SATURDAY’S 36-10 DEFEAT of Racing at Aviva Stadium saw Leinster sign off for the Champions Cup pool stages as top seeds in Pool A with four straight bonus point wins, scoring 184 points along the way while conceding just 34.
Having watched his team frustrate and stretch Leinster for more than an hour, only to unravel and lose by 26 points, Racing attack coach Rory Teague reckoned his side had just faced the team that will go on to lift the trophy in May.
He might well be correct in his prediction but closer examination of Leinster’s performance highlights areas where they continue to be stressed, with Racing – like Gloucester a week previously – getting joy around the scrum and the maul, hooker Janick Tarrit burrowing over for a first-half maul try.
Before a final quarter flurry of tries, Leinster also some difficulty breaking down a well-drilled Racing defence and their discipline was proving costly. That the home side remained patient and eventually cracked the code will surely stand to them further down the line.
Speaking after the game, head coach Leo Cullen admitted it was no bad thing to see his team properly tested after steamrolling their way through the pool stages up to that point.
Exactly, yeah. You’re looking to learn from the games all the time. To get that reminder, it’s like ‘Oof.’ It’s about making sure we’re clear on things and we get ourselves into the game, and if we get ourselves in trouble, how do we get ourselves out of trouble? Not compounding errors etc, understanding the referee.
“We were probably at the wrong end of that penalty count in the first-half in particular. It evened itself out probably a little bit in the second-half.
“We gave away a lot of penalties, so we need to be better or have a better understanding of the interpretations on any given day.
“There are definitely some good reminders for us. The pool stages are about getting through and trying to get yourself into the best possible shape.”
Leinster flanker Josh van der Flier, who crossed for a second-half try, felt it was one of the more physically challenging tests they have faced as a pack this season, with being hit for another maul try after conceding two penalty tries in Gloucester a week previously particularly frustrating.
They have very physical, good ball-carriers and their maul was really good so there’s definitely things we need to work on but credit to Racing’s pack, they were good and it was a good challenge for us.
“We conceded a maul try last week, a maul try this week as well. I think in a way it comes with playing Gloucester, playing Racing – teams that have a big pack and are physical with some really good athletes, they do their homework.
“You’re bound to get challenged in a lot of ways and I think the maul is certainly something that has been positive for us in terms of attack; and in terms of defending it’s an access point in the game in general, if you can get your game going forward, so stopping the threat of opposition maul is definitely one of them (areas to improve).
“Certainly it’s always an area of focus and something we’ll want to be as good as possible going into the knockout stages.”
Leinster will now lose 20 players to Ireland camp as the province prepare to take on Cardiff before heading into the Six Nations break. It will be the first weekend of April before Cullen’s charges return to Champions Cup action.
With a home final on the cards, Leinster certainly look in good shape to attack the knockouts but Cullen was quick to stress that much can change between now and the next rounds of European fixtures.
They went into the weekend’s game against Racing without Johnny Sexton, Tadhg Furlong, Robbie Henshaw, Jason Jenkins (all inured) and James Lowe (personal reasons). Cullen would be the envy of most coaches if he had a full hand to pick from post-Six Nations.
“We tried to manage the group well, a lot of guys haven’t featured a huge amount. Some pretty experienced guys haven’t featured a huge amount in the four games.
“That’s the amazing thing about the tournament, you play the pool stages and then you have a 10-week break between pool stages and knockout stages with the Six Nations sandwiched in between.
“You’re never quite sure what happens during the Six Nations. We will plan and obviously watch the games play out, but it’s a nice place to be, as in already through and have a decent seeding as well.
“So much can happen between now and the knockout stages, it’s miles away like. For now, it’s just ‘Okay, well done lads, we’ve got through.’
“As a group we need to improve all the time because there are bloody good teams out there.”
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