STILL, IT’S JUST not quite coming together for Leinster. Yesterday’s 45-28 win over Harlequins to open their Champions Cup campaign reads well, but the scoreline only tells so much.
You can look at the good, and there was plenty in a seven-try win, but for a team with big ambitions this display was far too uncertain and scrappy for anyone’s liking.
Leinster’s team was stacked with internationals, Harlequins’ missing so many of theirs. And yet this was nervy and tense for the best part of an hour. Approaching 60 minutes the hosts led by three, before pulling clear with three unanswered tries after Quins’ out-half Jarrod Evans had jogged over to the sinbin.
The province dominated possession in the territory in the first half, scoring four tries, but too often their attack lacked accuracy, or poor decisions were made. Their defence was cut by a determined Quins side, and their discipline slipped. So job done, but plenty to patch up.
“Yeah, a little bit sloppy,” admitted Leinster captain Caelan Doris.
Doris accepted the player of the match award on behalf of the injured Jordan Larmour. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
“Obviously started quite well with the try, then our ill-discipline allowed them into it. It was back and forth a little bit. Happy with the outcome in terms of five points, but performance-wise, there’s a lot more in us. I said on the pitch after that, we’re going to need to be quite a bit better, six-day turnaround next week away as well at Leicester. So happy with maximising points, but in terms of performances, we’re aware we’re going to need to improve as we go on in the tournament.
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“I think they made it hard for us at times as well,” he added.
“They went after a breakdown quite a lot. Evans got a number of steals there. They were pushing the boundaries, but some of them paid off for them for sure, and it probably broke our rhythm in attack a little bit. I don’t think we ever fully got into our multi-phase as best as we’d like, but having said that, we stayed with it, and some of the tries came later, definitely.”
The breakdown was also a sore point for Leinster boss Leo Cullen.
“The biggest thing is we respect the opposition because they are well coached from an attack point of view and they were there to, I know they have this expression, swing the bat, but I think it’s swing the bat at the defensive breakdown where they’re going to fire bodies in,” Cullen said.
“And, listen, we talked to the officials leading into the game and if teams have that mentality, what’s going to be the mentality of the referee? Are they going to coach them off the ball or are they going to just go arm out, penalty advantage? And that’s the bit we’re seeing quite a bit. So how do you play against that type of team that are going to commit bodies to the breakdown and make it a bit of a mess?
Leinster's Jacques Nienaber and Leo Cullen. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
“We’re seeing that quite a bit because we want to try and play a positive way, but, listen, how do we work our way through that? So I will always look at the images of the game, okay, are these poachers legal? What’s the actual philosophy of the refereeing of the game? Because that’s something we probably see quite a bit of.
“It’s like, okay, well, if that’s what’s coming against us, how do we deal with it? And we’re only okay at dealing with it today. So you can do your own bit, but then what do the opposition actually get away with? Are they hands on the ground? Are there guys in the back of the tackle?
“And again, that’s kind of an interpretation for the referee on the day, isn’t it? So yeah, a bit of everything, isn’t it, today? So we can be better in defence, we can be better in attack.”
That defence was broken far too easily for Quins’ four tries as the London side left Dublin with what could prove a valuable bonus point. A stark improvement on their 62-o hammering at Croke Park in last year’s round of 16.
“I think the core of our defence is around the contact area,” Doris said, “and I need to be leading that and I had some sloppy ones there for sure, and that is going to be infectious in a negative way across the team.
“So, yeah, I’m not sure it is defensive system, as much as just contact area and getting our shots in.”
Next up, a Friday night test under lights at Leicester’s Welford Road. By no means the most welcoming stop on the Champions Cup schedule. The Tigers, fourth in the Prem, go into the game on the back of a 39-20 defeat at La Rochelle yesterday.
“We’ve been over there a couple of times, played them here as well, so decent bit of familiarity with them,” says Doris.
“There’s a bit of an old school kind of vibe to them still, I think. Set-piece dominant, some big ball carriers, play a bit of a territory game, big kick chase.
“Discipline is going to be important for us. That’s a big improvement area going into next week. But it’s a different challenge, even being away at Welford Road, kind of hostile environments, short training week, so we’re going to need to get discipline right and mentality right.”
