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Madigan hauls down Luther Burrell of Northampton. ©INPHO/Donall Farmer
turnaround

Madigan: 'They showed a week is a long time in rugby'

The out-half insists Leinster are ‘still in control of the group’ despite last night’s loss to Northampton.

THE TURNAROUND FOR Northampton Saints was nothing short of complete.

Having been bullied at Franklin’s Gardens a week before, Jim Mallinder’s men were the ones dominating physically at the Aviva Stadium in their 19-8 win over Leinster last night. After comprehensively losing the breakdown battle in the first leg of the double-header, the Premiership side were well on top in that area in Dublin.

Leinster out-half Ian Madigan says the utter transformation on the Saints’ part was not unexpected, and points out how stifling their efforts in the ruck area were for the home team.

I think they showed a week is a long time in rugby. They did very well at the breakdown; they deprived us of quick ball and slowed us down. On a lot of occasions they got penalties at the breakdown. It’s not secret that when we’re at our best, we get quick ball off our rucks and we can beat teams in the wide channels.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t get that and fair play to Northampton for depriving us of that.”

Leinster’s approach was in stark contrast to the previous week too, with attacking accuracy replaced by a lack of cohesion in possession yesterday evening. While Matt O’Connor would have encouraged his players to take confidence from the 40-7 victory a week ago, Madigan refutes the notion that Leinster went beyond that point.

“No, I certainly don’t think we were complacent. We knew Northampton were a very good side. Going over there last week, we actually expected a much tighter game and we didn’t get ahead of ourselves. We knew they were going to come back here and there would be a big backlash.

“They certainly provided that, but I wouldn’t say it was down to our complacency.”

imageMadigan addresses the media following Leinster’s loss last night. ©INPHO/Donall Farmer.

Madigan insists that Leinster were “confident” that they would find a late score to help them steal the win, right up until Jamie Heaslip’s spill allowed Jamie Elliot to race clear. The pointless benefit of hindsight suggests that Leinster should have gone to the corner with their 73rd minute penalty, rather than kick for goal, but Madigan says he stands by the decision to take the points.

“Yeah, we weighed it up. There was still, I think, six minutes left. We did weigh it up, but I think Northampton were tiring and we felt there was definitely more time to get down into their half, and hopefully force a penalty and have a crack to win the game.

It’s one of those decision that you make at the time and you’ve just got to stick with it.”

Leinster’s quarter-final fate is still very much in their own hands, and the chances of a home draw remain favourable, as long as last night’s performance level is not repeated. Madigan is confident that he and his teammates can get the job done, although the failure to pick up a losing bonus point at home might prove costly.

“It could be, but I think we’re still in control of the group. At the end of the day, you want to finish as first seed to take on the eighth seed [in the quarter-finals] and we’ve probably dropped down a place or two. The challenge is now that we’ve just got to go away to Castres, beat them and then beat the Ospreys at home.

“We should still be in the top four seeds and hopefully get a quarter-final. We’ve just got to focus on that.”

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