THOSE WHO BRAVED the wind and rain at the RDS last night will have felt they were rewarded for making the journey as Leinster played out a thrilling 22-22 draw with the DHL Stormers.
Leinster were without the services of their Grand Slam-winning Ireland internationals while the defending URC champions came to Dublin loaded with Springboks, and in the end both sides felt a touch of frustration that they couldn’t see the game out.
With the wind behind their backs the Stormers powered into a 17-5 lead by half-time but only added five points after the restart as Leinster battled back and almost stole an unlikely win – Harry Byrne seeing a late penalty strike the post.
In the end the draw felt a fair result but Leinster head coach Leo Cullen admitted he had mixed feelings about the outcome.
“It had a bit of everything really, didn’t it,” Cullen said.
Lots of really good intent, you could see it was a really big game and both teams going at it, the Stormers have a lot of experienced internationals in their team and it was a really big challenge for some of our younger guys.
“The first half, the conditions were going to play a huge part, we were playing into the wind in the first half and the Stormers had plenty of territory, and a 10-0 lead, and then the (intercept) try is a bit of a kick in the guts to go 17-0 down. But we managed to build some decent pressure on them just before half-time, Mikey Milne gets in and it was more of a manageable gap.
“We started the second half well and got in for a try, then there’s a period where we’re quite dominant and play a smart kicking game, and we put the Stormers under a fair bit of pressure.”
Leinster did manage to move ahead of the Stormers around the hour mark after Max Deegan crossed for their bonus-point try, but the visitors hit back through fullback Clayton Blommetjies.
The draw was still enough for Leinster to secure top spot in the URC table with two rounds of regular season fixtures still to play.
“It’s a mixed feeling, overall, it’s great that we win the game three points to two, but it’s a draw ultimately,” Cullen continued.
It’s a bit of a mixed feeling, but we got the job done to make sure we finish top of the league, and that’s very satisfying, because a lot of work goes in over the course of a season.
“It’s pleasing, when the internationals come back in next week, top spot in the league has been guaranteed, so that’s positive overall, but still there’s always a feeling of ‘what if we did this better?’”
One of the most memorable moments of a highly entertaining clash came early in the second half when Steven Kitshoff stole a Leinster lineout and Hacjivah Dayimani almost went end-to-end, only for Liam Turner and Ciarán Frawley to both race back and make important tackles before Leinster forced the turnover. A couple of minutes later, Leinster scored their third try through Rob Russell.
“I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a loosehead prop intercept, and then the team nearly go the length of the field,” Cullen said.
“It was an amazing scramble from a number of players to get back and make the tackle, and get in on the poach, and off the back of it you win a penalty and are able to clear your lines and build some pressure back.
“There were lots of moments like that in the game, from both teams. Both teams scrambled incredibly well, and it was good to see two proper teams go at it. Conditions made life difficult, but it was a very exciting game and had a bit of everything. It was a really good advert for the competition overall.”
Stormers boss John Dobson said he had no complaints about the final score.
“Look, I thought it was an intense, high-level game of rugby,” Dobson said.
“We came with a plan around our linespeed, making every breakdown a contest and trying to slow the ball down which we did really well.
But, I don’t think we quite realised how good the Leinster defence was. They played really well, their attack – they’ve so much depth.
“As well as we defended, I thought in those conditions Leinster were superb.
“I thought where we really let ourselves down was in the second-half, we were kicking contestables and it was really poor. We said we had to keep the ball, that’s how we got back into the game, could have burgled something at the end but it would have been a burglary.
“I felt that’s Leinster’s ‘B’, without any of their internationals. It was a high-level game of rugby.
“It looked like a Test match, I spoke to Kitsy (Steven Kitshoff) afterwards and he said it felt like a Test match; the intensity, the competition in every breakdown, the quality of hits from both sides.
“From our side, it was a superb game of rugby.
“We probably should have lost it, but we showed the character the Stormers are known for to come back from 22-17 and get the draw. It’s well done to our chaps because we were on the ropes.”
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