a guy about to score a title winning try, and even if you’re banned the entire following season, you get the silverware!  Worth it? Uh, i think so!

I’m no expert on legal matters, but surely there’s a way of wording the rules so that the citing commissioner can be empowered to actually make the punishment fit the crime in the overwhelming majority of cases? 

The reason given for Cooper’s ban was that the incident was similar to de Villiers (whether or not that’s true is for another day’s debate) and thus was given the same “two week” status.  But we all know that de Villiers’ two weeks is much, much different to that of the Popeye-style-kicking Queensland Red.  So, guess what…how about we just, oh, I don’t know, change the rules?

Unless, of course, your name happens to be Riche McCaw, in which case you get a fixed ban of 0 weeks for 100% of breakdown offences…sorry, had to get that in…

Back to message…the world rugby calendar is extremely complex with competitions at all levels overlapping (not to mention the Lions Tour thrown into the mix every four years, yes I’m looking at you Tana Umaga), but I’m pretty sure fans of the game will appreciate justice being done even if the precise same sentence isn’t handed out for the same crime in different circumstances.

Is this going to be a problem when the World Cup comes around or will we sort it now? I can see a similar situation brewing in 2011 where two players do similar spear tackles in the new-look Super XV, both get the same length ban, but one misses a massive World Cup clash with France wile the other must sit it out against Canada.

Let’s have some common sense, people!  And my apologies to Canadian rugby fans; it was a tough call between you and Russia for that sentence and, well, they got nukes!

Pre-season ramble

The soccer World Cup has been and gone, my laptop has died and been brought back to life Frankenstein-like, and finally we’ve had the quasi-release of the fixtures for the 2010/11 Magners League campaign, so I guess I’m about ready to post about rugby again!

I have to admit when it comes to Leinster I’m still a bit stunned from the defeat to the Ospreys.  What a crappy way to end the season.  But as I said in my write up, the Welshmen thoroughly deserved the trophy, and it certainly didn’t do anything to discourage me from the Top 4 format.

And I suppose when you look back on the season, while it never came close to matching the dizzy heights of the previous one, there was a good bit to remember.  We were definitely the best Irish province (still think there should be a trophy for that, Lord knows there’s ones for far more trivial things in this sport), we won all our home regular season Magners League matches, and yes, the 3 wins over the southern cousins didn’t hurt either.

Plus there was the fact that it was the end of Michael Cheika’s reign, which means you must consider where he took the province.  Magners League win? Cheika.  Heineken Cup win? Cheika. Ownership of Munster rivalry? Cheika. We could have only dreamed about any of those things when he took over, and he more than earned his big money move to Paris.

But here’s one thing I’m not crazy about when it comes to rugby.  This whole notion of knowing your coach is leaving halfway through a season.  Why do they make it public?  Why can’t they let them see out a contract and negotiate a new one when a season is over?

Now I know that if that was the system there would still be behind-the-scenes negotiations mid-season, but surely if a manager’s plans could be kept under wraps while a season was still on, the squad could focus on the task at hand and there wouldn’t be that sense of finality about the end of the season knowing that everything was winding down.

Just to be clear…I’m not suggesting for a SECOND that Leinster’s end of season failures came from the coaching staff’s impending departure.  I’m just concerned about the message it sends by making these decisions while a season is still in progress.  In many ways the reverse happened down in Munster, where Tony McGahan was handed a new contract when the province were in a very precarious position in both the Magners League AND the Heineken Cup.

I would’ve thought the lessons from Eddie O’Sullivan’s pre-World Cup contract in 2007 may have been learned by now?

Anyway…the reality is that Leinster will have an entirely new coaching staff coming in this season, headed by Joe Schmidt.

We can’t say the man doesn’t have pedigree…as backs coach his Clermont side won the Top14 Championship last year, and led the league in try scoring, which was an area where Leinster were found extremely lacking despite our 1st place regular season league finish.

Of course, the inspiration for our famed defence, Kurt McQuilkin, has also gone so to be perfectly honest, your guess as to how the 2010/11 version of Leinster is going to shape up is as good as mine! 

As fans we can only hope the quality of our squad can combine the Cheika/McQuilkin legacy with the fresh ideas of the new regime to produce another memorable campaign.

All I know is I can’t wait for things to kickoff!  I see over in England they’ve introduced a new 7s tournament…BRILLIANT idea.  I still say the IRFU should have done something similar to open the AVIVA rather than  the Leinster/Ulster v Munster/Connacht academy nonsense…perhaps a sevens competition featuring AIB league clubs with regional heats and the AVIVA opener staging the finals?  Don’t know about you but I’d be mad for that, and it would give the club competition a much-needed plug as well.

I also have the Tri-Nations to give me an off-season fix, and it has been entertaining so far, with Bakkies Botha’s predictable moment of madness playing a role in the All Black’s double maximum point blowout of the Springboks.  This Saturday’s match in Brisbane will be fascinating to say the least and I think the Boks will squeak it as the Wallabies are still in a rebuilding process.

Well that’s enough of a ramble for now.  Normal regular blogging will of course resume closer to the start of the season, and I also plan to add AudioBoo podcasts to my content for the coming season.  In the meantime, you’ll of course find my rugby musings on Twitter as @HarpinOnRugby.

Roll on the new season!

Leinster-12 Ospreys-17

NO COMPLAINTS

When we lost to the Scarlets way back on opening day, we could’ve blamed the Lions Tour.

