Following Leinster’s 27-10 victory over Leicester Tigers at Welford Road on Saturday, here are our takeaways from the Investec Champions Cup tie.
Not many will have given Leicester Tigers much of a chance in this fixture after Leinster named a stacked all-Ireland international starting XV.
However, did not make life easy for the men in blue, fronting up from minute one to minute 80. There have been some real mismatches in the tournament this season, with the format heavily contributing to that as teams were able to rest star players. But this was not one of them.
This time around, the scoreline certainly did not paint a full picture of the match as two giants in this history went hammer and tongs at one another.
The final winning margin was 19 points but quite frankly, Leicester were much better value than that suggests. It was a gritty, never-say-die attitude from both sides, but ultimately, in-form star Caelan Doris .
Much was made of Leicester Tigers’ 45-12 loss to La Rochelle last weekend, and this writer felt that much of the criticism levelled at the Premiership side was mostly unjust as they fronted up against a powerful French team and traded blow-for-blow and were ultimately undone by a better side after a few soft moments.
This week, the Tigers bared their claws from the onset and looked fired up for a real arm-wrestle as they raced out to a 10-0 lead through smart, accurate and abrasive play.
A great kick-chase and a superb running line against the grain from Jasper Wiese opened up the space for Dan Kelly on the next phase, and the centre was pinpoint with his try assist pass to Hanro Liebenberg to score.
Tommy Reffell was excellent in slowing down the Leinster attack and was a bit unlucky. His efforts were penalised and not rewarded on multiple occasions, and his exit due to an HIA was a huge blow to Leicester’s momentum and overall approach.
McKellar’s side stayed in the fight throughout the first half and managed to hold Leinster up over the line twice, with Kelly having a particularly solid first-half shift on defence with Julian Montoya also brilliantly denying the men in blue.
There was also a Courtney Lawes-esque shot from England’s rising star Ollie Chessum, who hammered Harry Byrne, while Wiese also caused Leinster all kinds of problems.
But against a quality outfit like Leinster, you can’t just hold on; you need to manufacture chances of your own because, eventually, they will strike, and Leinster did.
Byrne cut the deficit before Joe McCarthy scored a try that really shouldn’t have stood after he was clearly tackled and had both knees on the deck. Andrea Piardi is quickly becoming one of the top referees in Europe, but today was very much a speedbump in his development and one that showed he still has work to do.
Two poor decisions went against Leicester Tigers and provided Leinster with a route back into the game; the second was particularly poor as he waved off his TMO’s pleas but in the same breath, Leinster were steaming at this stage, and if he hadn’t scored then, the Irish side would have probably got the score soon after.
There was no question about Leinster’s second score as they tore the Tigers’ defence to shreds with a wonderful counter-attack from their own half as James Lowe cantered down the flank and Jordan Larmour rounded off the score despite a rolling pass.
From 10-0, all of a sudden, Leicester were staring down a five-point deficit at halftime, undoing all their fantastic efforts in the first 20-odd minutes with Leinster flexing their brutality and ruthless edge. When they get a sniff, they capitalise and once they have momentum, they are almost impossible to stop.
All 15 of the Leinster starting players have been included in Andy Farrell’s squad for the Six Nations, and while many will likely be starting the opener against France, others are still on the fringe of the matchday 23.
A case in point is lock McCarthy, who is well and truly pressing for a starting place and has been featured off the bench during the World Cup. The 22-year-old was a man on a mission on Saturday as he hammered into Leicester bodies on defence and with ball in hand. He was effective in the rucks and mauls, too, and while he did have a hiccup or two, including a botched lineout, it was an outstanding performance.
Likewise for Ryan Baird, who seemingly never stops moving like a sugar-charged child at Disney Land. He popped up with bursts of energy in all facets of the game whether he was charging after the ball from a kick chase or leaping into the air in the lineout.
Doris shone, as he always does, winning a particularly important penalty in the final quarter before rounding off the bonus point win with his late score, while Farrell will be looking at Larmour on the wing after another sturdy outing. However, on the other wing, Lowe put any concerns over his fitness after an injury layoff to bed.
Robbie Henshaw also looked sharp again furthering the midfield headache while Tadhg Furlong was excellent in the loose as he looked back to his best with ball in hand.
The victory sees Leinster seal a home play-off match having needed just a single point from the fixture to claim that luxury.
Cullen and Jacques Nienaber’s charges were flawless in the pool stages getting one over their tournament rivals La Rochelle before swatting Sale Sharks and Stade Francais aside. The Irish Province will be pleased with their form in the Champions Cup and will fancy their chances of going deep once again. While they did go four from four in the pool, they were tested in their first and last match and came out on top. Could this be the year they add a five star? It’s certainly on the cards.
As for Leicester Tigers, they will be watching the remaining matches in their pool with Sale Sharks facing La Rochelle and the Stormers away to Stade Francais. The Tigers will be hoping that Ronan O’Gara’s side get the better of their fellow Premiership outfit and remain in the tournament.
Today’s game proved that Leicester aren’t quite of the same quality as Leinster as McKellar continues to build and improve his Tigers’ side in his debut season but they certainly made a good account of themselves both tactically and physically. If they are to progress to the last-16 thanks to a favour from others, they will be no pushover and if they do drop to the Challenge Cup, they will be hot contenders.
