Following Leinster’s 55-24 Champions Cup triumph over Leicester Tigers in Dublin on Friday, Planet Rugby picks out five takeaways from the action.
The top line
Another superb display by Leinster saw them see off Leicester Tigers as they fused brilliant deception in the backline with a powerful mauling display, scoring seven tries to take them through to a home semi-final in the Champions Cup.
For the large part, the match was a little closer than the final scoreline suggested, with the hosts pressing on the accelerator pedal in a dominant last quarter performance where they scored a point a minute to close the game out.
Garry Ringrose and Jimmy O’Brien both had memorable nights in blue, with the centre scoring after only a minute and adding another 15 minutes later. O’Brien outside him was in sparkling form all night, running dummy lines, getting behind the Leicester push defence and was eventually rewarded with a close range try after 71 minutes.
It was another complete display by the Irish side, despite Tigers hanging in the fight until the last quarter.
Card management
Leinster’s enforced management of the 46th minute Caelan Doris yellow card was the turning point in the match. They moved from a freer running style in the backline to flex their mauling muscles and in the period Doris was off the pitch, they won 10-0, with Jamison Gibson-Park rewarding their brilliance.
The change in tactic paid off. A penalty try six minutes later came courtesy of a thumpingly percussive maul which saw Charlie Clare forced to drag it down and gave referee Nika Amashukeli, who had another mature outing with the whistle, no choice but to brandish yellow as a result.
More close range tries from replacements Scott Penny and John McKee saw Leinster take the scoreboard over the 50-point mark. It was probably harsh on Leicester Tigers, but there was clearly a difference in fitness, cohesion and tempo, three characteristics that separated the side for almost all of the match.
Backline duels
Whilst the forwards might argue that both teams had their moments, the difference in the back divisions was vast. It took Ringrose precisely one minute to unlock the Tigers midfield, ghosting through a gap between Harry Potter and Dan Kelly in the centres that should have been closed down with ease. To compound matters, no scramble sweeper was in Tigers’ system, so the Leinster centre went in unopposed.
He repeated the feat 15 minutes later, exposing George Martin and Kelly on this occasion, as Kelly took an inside dummy line off Robbie Henshaw and left an open hole for Ringrose to exploit again.
For all Tigers’ efforts in the forwards and their eagerness to compete in the aerial contest, some of their primary line defence from their backline was woeful and against an all-Test quality Irish backline, half chances are all that are needed to break the primary line.
The same story continued in attack. With 47% possession, Tigers had plenty of chances to strike back, yet the phase handling and passing was absolutely lamentable; passes fired behind runners, offloads bouncing around ankles and runners struggling to make inroads through the Irish defence.
In terms of contrast, it was men against boys in that three-quarter battle and Tigers were a long way away from the quality of either defensive or attacking performance needed to beat a side of the quality of Leinster.
Outstanding start from Leinster! 👏#HeinekenChampionsCup #LEIvLEIpic.twitter.com/rCzamohWeY
— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) April 7, 2023
Forward battles
In the forwards, the margins were a lot closer, with the significant difference that Leinster won the big plays and grew into dominance, despite Tigers giving them issues for the first three-quarters of the match.
Joe Heyes may have taken bragging rights over Andrew Porter a couple of times in the first half, but when a big scrum was needed in the 50th minute with Doris off the pitch, it was Porter (and Tadhg Furlong) who provided it. When the big carries were needed it was the likes of Jack Conan, Penny and Dan Sheehan who delivered them, especially as the maul became the focal point of their game.
In contrast, Tommy Reffell was yet again a perpetual pain in his opponents backsides, winning three brilliant turnovers and smashing 16 tackles. Olly Cracknell added impetus off the bench and it was largely his work in previous phases that allowed him to crash over the line in the 67th minute, and elsewhere, George Martin had his moments in carry, whilst Julien Montoya’s HIA in the 32nd minute removed arguably Tigers’ best player off the pitch.
A word too for the dark arts. Leinster might be a silky running side, but they’re no stranger to slowing ball and lying innocently on the wrong side. It’s clever, orchestrated and chaotic from them, and their streetwise antics around the breakdown showed yet another facet of this outstanding side.
The bottom line
Leicester will be bitterly disappointed with this result. Whilst their forwards worked their socks off, the defensive issues in the backline, compounded by the sluggish inaccuracy of their passing in attack, will be of huge concern to Richard Wigglesworth. There simply isn’t enough ball skill in their midfield to create the possession for their talented back three to feed off.
At nine, Jack van Poortvliet’s glacial service and hand-to-kick time was exposed yet again in dry conditions. His game is simply too ponderous and lacks counterpoint of snipe around the ruck at the highest level. He appears to thrive in the wet but unless he can quicken up every part of his skill set he is going to struggle against international quality sides like Friday’s hosts.
For Leinster, their immediate issues might just revolve around injury worries. Ryan Baird (shoulder) and James Lowe (hamstring) both look as if they might have enforced breaks ahead of them and Leo Cullen’s key question will be how long those breaks are.
With one of either Toulouse or the Sharks next up to visit the Aviva, Leinster will need to bring their apex game to be sure of a win. They can expect to face harder and more cohesive opposition in the next round and if they’re to progress, they’ll need all of tonight’s injured men to be back and in pinpoint form.
READ MORE: Garry Ringrose stars as majestic Leinster ease into another Champions Cup semi-final
Article courtesy of
Source link