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'I need to be leading that' - Leinster's defence a sore point for Doris
STILL, IT’S JUST not quite coming together for Leinster. Yesterday’s 45-28 win over Harlequins to open their Champions Cup campaign reads well, but the scoreline only tells so much.
You can look at the good, and there was plenty in a seven-try win, but for a team with big ambitions this display was far too uncertain and scrappy for anyone’s liking.
Leinster’s team was stacked with internationals, Harlequins’ missing so many of theirs. And yet this was nervy and tense for the best part of an hour. Approaching 60 minutes the hosts led by three, before pulling clear with three unanswered tries after Quins’ out-half Jarrod Evans had jogged over to the sinbin.
The province dominated possession in the territory in the first half, scoring four tries, but too often their attack lacked accuracy, or poor decisions were made. Their defence was cut by a determined Quins side, and their discipline slipped. So job done, but plenty to patch up.
“Yeah, a little bit sloppy,” admitted Leinster captain Caelan Doris.
“Obviously started quite well with the try, then our ill-discipline allowed them into it. It was back and forth a little bit. Happy with the outcome in terms of five points, but performance-wise, there’s a lot more in us. I said on the pitch after that, we’re going to need to be quite a bit better, six-day turnaround next week away as well at Leicester. So happy with maximising points, but in terms of performances, we’re aware we’re going to need to improve as we go on in the tournament.
“I think they made it hard for us at times as well,” he added.
“They went after a breakdown quite a lot. Evans got a number of steals there. They were pushing the boundaries, but some of them paid off for them for sure, and it probably broke our rhythm in attack a little bit. I don’t think we ever fully got into our multi-phase as best as we’d like, but having said that, we stayed with it, and some of the tries came later, definitely.”
The breakdown was also a sore point for Leinster boss Leo Cullen.
“The biggest thing is we respect the opposition because they are well coached from an attack point of view and they were there to, I know they have this expression, swing the bat, but I think it’s swing the bat at the defensive breakdown where they’re going to fire bodies in,” Cullen said.
“And, listen, we talked to the officials leading into the game and if teams have that mentality, what’s going to be the mentality of the referee? Are they going to coach them off the ball or are they going to just go arm out, penalty advantage? And that’s the bit we’re seeing quite a bit. So how do you play against that type of team that are going to commit bodies to the breakdown and make it a bit of a mess?
“We’re seeing that quite a bit because we want to try and play a positive way, but, listen, how do we work our way through that? So I will always look at the images of the game, okay, are these poachers legal? What’s the actual philosophy of the refereeing of the game? Because that’s something we probably see quite a bit of.
“It’s like, okay, well, if that’s what’s coming against us, how do we deal with it? And we’re only okay at dealing with it today. So you can do your own bit, but then what do the opposition actually get away with? Are they hands on the ground? Are there guys in the back of the tackle?
“And again, that’s kind of an interpretation for the referee on the day, isn’t it? So yeah, a bit of everything, isn’t it, today? So we can be better in defence, we can be better in attack.”
That defence was broken far too easily for Quins’ four tries as the London side left Dublin with what could prove a valuable bonus point. A stark improvement on their 62-o hammering at Croke Park in last year’s round of 16.
“I think the core of our defence is around the contact area,” Doris said, “and I need to be leading that and I had some sloppy ones there for sure, and that is going to be infectious in a negative way across the team.
“So, yeah, I’m not sure it is defensive system, as much as just contact area and getting our shots in.”
Next up, a Friday night test under lights at Leicester’s Welford Road. By no means the most welcoming stop on the Champions Cup schedule. The Tigers, fourth in the Prem, go into the game on the back of a 39-20 defeat at La Rochelle yesterday.
“We’ve been over there a couple of times, played them here as well, so decent bit of familiarity with them,” says Doris.
“There’s a bit of an old school kind of vibe to them still, I think. Set-piece dominant, some big ball carriers, play a bit of a territory game, big kick chase.
“Discipline is going to be important for us. That’s a big improvement area going into next week. But it’s a different challenge, even being away at Welford Road, kind of hostile environments, short training week, so we’re going to need to get discipline right and mentality right.”
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Caelan Doris Captain Leinster Rugby