LEINSTER HAVE EXPRESSED their frustration at losing players to the international squad for long periods this season, but things are only going to get worse in 2015/16.
With his side’s campaign now concluded after victory in Edinburgh yesterday, Matt O’Connor will begin preparations for the World Cup season ahead. The Leinster head coach is looking at losing a high percentage of his playing staff to the global tournament in September and October.
While the opening rounds of next season’s Champions Cup have been pushed back to November, beginning two weeks after the World Cup final, Leinster will start their Guinness Pro12 campaign shorn of the majority of their front-line players.
There’s obviously the matter of the 2016 Six Nations next season too, meaning Leinster will need to get much more from their squad than they did in 2014/15. Those infamous nine points from a possible 20 during this year’s Six Nations cost O’Connor’s men dearly.
With the likes of the inspirational Jamie Heaslip, Cian Healy, Sean O’Brien, Devin Toner, Rob Kearney and many more away, O’Connor will be looking to Leinster’s supporting cast to step into more prominent roles.
With that in mind, there was some encouragement to be taken from yesterday’s win in Murrayfield.
Noel Reid
The 24-year-old was one of Leinster’s most impressive ‘second-string’ players in O’Connor’s first season in charge of the province. While he didn’t feature in Europe, Reid did play 15 times in the Pro12, scoring seven tries and delivering some superb displays.
He came into this 2014/15 season in a position of strength, with O’Connor clearly a fan of the running and passing threat the former St. Michael’s man brings in midfield. However, an ankle injury on the opening day of the season ruined Reid’s chances of further progress and yesterday was just his ninth start of the campaign.
Although Gordon D’Arcy may well still be at Leinster for the beginning of next season, Reid looks like being an important part of the World Cup period, particularly with a young out-half likely to be controlling the team.
One of Ross Byrne, Cathal Marsh and Steve Crosbie is set to be the starting 10 for Leinster at present, but Reid can certainly take some of the playmaking responsibility from their shoulders.
Reid is a former out-half himself, but also has plenty of underage playing experience on the wing and at fullback. Now settled as an inside centre, his running ability has not diminished.
As we see above, the Clontarf man showed that much for his wonderful 18th-minute try against Edinburgh, even if the covering tackle attempt from fullback Jack Cuthbert was nothing short of appalling.
It’s a superb pass from Sean O’Brien that creates the opening for Reid, as the Ireland flanker draws in two tacklers before flicking the ball out the back door.
That said, it’s notable that Reid is not right on top of O’Brien as he looks to carry the ball. One of the things that makes the centre an enjoyable player to watch is the almost lackadaisical manner in which he covers the ground.
He generally appears unflustered, with his head up scanning for attacking possibilities. Having run a passing option out the back of O’Brien initially, that leaves Reid perfectly positioned to take the brilliant pass in this instance.
His dart of acceleration is typical of a former back three player, while he manages to swerve around Cuthbert at speed. Another green tick is Reid’s quick scan over his shoulders after the break, looking for supporting players. Finding none in close proximity, the centre backs himself to beat the final defender.
The same gliding running style is again evident in the clip above, as Reid gets a pass from Ian Madigan behind centre partner and fellow Clontarf man Collie O’Shea.
In the end, Reid’s short pass to Dave Kearney doesn’t stick, but again it shows the centre’s habit of getting his head up and assessing the defence as he moves. This time, Reid benefits from a strong decoy line by O’Shea from outside him.
O’Shea’s perfectly-timed and ideally-paced line [red above] manages to draw Edinburgh inside centre Andries Strauss into biting down on him for a split second, leaving that space on Strauss’ outside shoulder for Reid to run at [yellow].
It’s a classic play used by teams around the world, but this example is particularly effective as O’Shea’s line is expertly timed. Earlier arrival and Strauss would have had sufficient time to slide off, any later and Reid would have had less scope for his arcing run.
Aside from his running game, Reid also showed his passing ability against Edinburgh yesterday. As a former 10, the Dublin man has experience of running a backline and it was his passing range and power that stood out in particular last season.
From long passes off either hand to shorter pops and loop return passes, Reid’s range allows Leinster to broaden their attacking palate. While he would have been disappointed to put a little too much power on that pass to Kearney we saw above, it’s an attractive aspect of his game.