When we lost to the Dragons and the Warriors, we could’ve blamed the fact we sent over our Academy team.  When we lost to Ulster, we could’ve blamed the weather.  When we lost to Connacht, we could’ve blamed the scheduling.

In each case we didn’t make those excuses, nor should we have, I’m just saying we COULD have.

Let’s be perfectly clear.  On Saturday evening in the RDS, Leinster were comprehensively beaten by an Ospreys side that put in a performance that was structured, clinical, and comprehensive.  And they were rightly rewarded as Champions in the Magners League’s first ever Grand Final.

They employed the same tactics as Clermont and Edinburgh had recently done, ie keep us pinned in our own half and establish an early lead then rely on defence to see it home, only the Welshmen were the first to carry it through to the final whistle.

Ultimately it was our biggest liability throughout the season, ie our low try-scoring count, that cost us dear.  When sides have squared up defensively the way we have done so many times ourselves in recent times, we haven’t been able to find the combinations no matter who we had on the park.

Naturally it was a disappointment, especially when Cheika, O’Kelly, Demspey & van der Linde were coming to the end of their current involvement with Leinster rugby.  Though it should be said, I haven't seen a more polished display from Big Mal in the last two seasons, particularly in the lineout.

I’ll do a post on the overall tenure of Michael Cheika in the next week or so.

So when the dust has settled, we must take stock of what the 2009/10 season has brought.  Well, no trophies for a start, but perhaps there’s a silver lining there?  Did perhaps the dizzy heights of the previous campaign fill us with a notion that we were somehow entitled to silverware whatever the other nations did?

And though it’s hardly a consolation, I guess there is a crumb of comfort in the fact that in the last 12 months Leinster rugby has once and for all consigned the “Ladyboys” jibes to the annals of history.  Our southern cousins had set the mark in our one-on-one battles, and we showed we could meet it.  Of course the tide will flow back the other way in the future, but at least we have shown we have the ability to dominate.

As for next season? Well, it’s going to be all change in the Leinster camp.  A new head coach in Josef Schmidt, who as Clermont’s backs coach has proven that it is possible to be a league’s top try-scorers AND be its champion, not to mention the prospect of new signings-even Luke Fitzgerald will seem like one! 

PLUS there’s the small matter of the World Cup squad to be assembled, so it pretty much goes without saying there’s fascinating times ahead.

But back to Saturday night, when the final whistle blew, my mates and I went and shook as many travelling fans’ hands as we could and hoped they enjoyed their stay in the Irish capital.  Their boys certainly did them proud, albeit with the help of an Irishman ;-)

 

It Only Ends Once…

Soon, on a mysterious Island, a great long-running saga will come to an end.

I’m sure I could have gone a lot further to link the Lost finale to the Magners League final but out of respect to non-fans of the show I’ll leave it there!

What can I say.  Even though Ireland fell short in the Six Nations and Leinster did likewise in the Heineken Cup, thanks to the new playoff format in the Magners League, we have a perfect chance to cap off the season on a high note this Saturday at the OarDeeEss AND to make it a perfect eleven for eleven at home in the competition.

But of course, there’s a flip side.  The star-studded Ospreys are coming to town, and after the success of their blue-clad countrymen, they certainly won’t cross the Irish Sea just to make up the numbers.

Well, I’m expecting a carnival atmosphere in Ballsbridge, I’m expecting enough travelling support to have some craic but not enough to drown us out, I’m expecting an opposition up for a battle.

I also expect a performance by the home side on a par with those that got us to this stage in the competition.  Not too much to ask surely?

And as if the Grand-ness of the occasion wasn’t enough, we Leinster fans also have an opportunity to witness the end of an era for the province, with several key figures taking their bow.  First there’s CJ van der Linde.  As for players who have served us honourably over the years, there’s Girvan Dempsey, Malcolm O’Kelly and Bernard Jackman.  Last, and certainly not least, there’s the man who no matter what happens on Saturday will surely be the most successful head coach Leinster has ever seen, Michael Cheika.

Though we want a good contest, we’ll also want to see them all go off on a high.

Bring it on.  Hope to see you there.

Am I Free To Air My Opinion?

above : the sum total of Sky’s “commitment to Ireland-specific coverage”

Off the top of my head I’d estimate that for every €1,000 Sky gives to Irish rugby, my humble contribution via Leinster season ticket plus numerous jerseys, IRFU memberships, other tickets and other official merchandise would barely amount to two cents.

So I guess that’s about the value of my opinion, but I’ll give its worth anyway.

I HATE mixing politics and sport, so much so that I have a separate blog for rugby and I have TWO separate twitter accounts so that the twain can avoid meeting.

But life being life, now and again something comes along which forces the two together, and this whole “free-to-air” debate is just such a thing.

The Green Party aren’t exactly the most popular force in Irish politics these days.  This is mostly because as junior partners in government, they have failed to put pressure on Fianna Fáil for perceived transgressions in several areas, not least the economy. 

I have never voted Green, I’m not a member of their party, nor do I have any kind of affiliation with the party aside from following a few of their TDs on Twitter.  But being a keen political observer, I have tried to come up with a reason for their stubborn insistence on turning a blind eye to their ideological opposites.

My conclusion is that since the past few years have seen the Greens’ first taste of real power, they’re afraid to pull the plug on the Government no matter WHAT Brian Cowen & co do or are shown to have done, just in case they don’t ever see an opportunity like that again.

One of the Green’s “leading lights” as it were is one Eamonn Ryan TD.  He currently holds the post of Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.

