WITH THEIR SEVENTH loss of the Pro12 season today, Leinster fell eight points behind the Ospreys in the playoff race. Having contested every final of the Pro12 era, the thought of Leinster not even making the playoffs is pretty jarring.
With a raft of injuries, Matt O’Connor hasn’t always been able to pick from a full deck and a few statistics show that his is the province’s poorest league campaign since the inception of the Pro12 in the 2010/2011 season.
They have already lost seven league games, something they had never done in the previous four seasons. And even if they were to win their remaining three fixtures they would still be three wins off their previous lowest victory total.
We looked at Leinster’s performance in a few statistical categories in the Pro12 era to see how this season compares with years past.
They are on course for their lowest points scored per game average, their second highest points conceded per game average, their third lowest tries scored per game average and their second highest tries conceded per game average.
Of course, Leinster are still involved in the European Cup and succeeded in reaching the semi-finals for the first time since 2012 so there is still positives to take from this season.
But after making five Pro12 finals in-a-row, it will be bitterly disappointing for Leinster fans to see their team miss out on a chance to win their third league crown in-a-row.
