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Leo Cullen collects a Richardt Strauss throw. ©INPHO/Billy Stickland
Heineken Cup

Malcolm O'Kelly backs Leinster to ride the storm and hit their targets

Leinster could do with some lineout advice after last weekend’s blundering.

A SIX-POINT DEFICIT at the break and Clermont Auvergne looking to tot up unbeaten game 51 and yet there was no panic.

Last week, as Leinster trailed 15-9 at the break, there was no panic in the eyes of their players.

They had been in positions much worse than this in the past four years and, Ospreys aside, came out on top more often than not.

Jonathan Sexton turned down a kick at the posts for a crossfield punt but soon added his fourth penalty as Clermont infringed again.

Richardt Strauss, as a replacement, was on for Sean Cronin and, with 25 minutes to go, Devin Toner jogged on.

By the time the final whistle had blown, Strauss had failed to find Toner twice at the lineout and overthrew once more for bad measure. Territory was squandered and the game was lost.

Toner has displayed glimpses of an undoubted talent but the midweek news of Mike McCarthy’s signing tells you that there is a lack of trust there.

Strauss has earned the faith of the Leinster fans and, as starting hooker tomorrow, gets his chance to amend his throwing errors at the Aviva Stadium.

Big Mal

Malcolm O’Kelly contested lineouts in 73 Heineken Cup games for Leinster and explains there is a fine line in perfecting or botching the crucial set-piece.

“I’ve only seen the game once,” O’Kelly told TheScore.ie, “but to me some of the calls seemed a bit high risk. I think when you have a guy [Toner] coming on you would look at taking some low-risk balls.”

“It’s hard,” he added, “because Clermont are particularly good defensively. Julien Bonnaire roams around the line-outs and is a difficult guy to handle.

It was difficult for Richardt to come in and hit the target under pressure, but he will be really disappointed as will the [rest involved in] the line-out because it was a key moment and we really had them on the rack that time.”

The one lineout claimed by Leinster in the closing stages stuck in the giant paws of Leo Cullen. Expect the Leinster captain and Ireland captain, Jamie Heaslip, to be used in the majority of Saturday’s lineout manoeuvres.

Ride the storm

O’Kelly believes Leinster’s close call at Stade Marcel Michelin last Sunday has proved they ‘have the beating of Clermont’ if they can cut out lineout errors and rash penalties.

“They really dismantled them up front,” he said, “especially up front, mauling. They dealt with everything Clermont had.” However, he warned:

Clermont are dangerous, you have the likes of Napolioni Nalaga and Aurélien Rougerie in the back-line, they could score off a high ball and there’s almost nothing you can do… You just have to ride the storm and get lucky.”

O’Kelly retired from professional rugby as Leinster coach Joe Schmidt was arriving but he keeps in close contact with the club and believes the New Zealander has done ‘an incredible job’.

He has been impressed by Gordon D’Arcy and Andrew Goodman in their fledgling centre partnership but feels momentum could be the determining factor in the fanciful quest for a four-try [plus] win.

O’Kelly said, “Here, on an open pitch, hard pitch, we could have an opportunity to get a couple of tries.

“Let’s hope we get a couple of tries early and keep the crowd from being so nervous.

“There is massive pressure, but that is the Heineken Cup.”

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