Note the full title of his position.  He is most certainly NOT the Minister for Rugby.  And being responsible for everyone in the country like he is, his job is to make decisions that benefit everyone.  At least that’s the concept.

So recently he did what many politicians do before making a decision, he “flew a kite” by releasing a list of sporting events he felt should be designated as “free to air”. 

Note…that does NOT mean TV companies get to show them for free.  Free to air means the signal is unencrypted and thus able to be received on ANY television.

As well as Gaelic Games and Horse Racing, Minister Ryan included on his list some rugby events…

Ireland’s games in the Six Nations Rugby Football Championship (move from deferred to live basis)

European Rugby Cup (qualifiers - pre quarter final stages - quarter finals, semi finals and final when an Irish team is participating) live

So basically, should this proposal become legislation, Sky would have to offer live coverage of Leinster, Munster and (probably?) Ulster’s Heineken Cup games unencrypted to the Irish market.

And as his argument for including this these events, the Minister had this to say:

These events are part of what we are as a nation and their enjoyment should be available to all. These special events should not be limited to those who have a subscription or pay-per-view service – they warrant the widest possible access for Irish people.

Now I have never been a fan of Sky when it comes to rugby.  Not because they don’t know what they’re doing, but because they don’t take the Irish market very seriously in their coverage.  They seem to think letting Paul Wallace occasionally get a word in edgewise in the studio constitutes “keeping the Paddys happy”.

We also had the recent Heineken Cup semifinals, both featuring Irish sides, receiving minimal pre- or post-match coverage, as little as fifteen minutes.

Forgive me if I’m a stick in the mud, but if I can’t go to a big game involving an Irish team and have to watch it on telly, I want the ALL the people covering it to be Irish.  Yes, even if it’s Ryle Nugent or Donal “Tremenjus” Lenihan or Neil “Captain Spitball” Francis.  And yes, even Popey counts as an honorary Irishman, since I’d like to consider myself one after 30 years on the island.

Having said all of THAT, as intrigued as I was by the Minister’s suggestion, I didn’t think the IRFU would be necessarily over the moon with it, so I wondered what their reaction would be.

But I have to say I was surprised when I read statements, articles, emails, tweets and Facebook campaigns which are akin to the IRFU running around like Chicken Little telling us “the Sky is falling” (see what I did there?)!

And from all I can understand by the counter-statements from the IRFU, Minister Ryan’s proposals would “destroy Irish rugby”, as it stands to lose as much as 20% of its annual revenue which will lead to top players leaving our shores and ultimately the success we have enjoyed in the Heineken Cup in recent years will come to an end.

REALLY? You stand to LOSE TWENTY PERCENT of your annual revenue AFTER you take away Sky’s money AND add money from a terrestrial channel?  That is, of course, presuming Sky will withdraw ALL their money even though no-one is threatening to make ALL the games they show free to air?

I had to ask myself WHY are they so anxious about the Minister’s proposal?  Why do they need to turn to us for a united front and use such exaggerated disaster scenarios as a reason?

My conclusion is that since the past few years have seen the IRFU’s first taste of real success, they’re afraid to pull the plug on their deal with Sky no matter WHAT Rupert Murdoch & co do or are shown to have done, just in case they don’t ever see an opportunity like that again.

Well, I’m sorry lads, but outside of choosing a sports team to win a match, I’ve never taken kindly to being railroaded into choosing sides, and I’m not about to start now.

MAYBE the IRFU & ERC shouldn’t have thrown their lot in so easily with Sky in the first place.  MAYBE they could have looked harder for sponsorship deals which could have meant free to air channels would come closer to Sky’s asking price.   Or MAYBE they could have built a stadium that held a capacity closer to Croke Park and thus secured Ireland’s rugby future that way.

Remember, they’re all maybes.  Is it possible to have an intelligent debate on this or am I leaving myself open with this post to accusations of wanting to see Irish rugby fail?

But most of all there’s one question I’d like answered…

Does this mean that as things stand right now, Irish rugby is Rupert Murdoch’s bitch? 

I certainly hope not.

I’m a proud supporter of Leinster & Ireland rugby.  I want to see the game thrive, I want to see our teams successful.  But I can’t accept there’s only one way to achieve those ends.

So to the IRFU & Minister Ryan I say, do what you should have done before all this hyberbole and fear-mongering was rained down on us while we were preparing for a mouth-watering Magners League semifinal derby…sit down together and sort it out. 

Because whatever support the IRFU will gain  by scaring its fans, I very much doubt it could have much effect on a Minister whose party has a limited lifespan in power anyway.

That’s MY two cents’ worth anyway.

PS : Gerry “Thorinho” Thornley is a little more sympathetic to Ryan in his column today yet still argues the potential destruction of Irish rugby.  I am also awaiting information from the IRFU’s press conference later this morning, though I expect it will be more of the same. 

Like I say, I am not 100% in favour of Free To Air, I am in favour of a reasonable debate, and I don’t buy the “if it’s not broken don’t fix it” because in my view, it’s far from unbroken.

Leinster-16 Munster-6

PLAYOFF PAYOFF

“To have the (Magners League) decider still to play for will only increase the profile of the league in the month of May. Besides, this increases the odds of yet another chance to beat The Munsters, and who wouldn't want that???”

JL Pagano on Babbling Brook forum, August 2009

I figured needed to include my own quote to prove I have always been in favour of the new top-four-playoff format, though I could also point to the fact I used to always refer to the competition as the “Meaningless League” until the system came into effect.

But to the organisers’ credit, they’ve made a few necessary tweaks, first being linking Heineken Cup qualification to league position, the next being the end of season playoff, and finally next year’s inclusion of two Italian teams.

