OPINION : “I’m still not over the Saints defeat” by Andrew Corbett

Come on you boys in blue.

Leinster’s recent Champions Cup defeat to Northampton was a humbling one. What almost all rugby fans thought was impossible, this writer included, was proven to be just the opposite and the Saints were duly rewarded for taking the game to the overwhelming favourites. Viewed by many as a mere formality, many Leinster fans chose to eschew the semi-final at the Aviva stadium and, instead, busied themselves by working out the logistics of the Cardiff trip.

This defeat has stung the most and the frustrations of the fans will only grow louder should the 12 County Army fail to win the United Rugby Championship. Leinster desperately need some silverware this season, but it could be even more difficult now that they have shown they can be got at – Witness the Glasgow Warriors game where the visitors, particularly in the first half, seized the upper hand, and looked a completely different team to the one that lost 52-0 to their hosts at the same venue only weeks earlier. Glasgow showed no fear, and this is something that Leinster have brought upon themselves.

Leinster will go into the playoffs as favourites for the URC title, ending their season eight points clear of the Bulls, who finished second, and set up a home quarter-final against the Scarlets. Favourites they might be but, Leinster have lost their aura. The last time Leinster won the URC title was in the 2020-21 season. Since then, Leinster have finished the regular season top of the table in 2021-22 and 2022-23 but failed to win the competition. Will this year be different? 

Leinster’s failure to capitalise on their potential with all their perceived and oft talked about advantages brings a smile to many fans of other Irish and UK teams. Population, the conveyer belt of talent from, predominantly, the private schools in Dublin and, most importantly these days in rugby, the money Leinster would appear to have, is all meaningless if the team keep falling at the final stages of every competition they play.

Regarding the seemingly endless pool of talent that Leinster can draw from, it has to be noted that there is a big difference between a good rugby player and a great rugby player, to be Dunphy-Esque about it. It also needs to be recognised that whilst Leinster have introduced some outstanding rugby players, since their last Champions Cup win in 2018, it is also fair to say that some of their more senior players are now, or will shortly be, coming to the end of their careers. Without the influence of this officer corps, it’s time for more players to stand up and become true leaders on the pitch. The repeated failure to take the 3 points on offer, whether by penalty or drop goal, is inexcusable – particularly when all the points scored during the 2018 triumph in a rain-soaked Bilbao came from the boots of Sexton and Nacewa.

A glance across at the “other” boys in blue, tells a vastly different story. After Pat Gilroy’s Dublin team won the Sam Maguire for the first time since 1995, along came Jim Gavin who won an unprecedented 5-in-a-row in his haul of 6 titles as the Dublin Manager. Dublin, as we know, went on to win the historic the 6-in-a-row in Dessie Farrell’s first year as manager, and impressively defeated Kerry in 2023 with a team weakened by retirements and injuries.

The Dubs were recognised as the best / second best team for the majority of the 13 years from 2011 to 2023. During this period, they backed it up by winning 9 All Ireland and 6 National League Football titles (albeit one shared with Kerry in 2021) – 15 trophies in 13 years. The likes of Tyrone, Mayo and Kerry were far closer to the Dubs than Ulster, Connacht and Munster have been to Leinster and, in Mayo, especially, they had a formidable opponent where the difference between winning and losing was frequently on a knife edge.

The Dubs possessed a will to win as well as a brilliant capacity for thinking on their feet and solving problems as they arose on the pitch. Leinster, by comparison, have been underwhelming. From 2018 to the present day, Leinster have been arguably recognised as the best / second best team in Europe, and, during this period, they have won 1 Champions League and 4 URC (Guinness Pro 14) titles. This represents a return of 5 trophies in 8 years – winning the URC this year will bump that up to 6 trophies.  

So why is it that the Dubs have been a far more effective team than Leinster? Both teams have and have had talented players and coaches, are well resourced and regularly steamroll over opponents. The answer, then, must lie with the head coach / manager. One example was Jim Gavin’s swashbuckling side, having built up a healthy early lead, were shocked by Donegal and Jim McGuinness in 2014. What happened? Gavin made some tweaks, primarily in defense and Dublin were never again ambushed during his reign. 

By contrast, Leo Cullen has made many serious and costly blunders. Not only does his team seem incapable of “taking the 3 points” pragmatism, Leo has also gambled, and lost, by fielding weakened teams in some important games. The 2022-2023 URC semi-final is a great example of his hubris. With an eye on Europe, his second-string side was outfoxed by Munster, with a Crowley drop goal sealing the win. The last few minutes of the 2022-2023 Champions Cup final had fans screaming at an uninterested Ross Byrne to get into the pocket and demand the ball for what would have surely been the winning score. For a coach who always talks about “learnings” and “lessons” after defeats, he doesn’t appear to learn them. The following season in London against Toulouse, gave us Ross Byrne repeatedly kicking for the corner and passing up 3 points in favour of scoring tries. When these tries failed to materialise, Toulouse took full advantage and Leinster were chasing the game. At least Frawley had the guts to go for the drop goal, to win it, and was very unlucky that it drifted left, but the game should never have come down to that moment. If Leinster had been building their lead, keeping the scoreboard ticking over, then they would have won the match.

With Northampton gassed and down to 14 men, it was not unreasonable to expect that Leinster would have taken the points on offer and, at the very least, brought the game into extra time which would surely have broken the Saints. Instead, yet again, the obsession with scoring tries overruled the head and so to another year without a Champions Cup victory.

I’m sorry Leo, it’s time for you to go. You have been a great servant to Leinster, player and coach, but you need to move on. If you fancy going to Cardiff, I have tickets that I won’t be using…

I’m Andy Corbett and I live in Leopardstown, Dublin. I am a huge sports fan but GAA, Rugby (Both Codes) and Football are my favourites. Enjoy a bit of writing here and there but have been advised to stick to my day job.

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