Heaslip’s work rate
The Leinster No. 8 was deservedly named man of the match as he led by example with his tireless carrying. Heaslip made a remarkable 23 carries and invariably made positive yardage even off slow ball.
His surge in the lead-up to Fanning’s try stands out, but one could pick out many other outstanding moments in the Ireland international’s performance. As well as leading the carrying stakes, Heaslip was Leinster’s top tackler with 12.
His work rate can sometimes go unnoticed, but this was Heaslip back to the style of performance that saw him originally burst onto the scene with Leinster and Ireland.
While Sean O’Brien and Cian Healy remain sideline, Matt O’Connor will have been encouraged.
Error count
When Leinster get their attack right, smash the breakdown and attack the gainline from flat positions, they are a sight to behold. However, those passages of play remained intermittent as a frustrating error count continued to hold them back this evening.
That was particularly evident in the first half, as mistakes led to the tries for Alapati Leiua and, indirectly, Christian Wade. There is an inaccuracy to Leinster’s passing again at times, with individual mistakes stunting some promising situations.
O’Connor put those errors down to the “occasion” post-match, but it’s certainly something he will look for his players to iron out ahead of the trip to Castres next weekend.
Fanning steps up to deliver
Making his first start in Europe, the left wing crossed the whitewash on two occasions. While neither effort was a contender for individual try of the season, both were smart finishes to reward the excellent work of his teammates.
The first was a simple task after Jimmy Gopperth laid a sumptuous grubber kick just over the tryline in the first half, then Fanning dived in smartly to finish off a spell of pressure that started with a Sean Cronin line bust in the second 40.
Away from the ball, the 28-year-old did not have the busiest of evenings, although he looked entirely at ease. Leinster fans will look forward to the return to full fitness of Dave Kearney, Luke Fitzgerald and Fergus McFadden, but Fanning is stepping up to the mark in the meantime.
Back row clicks
Heaslip, Dominic Ryan and Rhys Ruddock were at the heart of much of Leinster’s best play, with the latter chipping in with a respectable 16 carries and Ryan completing nine tackles.
While the openside flanker took his time to get up to the speed of the contest, and is perhaps still better suited to playing on the blindside, the back row trio combined well to get through their duties.
With Heaslip carrying more than usual, Ruddock and Ryan were tasked with hitting an increased amount of rucks. Ashley Johnson, Guy Thompson and Nathan Hughes all had strong moments for Wasps, but Leinster’s back row emerged on top of that battle.
Still searching for a consistent performance
Despite the positives, there was frustration for Leinster players, coaches and fans as the province failed to put together the 80-minute performance they are desperate for. As against Munster, their first-half showing simply wasn’t of the required level.
While they improved thereafter, giving up 20 points to better teams than Wasps in the opening 40 minutes bears potential for disaster. It will be intriguing to see how Castres approach next weekend’s tie after defeat to Harlequins, but Leinster’s preparation must be based around a more complete display.
The line-out malfunctioned at the RDS this evening, the scrum creaked once or twice, and those individual errors frustrated. O’Connor will look to take another step forward in round two.