And on Saturday night at the OarDeeEss, Leinster were able to capitalise on their well-earned home advantage by putting the auld enemy to the sword for the fourth time in a row to reach the first ever Magners League Grand Final on May 29th.

Despite the form book, I don’t think anyone in the 19,700 crowd believed for a moment that Munster were going to be shrinking violets in this one, and from the kickoff they set about throwing the kitchen sink at us.

It appeared from their starting selection that the gameplan was to hit us early, establish a lead and then bring on the Flannerys and the Wallaces to close it out.

And to be fair, when a Munster XV comes into a game that focused and that motivated, the only thing that’s going to repel them is a typical Kurt McQuilkin-inspired 80 minute defensive effort that Leinster are famous for, and luckily the boys were able to do it.

Jamie Heaslip won man of the match AGAIN, but although he did produce one his trademark barnstorming displays, he really only took off in the final quarter, and there were many more impressive showings from the boys in blue.

Healy and Wright were phenomenal in the loose, and edged the front row battle as well, although I’d agree with George Hook in that our tight 8 was the better of a bad pair.

But as usual it was in the backs where we made the difference.  Yes, BOD threw a block on de Villiers but the match-deciding try was still the result of a great backline move with everyone involved especially the returning Jonny Sexton, who followed up with the place-kick of the night for the extra two.

And credit must also go to Rob Kearney for not only being as reliable as ever under the high ball, not only for crossing for yet another crucial try, but also some super tackling throughout the match.

I’d be loathe to give too much criticism to our visitors, but if I were to pick out one thing I’d have to offer question marks over ROG as a captain. 

Not knowing when to let go while arguing with the ref, patting O’Leary on the head for his high tackle on Healy and not taking easy 3-point chances early on (maybe these calls came from the bench but I’d be surprised) were all signs that, much like Brian O’Driscoll before him at Leinster, greatness as a player does not necessarily translate into good provincial captaincy.

Other than that, it can’t be said that Munster lost this match with their performance.  They came at us right to the final whistle and I for one applaud them for their determination to break this try-scoring drought against us which now stands at 326 minutes.

And the Leinster faithful will be rewarded with a perfect way to close out the season as Ballsbridge welcomes back the star-studded Ospreys in two weeks.  They’ll be up for a fight I’m sure, a super night of cup rugby awaits us.

One final thing I’d like to note…as much as I’ve enjoyed the RDS this season, I REALLY wish they’d do something about the stadium clock.  It’s NEVER in synch with the referee.  Might I suggest a “hooter” system when the official clock goes to red much like in France and the Super 14?

Leinster-37 Edinburgh-28

D4TRESS

As a loyal Leinster fan/blogger I guess I’d need a pretty good excuse to not only miss my team’s final regular season home game but also take a few days to post my write up.

I guess my 1yr old son having to go to hospital for acute conjunctivitis on Saturday afternoon qualifies as a good one, right?

Being in touch with so many people on Twitter & Facebook as I am I felt it best to tell a white lie that it was myself who was ill so as people wouldn’t worry. And thankfully the little fella has been IVed to the max and is now home & hosed and back to his old self again.

But Sunday night it was my turn to get to stay at home while his mum did the hospital overnighter, so I at least got to see a recording of what went on at the RDS, and what a match it was.

I’ve seen teams come back from 8 points down in a rugby match before. I’ve also seen teams come back from 14 points before. But for the life of me I haven’t seen anyone come back from BOTH deficits at two different parts of the same game.

Edinburgh have to be praised. They needed a bonus point win and they came with an all-attacking style that was designed to do just that, and they were duly rewarded with a bonus point for that.

But of the four tries the home side managed to get in return (which ironically yielded our one and only try-scoring bonus of the season), I have to point our Shaggy’s, because for me it perfectly symbolised Leinster’s run-in to their Magners League campaign.

First, the mercurial stand-in outhalf (and my vote for Player Of The Year) Isa Nacewa made a cutting line break before chucking a perfect pass to Horgan, a sequence which in this little metaphor represents our 7 league wins in a row which put us within touching distance of a 1st place finish.

And when Shaggy got the ball, it looked for all intents and purposes that he was going to make it over the line, much like it seemed we’d be top seed in the playoffs.

But as he ran towards the line, you started to wonder if he had the legs to make it, especially with his opposite number Mark Robertson bearing down on him. This doubt is much like our recent defeats in Galway and Glasgow, plus our early setbacks in Sunday’s contest.

But when it came to the crunch, our cult hero number 14 had enough to put the ball down over the line, much as Leinster were able to secure two late tries to make it 9 Magners League wins out of 9 at the RDS for the 2009/10 season, and if that doesn’t show value for money on a season ticket, I don’t know what does.

Of course you can’t discount Nacewa’s seven-for-seven display from the kicking tee. Not too shabby from someone who isn’t even in our top three pecking order! Or least he wasn’t before Sunday!

And with Munster limping over the playoff line despite defeat in Cardiff, it now leaves us with a mouth-watering semifinal derby on Saturday evening which, despite the differing league records, could easily go either way.

Do you still think the playoff system doesn’t add anything to the rugby season? What would we be looking forward to right now without it?

Here’s hoping for a night to remember at D4tress. For the boys in blue, of course.

Toulouse-26 Leinster-16

FALLING SHORT

One moment more than any other summed up Leinster’s performance in Toulouse, that being Eoin Reddan going all butterfingers as he went to put the ball down for what surely would’ve been a match-changing try in the first half.