O’Connor has shown himself to be a fan of the Australian model of pairing a creative passing centre at 12 with a more direct and powerful running option at 13. Reid fits the bill at inside centre with the World Cup in view.
Jack Conan
Having been named Leinster’s Young Player of the Year recently, Conan hardly needed to underline his potential and quality to O’Connor yesterday, but the Old Belvedere man’s presence next season will be a comfort.
Winning collisions and getting over the gainline are vital to any team, so the powerful number eight is likely to be a key man for the province during the World Cup and possibly the 2016 Six Nations too.
The 22-year-old has realistic international ambitions of his own in the short-term future, but September is likely to see him playing a central role for Leinster.
Similarly to Reid’s, Conan’s try yesterday came about on the back of good work by his teammates. It’s Madigan who creates the opening for Leinster with some sharp footwork and an inside pass to Kearney, who runs another excellent line.
The defensive error here is Ben Toolis’, as we can see below.
Toolis has completely ignored the threat of Kearney inside Madigan, shifting too soon from his position as the second defender out from the ruck and on towards the Leinster out-half.
The Edinburgh lock’s role here should be to cover that inside pass option [perhaps starting where the yellow circle is], but he drifts on to Madigan too early and essentially leaves his side with two defenders biting down on the Leinster playmaker.
Madigan does well to identify the error and exploit it, while Kearney shows superb pace before firing an accurate pass to Conan, who has run a really positive support line from an initial position outside Madigan.
It’s far from the most spectacular try Conan has scored, but it is the latest highlight in an excellent season for the number eight. With O’Brien, Heaslip, Sean Cronin and potentially Rhys Ruddock missing at the start of next season, the youngster’s ball carrying and strength in contact will be pivotal for O’Connor’s side.
Luke McGrath
Leinster fans would have hoped to see their exciting young scrum-half get more than 15 minutes off the bench yesterday, but there was at least a try from Luke McGrath to celebrate.
Again, it wasn’t a glamorous individual effort from the Leinster youngster, rather a smart finish at the end of a strong passage of team attack. It does show McGrath’s shrewd ability to exploit any space on the fringes of the ruck, perhaps the strength in his game.
The 22-year-old is well known as an attacking talent, his awareness and burst of acceleration making him a constant danger to defenders close to the ruck.
Much has been expected of McGrath within Leinster for some time now, and while he made 15 appearances in total this season, only four of those were starts. Five tries have underlined the fact that his attacking ability remains sharp even at senior level.
As with every young scrum-half, McGrath still has learning to do in the area of game management and passing consistency. The signs against Edinburgh were of progress in those areas, although more demanding tests will come early next season.
Defensively, there will always be some doubt around a player of relatively small stature such as McGrath, though he is an aggressive competitor.
His missed tackles during a start against the Cardiff Blues back in January would have done some damage to his standing in O’Connor’s eyes, but the encouraging thing is that they looked to be down to technical factors.
With Isaac Boss and Eoin Reddan very much in contention to travel to the World Cup as back up to Conor Murray, McGrath will be confident in his ability to nail down a place in Leinster’s starting side.
The prospect of seeing the scrum-half push towards his undoubtedly massive potential will surely excite Leinster’s supporters.
Balancing act
The likes of Reid, Conan, McGrath, Cian Kelleher, Byrne, Garry Ringrose, and so many others have exceptional skills and potential, but a successful rugby team is about finding the right balance.
O’Connor has brought Isa Nacewa back to the province with the clear intention of providing experience in his squad during next season’s World Cup and Six Nations.
Privately, one of Leinster’s biggest disappointments this season has been a perceived lack of leadership when their front-line internationals have been missing. Clearly, these exciting prospects will be asked to step up in that regard more so than was the case in 2014/15.
Genuine experience is difficult to compensate for, however, meaning the likes of Nacewa and Zane Kirchner [if not a surprise pick for South Africa] will be important to O’Connor as leaders on the pitch early next season.
There is also the matter of improving Leinster’s attacking structure, skill level and motivation consistency, and O’Connor is sure to be mapping out the route to success in those areas too.
