THEY WERE, FOR many, heavy favourites ahead of their two-legged Champions Cup round of 16 tie, and how could they not be?
Leinster are genuine heavyweights when it comes to European club rugby’s premier competition, the four stars that sit above the crest on their shirts a constant reminder of their illustrious history in the tournament.
Connacht, on the other hand, are the constant underdog. The western province are playing knockout Champions Cup rugby for the first time. The head to the Aviva Stadium this evening looking to end an eight-game losing run away from home in the tournament.
Yet they make the journey east with plenty of hope. Last weekend’s thrilling game in Galway was a reminder that when they get it right, Connacht can still mix it with the best. They carry a five-point deficit to Dublin for what is now a do or die clash, one which is much tighter than many would have anticipated.
Whatever happens next, at the halfway point this fixture is still very much alive, Leinster’s progression to the quarter-finals by no means guaranteed.
“I’m always nervous about these things because it means a lot to us,” says Leinster boss Leo Cullen.
If you weren’t nervous, there would be something wrong with you. I was nervous last week, I’m nervous this week, so nothing really changes there. But that’s what makes it special as well. The guys have been focused this week and it’s just about delivering really.
“You’ve got to be able to read the game and what’s in front of you – how you start the game, what the conditions are like, in terms of the referee etc, etc. There are lots of different variables there, so it’s just making sure we are clear on what our plans are and how we can tweak things in the moment of the game.
“Nerves are part of it. They’re a good thing.”
Cullen’s nerves may have been heightened by Connacht’s success around the ruck seven days ago as they managed to slow Leinster’s ball to impressive effect. This week he’s called on the tempo and energy of Jamison Gibson-Park at scrum-half, while the returning front row duo of Andrew Porter and Ronan Kelleher bring serious power to an already stacked Leinster pack.
“We’ll have a slightly different mindset based on what we’ve seen last week,” Cullen continues.
“For us, it’s trying to tweak a couple of those pictures for Connacht so it’s different for them as well and we’ll look at threats we’d have seen. I suppose in the lead-up, the dynamic is unusual because we played them a couple of weeks prior in the URC, granted with a very different group of players from our side. And as we know, there was the red card in that game which had a pretty big bearing on proceedings. So yeah, it’s subtle tweaks because you can’t get too clever and change everything.”
Cullen highlighted a fast start as being key. Should Connacht score first, they’ll grab the early momentum while Leinster’s slim aggregate lead evaporates. If Leinster land the first blow, Connacht will find themselves chasing a two-score game. These things count as much in the head as they do on the scoreboard.
“It was fast and frenetic,” Cullen says of the first leg tie. “We probably didn’t manage a couple of exits at the start of the game which gives Connacht some opportunities to attack us and eventually score. It was good play by them and probably some inaccuracies by us when exiting and from a defensive point of view.
There’s areas we need to tidy up for sure, and it’s a balance. We want to be the ones that are imposing our game whereas it looked like we were reactive at times last week to what Connacht were doing. We have to be more productive (this evening).”
As always, Leinster have the ability, quality and bench resources to rack up a big score this evening. However, if Connacht can bring the same discipline and endeavour for the second week running, we should be in for another gripping, tight contest.
“Because of the two-legged nature, they weren’t forced to chase the game (last week),” Cullen added.
“There were a couple of maybe calls they were on the wrong side of last week which built more pressure on us, the crowd become involved and they get their tails up. That’s what I mean about control piece from our point of view.
“Last week was the first leg of a knockout game, so now we are into the knockout game piece. That’s a different mindset, when you get to the last 15/20 minutes, you’ve got to chase the game, which puts more pressure on your systems and all the rest.
“What’s important for us is how we start the game and get that bit of control so then Connacht are then potentially in the position of having to chase the game.
“Easier said than done.”
In the final episode of the series, The Front Row – The42’s new rugby podcast in partnership with Guinness – welcomes comedian Killian Sundermann in to studio. The online funnyman fills us in on his schools rugby days, gaining recognition during the pandemic, making his stand-up debut and travelling around Europe in a van. Click here to subscribe or listen below:
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