As I’ve said before in Heineken Cup reviews this season, we’ve been riding our luck in this competition to date and this was always going to be the battle where we couldn’t rely on fortune and instead we’d have to bring the kind of “A game” that we had at Croke Park 12 months earlier.

Alas it wasn’t to be. Toulouse may not have been the powerhouses the pre-game buildup suggested, but they certainly set a standard we found ourselves unable to match on the day. Jauzion and Skrela were able to be clinical at just the right moment unlike our equally famous names.

In my mind’s eye before this kicked off, I had a vision whereby they ran in two or three tries in quick succession, but for me it was always in the first twenty minutes. When we had them at 9-9 at half-time, I was beyond optimistic that we could pull it off.

But if Reddan’s fumble summed up our performance offensively, another moment defined our failures in defence, and the finger of blame can only point towards one man, CJ Van Der Liability.

Since when do the words “ROLL AWAY” make you think you’re meant to “lie there like a sack of spuds?” It wasn’t the only senseless penalty we gave away by a long chalk, but it was clearly the most frustrating to watch.

In all honesty, if we hadn’t continued to virtually invite them into our own 22, I’m not altogether sure they would have scored any tries on the day, despite their domination in the scrum.

Yet it wasn’t all negative. First, there was Shaun Berne. Surely even he would admit Jonny10 would have provided us with more fizz going forward, but the Australian did exactly what could have been expected of him and then some. The best compliment you can give him is that in no way did the Sexton injury result in the defeat.

Then there was our attitude when their second try was scored. Many would have thrown in the towel, but we managed to dig deep and throw the kitchen sink at them like the reigning European Champions that we were, and we were rewarded with a superb fling by Nacewa to Heaslip for a touchdown that at very least gave us some hope going into the closing stages.

But again a mind-numbing transgression on our part restored the two-score margin and that was a bridge too far.

Can we blame Michael Cheika? Maybe we can say he failed to instil the required match-winning attitude before kick-off. Maybe we can say it was a mistake to bring on the South African prop when despite his injuries he has failed to ever show anything resembling dedication in a blue jersey. Maybe we can say our coach is winding down in anticipation of his next assignment.

They may all be valid points, but there is also one over-riding factor to consider…the Heineken Cup is a huge competition and NOBODY has a God-given right to win it. The record of the Irish provinces has been superb over the years and getting half the semifinalists I reckon our boys have done us proud yet again this time round.

Let’s face it, both Leinster AND Munster were always going to be up against it playing on foreign soil, and although we lost by 10 and they by 11, neither of us need be ashamed.

And now at very least we can both focus on the end of the Magners League campaign. Some fascinating battles next weekend to round out the Final Four, then the competition’s first ever playoff series.

Here’s hoping Leinster can bring the motivation that led to Heaslip’s try into the weeks ahead.

Glasgow-30 Leinster-6

FINDING THE TIME

It seems like an eternity since the full-time whistle blew in the rugby match this post is meant to be written about. But I think I can be excused, since I’m not being paid to write it and what’s more I had the small matter of my son’s first birthday party to organise over the weekend.

But looking back, it also seemed an eternity between the time Setanta’s clock hit 80 minutes and when James Jones decided to blow his whistle for the last time. At very least it was long enough for the home side to get a third try which in all fairness they didn’t deserve, a statement which says as much about their own performance as it does about the bravery of the Leinster Cubs they were facing.

As it turned out, reports from within Firhill suggest that Jones was in fact in perfect sync with the stadium clock and it was Setanta who got it wrong, which leads me to ask: just how hard is it to check your clock on the telly is showing the same time as the one that matters? Surely that’s something they teach you on the first day of Showing Sports On Telly School?

Not that the Welsh ref was without blame. Normally I don’t like singling out the man in the middle because of all the team sports out there, rugby union must certainly be the hardest to police what with the numerous interpretations that can be made over the breakdown.

But what we as spectators CAN insist on is consistency, and all I have to do is cast my mind back to Leinster’s Heineken Cup trip to Brive when we were chasing a bonus point victory to make up for our defeat to the LettinOn Irish the week before. As you can see from my detailed account, Jones was extremely reluctant to brandish his yellow card that day, while in Glasgow it seemed he was suffering from yellow fever.

Maybe Jones can argue that he IS consistent…whenever faced with a 50/50 call he always goes against Leinster? I’d be interested to hear what fans from other clubs have to say on the matter.

I’m not suggesting that Leinster did not deserve ANY yellow cards on Friday evening, but I do wonder if their overall performance deserved as many as four and if it did, then I’ve seen numerous other matches (Brive v Leinster notwithstanding) that merited a similar tally if not more.

If we can put the cards aside and look at Leinster’s display, we did see some impressive outings despite the result. Ian Madigan and Stephen Keogh in particular caught my eye. Keogh played like Jamie Heaslip and Sean O’Brien rolled into one, while Madigan had an assurance that belied his lack of experience.

It didn’t surprise me to hear people take the easy route afterwards and question Michael Cheika’s decision to name his teams for both the Wednesday and Friday fixtures at the same time. Personally, given the fact that we had two games in three days, I’m not sure what else he could have done. Sure, he may have expected the XV he sent to Galway to do better, but should he then have changed things when they went pear-shaped?

For me a measure of Cheika’s success has been his ability to adapt to the ludicrous European calendar. I’m sure he must yearn a little bit for the “luxury” enjoyed by the Super14 coaches who actually have their squad of players together for the entire tournament without interruption. I think he has done the best he can given the restrictions imposed on him, and this could have been a key factor in a Top14 side (even more beset by fixture congestion) wanting his services.

