Leinster: The only URC threat to SA teams
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Twelve unbeaten games in all competitions and a squad that can be interchanged to suit their goals – that’s what Leinster coach Leo Cullen has at his disposal.
Leinster’s win over Munster on boxing day underlined the luxury that Cullen has at the moment, being able to tinker with a younger squad and still get results, managing his players well for the crack at trophy glory later in the season.
And it leaves him with the enviable task of being able to plan a trip to South Africa without having to worry that European ambitions may suffer. Whoever he chooses, he knows no other side in the URC has the same sort of depth.
All of this may be good and bad news for the Stormers and other South African sides looking to challenge the current URC log leaders for the top spot and hopefully the trophy later in the season.
With the Champions Cup final to be held at Leinster’s stronghold at the Aviva Stadium, they have more than enough motivation to get to the showpiece final. In the URC they now have an eight point lead at the top – even though the Stormers have a game in hand – ahead of the chasing pack. Ten wins from 10 outings with seven bonus points paints a picture of a supremely confident Leinster side that is hellishly intent on reversing their trophyless season that has just past.
Cullen acknowledged the changes had been good for Leinster, especially as Munster came so close to winning. Making wholesale changes and still coming out top means the team can move forward with more confidence as well.
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“Munster threw everything at us at different stages. You see what it meant, the occasion, the crowd, it’s a big game. And I’m pleased for a lot of our young guys who have come through that game well. Hopefully some of those guys can kick on from here as well because it’s a proper cauldron atmosphere out there as well, and I thought guys were relatively composed,” Cullen said after the win.
“Sometimes you can lose your head because it is quite chaotic, the crowd are in to you, you miss out on a couple of decisions and then you’re under pressure, but I thought the guys, and some of the young guys in particular, cope with that pressure well. So it’s a good learning experience for guys.”
Cullen will again manage his squad this week for the next New Year’s derby against Connacht, where lynchpin Johnny Sexton is expected to return. But the tinkering is all part of the deal to ensure when the big games in Europe roll around, that Leinster will be in prime form to have a crack at both trophies they desire.
“We will have a slightly different group that will come now next week,” Cullen added.
“Everyone has obviously done something slightly different over the last while.
“If you think there were those games, a lot of games had a break week straight away post-November, so that was obviously one of the weeks off. So, again a lot of guys will be out this week, other guys will be out next week, just trying to manage the group well, so they are all fresh and raring to go when Europe comes around.”
All of this will be concerning to local franchises who won’t relish a trip to Dublin for a playoff game at any stage in the competition. While the Bulls triumphed last year at the RDS, there is a sense that this Leinster side is a lot more focused this time around and won’t be caught off-guard as easily.
Meanwhile the other derbies will get just as spicy as the 1872 Cup returns with Edinburgh’s Mike Blair hoping his side will overturn the loss to rivals Glasgow Warriors this weekend.
And Blair believes his side are on the right track, but admitted managing resources is tougher as the URC is a much tougher competition with the South African sides in it.
“I’m confident of the direction we’re going in,” he told Scottish media. “We’ve played really difficult teams. This is a really testing period for the club, and I believe that we’re doing the right thing.
“I believe that over the season we’re playing good rugby. We’ve had a few areas where we’ve dropped off a little bit, but we’re playing good teams, some away from home.
“The URC is a different competition from previous years, when Cheetahs and Kings were playing. They have been replaced by four absolutely top-level South African teams. And on top of that the Irish teams have gone consistently well, the Ospreys are stacked with internationals, Scarlets and Cardiff have got strong squads.
“This is a tough competition and we’re going to go through times when things are a little bit tougher. We’re going to keep plugging away. We’re confident in what we’re trying to do and we believe we’re heading in the right direction.”
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In Wales Cardiff’s dramatic win on the weekend against the Dragons, where they scored in injury time to win, was built on the success of their South African tour, Ben Thomas believes.
The belief the team got out of their shock win over the Sharks has carried them to fifth on the table and Cardiff believe kickstarted their resurgence in the competition.
“The boys knew we had to dig in together to get that last try. You always expect that from a derby, especially Cardiff-Dragons.
“It’s always going to come to blows in a way but we knew everyone would be fired up, we knew we had to control our emotion and the rugby would take care of itself.
“We had a real good start to the season, similar to last year but we know we have to come through this derby period with a few victories so we’re off to a good start and hopefully we can carry this momentum into next week.
“South Africa was huge for us, to get that win against the Sharks was a real boost to our confidence, the Wales boys have come back and added to that and we’ve been able to carry that run on.”
