LEINSTER’S DEFEAT OF Ulster at the RDS last night would have felt a long time coming for Caelan Doris. The man of the moment just a few months ago, the dynamic back row ended up watching the biggest games of the season sat at home on the couch.
A campaign which offered so much promise for Doris quickly stopped in its tracks earlier this year with the news that his Six Nations was over before it had even started due to concussion issues.
It can be easy to forget just how big an impact he had made up to that point. Before Christmas, Doris’ performances had him nailed down as the first name in a competitive Ireland back row. He was being talked up as a certainty for the Lions, praised for his superb work around the breakdown as well as his smart attacking game and impressive footwork.
In 202o his Ireland debut has lasted just four minutes due to a concussion, but now it felt like the pieces were finally falling into place for him to emerge as a key man for both Leinster and Ireland.
Then it all stopped, with concerns around concussions issues seeing the player sent for further investigation and sat down for an extended period. Before last night, his last appearance on a rugby pitch was a Pro14 win over Munster in January. That’s a long time out for a young player with lofty ambitions.
He was meant to make his return against the same opposition a fortnight ago, only for a calf problem to flare up at the last minute. Another setback, but Leinster were never going to rush Doris back into action and have been extremely cautious in managing his return, similar to how they are handling Johnny Sexton’s current concussion issues.
For head coach Leo Cullen, Doris’ 80-minute performance against Ulster was one of the most pleasing aspects of a lively encounter.
“That’s one of the real positives from the game, getting Caelan back and through 80 minutes,” said Cullen.
“We were (wondering) whether we would keep him on and let him run the 80, we were contemplating taking him off a little bit earlier, but I thought he looked strong in the game.
“He maybe looked a little bit tired towards the end, naturally, but it was a great shift for Caelan to get through.”
He didn’t get off to an ideal start, being pinged for an early penalty as Leinster struggled to live with Ulster’s blistering start to the game. The visitors played with purpose and were unlucky not to breach the Leinster tryline more than once in a breathless first half.
Leinster, as they tend to do, managed to hang in and struck back through a Cian Healy try, the loosehead bundling over the line from close range with some help from Doris, who was slowly growing into the contest.
As Ulster looked to turn their possession into points on the scoreboard Doris stood up well in defence and even produced a couple of trademark turnovers, which were met with much appreciation from the extended Leinster squad watching on from the stands.
He finished with 11 carries and 26 tackles, a decent return to work for a player Leinster anticipate will play a big part in their future.
“He was a little bit unlucky (this year), had a bit of a false start here a couple of weeks ago leading into that Munster game,” Cullen continued.
But he’s going to be a hugely important player for the club, hopefully long into the future. He’s still very young and building experience all the time, but it’s been a big year, and I suppose a big couple of seasons for Caelan. He was unlucky the way it played out for him leading into the Six Nations, but it’s great to have him back out there.
“I think there is always a bit of a natural frustration (when a player is sidelined) but he’s trained well with the group (while) going through his return to contact. You can see him out there, he was into everything, so he’s certainly not holding back.
“He would have got confidence from the 80 minutes and getting through the game.”
Munster’s slip against Connacht last night makes the Rainbow Cup a more inviting prospect for Leinster, who now have two wins from three in the competition.
They were far from their best against an Ulster side who brought plenty of fight and ambition, but lacked that clinical touch when enjoying all the possession and territory.
Cullen knows that a more ruthless opponent would have properly punished his side.
Ulster boss Dan McFarland admitted it was frustrating to see so many opportunities slip through their hands, and explained how the squad will look to go about rectifying that.
“It’s the level of our training, we’ve got to keep pushing that,” McFarland said.
“We train at a good intensity. It’s good enough to beat a lot of teams, but not good enough at the moment to beat a side like Leinster.
“We’ve got to keep pushing that on, asking more of ourselves, expecting more of ourselves at training. It’s an easy thing to say in words, but it’s a difficult thing to do (in practice).
“We’re not talking about being an average team here. We want to be right up there as being one of the best teams, if not the best team, and that expectation brings disappointment on many occasions if you don’t get there.”
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