So all in all it was a bad week results-wise but guess what…we’re STILL top of the league, we’re STILL just a point away from a home semi and we’re STILL in the Heineken Cup semi next weekend. Of course it could all come crashing down but this time last year we were bemoaning two defeats out of three before a massive semifinal and I seem to recall that turning out ok.

Which reminds me…I need to find some time myself to make one clarification…I mentioned some Munster tweets in my last piece. I’d like to clarify that in 99.999% of cases, the banter I have enjoyed with them this season has been phenomenal. To name but a few, @22dropout, @Grayzie, @DIBayliss and @ovalball all know exactly how to sledge the way it was meant to be done and I certainly wouldn’t want them doing any differently. As for the identity of the culprit who inspired my rant, well, why should I give them blog space? I simply unfollowed them. Job done.

And back to the rugby matters on the pitch, it seems that it all comes down to the Cardiff v Munster clash to see who joins us, Ospreys and Glasgow in the final four. As for poor Connacht, have you ever seen one team’s campaign go so sour in just the space of four hours? The XV they sent to Kthlanthli highlighted their lack of resources alright but surely they weren’t accounting for Embra’s inability to hold onto the ball when it mattered?

Sure, Ulster put in a fine display but (a) they shouldn’t have had to given all the points they’ve dropped all year and (b) I counted at least half a dozen unforced errors by the Scots which led to points for their opponents.

I started this post with the words “it seems like an eternity”…well NOW it seems like an eternity since I wrote those words and I don’t seem to be writing about the match in question any more so I’d better sign off and say roll on next Saturday!

Connacht-27 Leinster-13

ATTITUDE

In his post-game reaction, coach Michael Cheika claimed we performed poorly on the night because “we lacked the correct attitude”.

Of course he was right, though the attitude had to come from both sides to produce this incredible result.

The home side were amazing, and they’ve proven first hand that this whole “turnaround” factor is disappearing more and more with every day.

Since rugby’s year dot, pundits have factored in turnaround time when judging how a squad is going to perform in a given match.  Using that yardstick (our last game was Friday while theirs was Sunday)together with the Magners League table yesterday morning, this should have been a comfortable victory for the visitors.

But from 1 to 22 throughout the Connacht squad last night, they wanted this game for the entire 80 minutes.  They were tenacious in the tackle and breakdown, they pinpointed every little chink in our defence (not to mention the gaping ones) and they ran at us like they had the wind at their backs whichever way they were facing.

And why shouldn’t they, since the westerners have a realistic chance of bringing Heineken Cup rugby to Galway for the first time ever.  And with the likes of Toulon, Wasps and a resurgent Cardiff Blues to overcome in the Amlin Challenge Cup, surely they must feel their best chance is through the Magners League.

On Leinster’s side, we seemed to think that naming a strong 22 ourselves was enough to bag the four points before a ball was kicked.  One more theory shot down by attitude. 

Brian O’Driscoll’s first outing in Galway in a gagillion years will be remembered as the night he was outshone by rookies like Kyle Tonetti and Eoin O’Malley.  And as for our abilities when Connacht had the ball, well Troy Nathan’s match-clinching try (see pic) said it all, what with the way he was able to just scoop the ball from a red zone ruck and dive over the line with comparative ease.  Not sure if Kurt McQuilkin would’ve been able to watch.

The same goes in any sport.  You play the game you’re in, not the one that’s coming up, and to a man last night Leinster were guilty of letting the upcoming trip to Toulouse cloud their focus.

Attitude of course can also apply to the supporters.  Scanning over the Babbling Brook forum I see a lot of criticism directed at referee Peter Fitzgibbon.  Again I say this is poor show.

True, the pass that led to the first Connacht try was clearly forward.  True, he could have gone to the TMO to see if Hines’ touchdown was really held up. True, he was slow going to his yellow card for the home side’s breakdown transgressions.  But no doubt also true was that he missed a few Leinster no-nos as well, and even if he didn’t, his contribution definitely did not account for all 14 points of the winning margin.

Another attitude of fans I don’t quite get is that of the Munster faithful.  As I stared at my Tweetdeck last night during the match, the southern taunts were coming in thick and fast as the result looked more and more likely.  Some were quality sledges, some were downright childish, but either way they had more hope of getting a rise out of the Titanic than this Leinster fan.

Sure, they’re delighting in their Auld Enemy getting beaten, but are they REALLY that proud of the Magners League’s then-bottom side managing to do to us what their lot couldn’t?  Made little sense to me.

The only rugby folks deserving of a positive attitude this Thursday morning are those from Connacht, from Michael Bradley to man-of-the-match John Muldoon right through their modestly-numbered squad and of course their loyal supporters. 

With no disrespect to Ulster, I for one hope they can drink from the Heineken goblet next season and at very least we should have a cracking final-series matchup at Ravenhill on May 7th.

As for Leinster, I have no doubt Michael Cheika will be able to use the DVD of what happened in the Sportsgrounds to re-instil a match-winning attitude in his squad for the big battles to come.

Leinster-20 Ospreys-16

WINNING STREAK

If you’re looking for a metaphor for Leinster’s 2009/10 campaign to date, Ica Nacewa’s opening try couldn’t be further from it.  With the exception of a 30-0 drubbing of an opposition whose name escapes me, there’s been nothing “runaway” about any of our victories to date.

