This was a match that had everything to demonstrate both the good and bad aspects of the modern professional era of rugby union. But it was mostly good, and not just because of the result.
On one side, we had London Wasps...a club with a proud tradition that included two Heineken Cups but which was trying to reinvent itself after a few years that were lean to say the least. And their recovery has been quite literally speeded up by the electrifying pace of their wingers Christian Wade and Tom Varndell.
And on a huge European night for them in front of their home crowd, they executed an offensive gameplan that utilised their strengths impeccably, securing two tries each for their wide men against a Leinster team which had themselves earned three stars on their jersey mostly thanks to a stingy defensive system.
Twenty, maybe even ten years ago, such an ability to tap into a try-scoring resource would have been enough to put away any club on the continent. But as Leinster ably demonstrated at Adams Park on Friday night, having but the one string to your bow is nowhere near enough to succeed at the highest level, especially when your own defence is shaky at best.
On Leinster's side of things, no doubt there will be some questions asked at the DVD sessions during the week about why Kevin McLaughlin and Cian Healy allowed such a gap in the 2nd minute for Andrea Masi to run through and let in Wade for his first, or why fifteen minutes later Fergus McFadden showed equally poor positioning to allow the same winger the “dog-leg” required to streak through for a second.
But when you yourselves excel in many other vital areas of the modern game, like choke tackling, winning possession off restarts, lineout ball retention and most importantly, the ability to break the gain-line with virtually every carry, you will always feel victory is within your reach whatever is happening down the other end.
And with barely three minutes on the clock between each Wasps score and the next Leinster one, the result of this match was rarely in much doubt, though that's a whole lot easier to say having watched the 80 minutes a second time knowing the final score!
On the subject of that review, to properly analyse this match you have to remove from the equation the Sky Sports coverage, another feature of the modern pro game but not necessarily a good one. This was a game that Leinster won comfortably and as a contest it was all but over at the 60-minute mark as the visitors had a 20-point lead.
But although I'm well aware that the English TV market is way, way bigger than the Irish one, for the Sky commentary team to focus on the four Wasps tries immediately after the match as if they somehow defined it was extremely laughable.
There was one good aspect to their coverage, however – Shane Horgan in the commentary box. Of course I would say that, wouldn't I, being a Leinster fan...but his analysis is crucial for a much more important reason than his provincial colours. The voices we have become used to in recent years...Stu Barnes, Donal Lenihan, Tony Ward, Ralph Keyes, Jonathan “Num-buzz!” Davies – were all legends in their day, but that's my point - “in their day”.
Shaggy has practically just stepped off the pitch in an era where the technical aspect of the game has come on in leaps and bounds since the days those men were strutting their stuff on the international stage, plus he has a quick wit about him (my personal favourite, re: Wade - “he'd go round you in a phone box”). He would be the colour commentator for at least every Leinster match were it down to me.
Anyway...back to the action itself...Gordon D'Arcy was worthy of his man-of-the-match accolade with 13 tackles, a try and a wonderful assist putting Isa over, but there were several standout performances...Ian Madigan of course with his 28 points and Sean O'Brien with an assist and 12 tackles to name but two more.
But it was as a team that Leinster were thriving, with combinations all over the park working well, particularly in the third quarter. The key moment for me came on 45 minutes – Leinster had done much to patch up the holes that let in Wade for his early brace which meant Wasps had to move the ball as quickly as they possibly could – this forced Daly to let a pass go behind him and with Madigan fly-hacking forward and Isa strong in support, we were soon afterwards earning the penalty which our out-half slotted over for the vital opening second-half score.
And a word to all you pub-quiz question-setting geeks out there…if you’re ever looking for a “what-happened-next”, show footage of Isa breaking through Wasps tacklers from a restart then kicking deep into the enemy 22 and freeze the picture asking this poser : “Who went on to score the try a few seconds later, was it (a) Isa himself (b) Ian Madigan or (c) Mike Ross?” Nobody, and I mean nobody who hadn’t seen the match will get it! Legendary support from the Leinster & Ireland tighthead!
One side note concerned me…was that an independent doctor or the Wasps physio who made the assessment of full-back Elliot Daly and allowed him to stay on the pitch? I have no medical training but it was pretty clear he wasn’t right to continue after he had his bell rung early in the second half, yet he solidered on for a few more minutes, fumbling a ball in the process. Even without an experienced replacement like Southwell on the bench we are supposed to have taken measures to properly manage the area of concussion but this plus the recent rushing back to action of Luke Marshall has me thinking it was all just lip service.
If you really wanted to be critical you could bemoan the concession of two late tries but that would be extremely harsh way to look at a 20-point victory, and again this reflects on the modern state of the game in that as a coach you more often than not have to keep in mind the battle that lies ahead next week, not to mention the “A” contest that was due a couple of days later.
And with Girvan Dempsey’s team also securing a win on English soil despite a late fightback, it proved to be a fruitful weekend for Leinster rugby, with the unique “treble” of Amlin, Pro12 & British&Irish Cups still on the cards (don't give out to me for jinxing it by the way...I bent over backwards to avoid saying “double” this time last year and that didn't pan out!) there is certainly plenty for us to look forward to.
Sure, perhaps we'd swap our current position with our southern cousins to have another crack at Clérmont in the Heineken but we have to remember exactly where our season stood at the turn of the year. I don't know about you, but I'd have taken two semifinals and 3pts off first in the Pro12 in a heartbeat back then.
There's even more good news emerging this morning...it seems Jonny Sexton will be fit to return to the side along with BOD next Saturday. This of course provides coach Joe Schmidt with one of those dilemmas that coaches “love” - whom does he start in Thomond Park next week?
For me, it has to be Sexton. Sure, there's a risk that it would look as though Madigan was being dropped, but press conferences are there to explain these things. With Dan Biggar improving but not overly impressing throughout the Six Nations and Farrell playing but a bit part in Saracens' Twickenham victory over the Ulstermen on Saturday (seven missed tackles won’t help beat the Wallabies), Gatland must have “Johnny10” pencilled in as his Lions outhalf. If so, he needs some gametime, particularly one like that which will have a near-test match intensity to it.
That doesn't mean Madigan deserves to be benched for the rest of the season, but for the big derby match next Saturday, though he's bound to be disappointed not continuing to lead the Leinster line as admirably as he has done, I'm sure he'll understand. He can come back for the following week and see out the Pro12 campaign for us…Monsieur Sexton may fancy ending his current Leinster stint in the Amlin since only Top14 opposition remains?
Again, it’s all down to the peculiarities of the modern game of rugby union. Sure, sometimes they make you want to pull your hair out, like when referees can’t decide on how to police the scrum or when Welshmen can’t agree to be happy about being European champions for the third time in six years, but thankfully there are enough games like this one at Adams Park to remind us all just why we keep watching.
Roll on Biarritz in the semi – my ticket is already bought! JLP
Also this weekend…
Heineken Cup quarterfinals
Clermont Auvergne 36 - 14 Montpellier
Toulon 21 - 15 Leicester Tigers
Amlin Cup quarterfinals
