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Rugby

Leinster the perfect combination of discipline and creativity

There’s a reason you don’t see many teams trucking 44 phases together in a game. It&r...



Leinster the perfect combinati...
Rugby

Leinster the perfect combination of discipline and creativity

There’s a reason you don’t see many teams trucking 44 phases together in a game. It’s an incredibly difficult task, both mentally and physically, requiring both the attack and defence to be disciplined and controlled.

For the attackers, it’s about precision. Passing must be sharp, and receivers must be ready. The support staff must lurk on the shoulders, ready for either a ruck or an offload. It’s also about patience, about repeating things over and over, waiting for the right chance. Nobody has to be a hero and force it.

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For the defence, discipline is the key. With each and every play, and with each and every gainline inch, the temptation to kill the ball, or dive from the side, or shoot up in defence grows. It’s a staring contest, tuned up to 10. First to blink loses.

Twice during the second half of Leinster’s Champions Cup win against Exeter on Sunday, Exeter blinked. It cost them the match.

When we think of Leinster, we always think of flowing rugby, that backline from 2009-2012 that dominated Europe. The kind of attacking that left defences scrambling and heads turning. The current Leinster are blending the best of both worlds. They can be devastating in space, and decisive in the loose, playing the opponents at their own game.

Exeter’s slow and steady growth to Premiership champions has been marked by being more than the sum of their parts. One of the best in England for several years now, they have an international contingent that doesn’t really match their consistent league showing. They play smart rugby, wearing teams down and taking their chances ruthlessly.

Image: ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan

Instead of targeting the Exeter weakness last week, Leinster targeted their strength, and it worked. 8-8, midway through the second half, Leinster were starting become disjointed. After dominating the first half an hour of the game, they had let their foot off the gas, and Exeter were beginning to do what Exeter do. With every minute that ticked by, it looked like their unbeaten run at Sandy Park was going to be extended.

And then Leinster changed up, and set about wearing their opponents down. They scored a penalty and a try unanswered between then and full time; those two scores requiring a combined 76 phases of rugby.

Isa Nacewa’s penalty was kicked after 32 phases of tortuous, crunching rugby. They slowed it down, focused on the immediate job and waited for Exeter to make the mistake. Sam Simmonds took too long to roll away, and Leinster tagged on the three points, and then they went at it again.

Image: ©INPHO/Tommy Dickson

This time, 44 phases. More than five minutes of continuous rucking and driving and carrying. No chance to catch your breath. Phase after phase of prodding at the Exeter tryline. Phase after phase of selfless team rugby. The clock read 65:13 when James Tracy threw to Devin Toner at the lineout, by the time Jack Conan touched down, we were at 70:22. Game over, and another step closer to a home quarter final.

A win this weekend against Exeter would see Leo Cullen’s side put one foot into the last eight, and would take the Chiefs out of contention altogether. With home advantage, expect to see Leinster push the boat out further than they did last Sunday at Sandy Park. Last week’s win gives them licence to be a bit more creative.

Like they did early on in last week’s win, they’ll go hard and fast early on, setting the tone. They’ll use Johnny Sexton’s boot to attack crossfield, something Stuart Lancaster this week alluded to on Off The Ball. It’s the exact play that saw them open the scoring on Sunday, Sexton driving a low, floating kick into the hands of Isa Nacewa. Nacewa catches, and runs back across the grain, leaving a huge gap on the blindside, which Sexton runs to. Try time.

The Hurricanes may have trademarked the tactic, but Leinster aren’t doing too bad with it. However, it things do begin to become disjointed, they’ve proven they can switch from southpaw back to orthodox. They can play the opponents as well as their own game.

It’s the type of heads-up rugby which is making them genuine contenders once again.

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