And the way the first half went at the RDS Friday night, the only way we were going to score would be an intercept try, since the visiting Welshmen seemed to have borrowed Clermont’s “how to play Leinster” playbook and had us pinned in our own territory most of the time.

But as effective as that gameplan may seem on paper, there’s one crucial component to make it work…you HAVE to establish a sizeable lead early, because if the boys in blue are still there or thereabouts in the last 15 minutes of the game, you’re always going to struggle to come out on top as several sides have learned in the past few months.

As it turned out, despite an impressive showing from the star-studded Ospreys particularly outhalf Dan Biggar, they only went into the break 16-10 ahead, and when Shaun Berne (who although he wasn’t taking place kicks impressed at 10) made early 2nd half pressure tell by crossing to bring us back into it, the tide had turned and to be fair the visitors can count themselves lucky to get away with the bonus point.

A couple of missed kicks by McFadden together with a Berne drop goal which could/should have been called good might have made the final margin wider, but we’re more than happy with our 7th Magners victory in a row which leaves us just four points from a guaranteed 1st seed in the new playoff format.

With Connacht and Glasgow away to come in quick succession before the big showdown in Toulouse, surely Michael Cheika will take our strong standing on the table and focus on squad management in the near future.

Despite our high winning percentage to date, all it takes is two defeats at the wrong time and it will all be for nought.  It’s certainly all to play for, and I’m in no doubt Leinster have the squad to keep this impressive winning streak going to the finish line.

Not-so Permanent Fixtures

I’d love to have the time to post on this blog every day but, well, that pesky thing called The Real World prevents me, so I normally limit myself to giving my views on each Leinster/Ireland performance.

Once in a while, however, I’m driven to rant, and now is one of those times.

Last January 2, there was a Magners League game scheduled between Connacht and Leinster.  It was due to take place at The Showgrounds in Galway.  I LOOOOVE Galway.   It’s my Irish holiday destination of choice.

As I’m sure you’ll recall, the country was ground to a halt by a few snowflakes at the beginning of the year, and not surprisingly, many sports events fell foul of the weather, that rugby match included.  That’s fine.  Understandable.  Can’t be helped.

But my rant is about what CAN be helped.  And that is the treatment of what surely must be the Rugby Powers That Be’s biggest concern, ie those willing to travel to put their bums on stadium seats whatever the weather.

I wasnt able to make Galway that weekend anyway, but I know several who were, and I know several who were on the OLSC buses which were forced to turn back as the decision to postpone the contest was taken at virtually the 11th hour.

And as if that wasn’t bad enough, we then had a web of intrigue and mystery surrounding the re-scheduled date for the match.

My first thought was that they’d get the game out of the way on the free Jan 30th weekend, right before the Six Nations began.  Of course the international players couldnt be used, but I really dont think fans wouldve minded since we all know the score and it would’ve given some Irish fans some first-grade rugby to watch that weekend anyway.

But for whatever the reason, they chose not to go for that weekend.  Fine. So what next?

Looking at the schedule it seemed to me they only had one weekend possible for the remainder of the season.  And that would only be free if BOTH Leinster and Connacht were eliminated from their respective European quarterfinals.

As it turned out, they weren’t, so the next course of action would be to slot it into a midweek somewhere.

Fine.  And as was announced yesterday, that’s what they did.  But my beef is that they only announced it yesterday.

The Dublin-Galway route is better than ever these days I hear…you can make it in or around 2 hours by car.  Wonderful!  Still…it absolutely defies logic that Leinster fans were given just 6 days notice when SURELY we could have been given the either/or option BEFORE the European weekend so we’d be able to make plans in advance.

“The Magners League would like to inform its fans that should both Leinster and Connacht fail to reach their  respective European semifinals, the match will take place on Fri Apr 30, KO 7pm.  Should at least one go through, it will instead be played on Wed Apr 21, KO 7:45pm.”

Would that have been so difficult? Really, would it?  I can’t see any problem with that, and they could have published that back in February so we all knew where we stood.

And while I’m on the subject of fixtures, I may as well bitch and moan about this whole “May 2/3/4” nonsense.

At the beginning of the season, the fixtures for the upcoming campaign are announced, but only for the first two or three months do we actually know kickoff dates and times.  From January on, we see more slashes than a public toilet.

Naturally this is done so that the TV companies can wait to see how league tables are shaping up so they can pick and choose their time slots.

Well the only instance I can see that being forgivable is for the last (6th) round of Heineken Cup pool matches.  In round five and for every week of the Magners League season, the travelling supporters should come WAYYYY before those slumped in their armchair with a Coors Light and a slice of Dominos.

So to the Powers That Be, especially the Magners League since they’ll have four extra matchdays next season, I say this.  STRAP ON A BLOODY PAIR and tell the TV companies if they want their ad revenue they’ll have to take the product you give them, which should be one your loyal supporters can enjoy to its fullest.

Rant over.

Leinster-29 Clermont-28

CROCK JAMES

Toulouse were impressive in dispensing with Les Pinks but although they’ll have home advantage in their semifinal there’s one thing to consider…since fulltime in the RDS last October 9, the Heineken Cup Gods have been smiling like crazy on Leinster rugby.

First we had the Scarlets playing like champs against London Irish and like chumps against us to help us back into contention in Pool Six. Then we had Chris Malone missing simple place kicks left right and centre at Twickenham as we scraped a home quarterfinal with an 11-11 draw.

But last Friday night Leinster dodged an exocet missile as visiting Clermont-Auvergne, ten times Top14 bridesmaids and never the bride, left almost as many points on the pitch as they put on the scoreboard, with Aussie outhalf Brock James the principal culprit.

Whatever about our defensive prowess, if there was a team in this competition that was going to put it through the ringer then it was a side not only leading try-scorers in the Top14 but also the pool stages of the Heineken Cup. And when they raced into a 10-0 lead it was clear to all at the RDS, not just the incredible visiting support, that Cheika’s men had it all to play for.

But even though we were double digits behind, I was comforted by one thing. We hadn’t so much as played in their half yet. Sure, they pinpointed a weakness in the recuperated Shane Horgan on our wing, but how would they stand up when we in turn applied the pressure?

It wasn’t long before we had our answer. Before you could say “sacre-bleu!” Jamie Heaslip had gone over for two tries, the first thanks to the customary BOD wizardry the second thanks to his pack, and at halftime there had been an incredible turnaround and we were 20-10 ahead.

Oh, and it appears a certain Jonny10 has more than a touch of his mojo back. To put it simply, every time we pressed their line, we troubled the scorers somehow .

But the visitors were determined to stick to their game plan in pinning us down in our own half and they were doing it well. Two more tries from winger Malzieu showed up Shaggy’s bad night at the office, and although Brock was doing his bit to help keep his team going forward, when it came to using the kicking tee he just wasn’t producing the goods when it mattered.

Which begs this question. When a man who scored almost half of France’s Grand Slam winning points is on the park, why let anyone else take a kick? Sure, Parra did go 0/1 himself on the night but still, though I’m not as au fait on the week-in week-out nature of French rugby, I still find it baffling.

Even more baffling was the Clermont pack’s decision to take the ball an extra phase a few metres to the right before James failed at his second game-winning drop goal attempt. And fail he did, although from our seats, which would normally be considered very good, we had no idea if it had gone over and we were afraid to cheer for more than a minute until we saw some Leinster players’ hands go up in celebration.

And when the result was confirmed, all that was left for me to do was to send a tweet which read “Out. Of. Jail.” before heading to Searsons for some celebratory beverages, passing the stunned/dejected Clermont fans on the way. Fair play to all of them for their contribution to what was hands down the best atmosphere the RDS has ever seen.

Now the nail-biting win didn’t come without some cost. Sexton broke his jaw and Rob Kearney, who was my man of the match ahead of the lazily-selected Sky choice of Heaslip, went over on his ankle. Hopefully both will have enough time to recover for the semifinal.

As for that match on May 1st, well we may be underdogs on paper, but be in no doubt whatsoever…Toulouse will know what to expect from a visiting Leinster side and will take nothing for granted.

Congrats as well, of course, to both Munster and Connacht for completing yet ANOTHER Irish faux Triple Crown this weekend (see previous post).

Munster-15 Leinster-16

TRIPLE CROWN

Croke Park May 2009, RDS October 2009, Thomond Park April 2010. Three wins over the auld enemy in three different venues all within 12 months. I’m calling that Leinster’s own little Triple Crown and I don’t care who knows it.

I was going to wait until I saw a replay of the match to do my post but really I don’t need to…my view was good enough at The Orchard pub in Rathfarnham and my head was clear enough on account of only having a couple of rock shandys with my son throughout.

I was also going to unleash a rant about Donal Lenihan’s biased Setanta commentary but for once I applaud Mattie Williams for stepping in on Leinster fans’ behalf near the end and giving young Jonny10 some encouraging words for having the stones to convert the winning score (see pic courtesy of rte.ie) moments after yet another bad miss on the night.

This great result for Leinster was really all about being the better squad over the 80 minutes. The home side, led by their temporary skipper O’Gara, started all guns blazing and no one would have expected any less, but minute by minute our forwards squeezed the life out of the Munster attack and by the end when they were chasing the game with little or no chance of catching it.

And yes, O’Gara won the battle of the out-halves, mainly from the kicking tee. It was much more equal between them in open play, but considering the points Sexton left on the park you’d have to give the overall nod to the elder statesman.

Truth be told however, the winning margin should have been wider. Munster only scored through opportunities we gave them and some of them were even unlucky, like our two yellow card incidents. Leo Cullen couldn’t have been expected to do much less than go for the intercept when he was done for deliberate knockon and as for Nathan Hines…his punishment would have been far worse had he NOT get go of the tackle as along with Stan Wright it would have surely been called a spear.

Of course the one try came from a fortunate bounce of the ball for Rob Kearney but it has to be said there was only one team on the night that was going to cross the line. In fact, this is a good place to mention that our southern cousins have now gone 246 minutes without getting a 5-pointer against us.

There were several quality displays from boys in blue, not just man of the match Jamie Heaslip. Kearney, Nacewa and Dempsey were a formidable back three to Munster’s aerial attack and young Devin Toner had a stormer of a first period with several crunching tackles. We werent as dominant in the lineout and scrum as I had hoped but made up for that at the breakdown.

And after all my glowing pro-Leinster bias, THIS is a good place to mention that I very much doubt that Good Friday was the last meeting between these two European giants this season, and despite our “Triple Crown”, the result of the next clash is anything but a foregone conclusion.

Even though neither side was exactly firing on all cylinders, the match at Thomond was a cracking advert for the state of Irish rugby and hopefully both will be able to extend their European involvement next weekend. Because of the top-four playoff system in place in this year’s Magners League, the Heineken Cup quarters would’ve been always to the forefront of the thoughts of the two coaching staffs last night.

But it was nice to retain the bragging rights nonetheless :-)