Click here for my pre-match HarpinBoo recording “Sean O’Brien, O’Brien”
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One of my mates who usually sits with me at the RDS couldn’t make it so he gave his ticket to another one.
As we took our seats in the Grandstand, I told him about an elderly gentleman who was seated further along our row.
“See that guy?” I said. “He’s hilarious. When we beat Connacht on New Year’s Day and conceded a try in the dying minutes to make the score 30-8, he was furious!”
And as if to put on a show to prove me right, as Saracens’ Nils Mordt touched down for a consolation five-pointer right at the death on Saturday, the very same gent let out a roar of “FOR FECK’S SAKE WILL YA BLOODY WELL PUT IN A TACKLE!!!”
By the way no, it wasn’t the Great Curmudgeon Himself George Hook either. It was like his even grumpier Dublin cousin.
But you know what the scary thing was? In a way, the geezer had a point. We actually COULD have done a bit better.
To the neutral, this was a comprehensive victory over a team 2nd in the Aviva Premiership who clearly didn’t come to make up the numbers.
Yet to any Leinster fan who has watched this team consistently over the season, we would have spotted the missed tackles that led to the visitor’s tries, the horrible day at the office from Luke Fitzgerald & the room for improvement in the scrum.
And on the more positive side, we’d be scratching our heads wondering how the hell could Messrs D’Arcy, Heaslip & Kearney possibly get back into the starting XV when they’re available???
I can’t remember exactly what happened, but there was an incident right in front of us where man-of-the-match-for-the-gazillionth-time Sean O’Brien was furious at the assistant ref for not making a call. The intense look on his face was priceless. He was a man possessed on the day – we got a close up of it then, but throughout the 80 minutes it was clear to see whenever he got the ball he was on a mission, and his stats of a whopping 120 total metres gained bear that out.
I’ll tell you just how good O’Brien was…after the match he had George Hook suggesting he should start for Ireland at 6 ahead of Ferris. Need I say more? And it’s hard to argue against him.
As for the six tries we racked up in our own column, I could wax lyrical about each and every one, but one in particular stood out head and shoulders above the rest so I’ll focus on that so I can have something to look back over in the years to come.
We had three tries in the bag, and naturally we were all anxious for us to get that fourth one to wrap up Pool Two. Sarries were determined to do all they could to stay in it, however, and their dangerman winger David Strettle was charging down the wing towards our tryline.
He was confronted by Isa Nacewa, who managed to strip him of the ball in the tackle and boot it downfield. It was an excellent clearance, and it was down to none other than Mr Strictly Orange, who had little more than a bit part in the overall drama on the day it has to be said, to chase it down in his own 22.
His kick wasn’t anywhere near as good, but it still went over Reddan’s head and he had to retrieve it going in the wrong direction back in our 22. A quick pass to Shaggy, followed by another to Sexton, then the Blue Magic began, literally before our very eyes.
Jonny Ten could have launched yet another mighty torpedo into the corner, but he wasn’t having any of it. The ping-pong kicks that had just taken place had the 30 players scattered everywhere, and he saw a chance so there was only one thing on his mind. Much like the lyrics of a certain ditty, he dropped his shoulder and charged ahead with purpose, firing a bullet to O’Driscoll on the run. Not quite Dorce outside, but just as bloody good!
BOD knew exactly what was on, and that he didn’t need to be the centre of it. He immediately flung it to Strauss, who had the perfect line, and after a burst which took out another few defenders, the hooker let fly the Pass of the Day right into McFadden’s path who made crossing & touching down look way, way too easy.
No other words for that sequence than champagne rugby at its finest.
In his post-match interview, Joe Schmidt was at pains to deflect credit onto his assistant coaches, so allow me to deflect it right back at him. This is totally his squad of players, totally playing his style of rugby, and Leinster are totally reaping the rewards when it matters most. Having clinched a quarterfinal berth in the “Pool of Death” after round five, they now go to Paris hoping to get us a home quarterfinal.
Remember how we felt after the defeat to Edinburgh back in September? How many limbs would you have offered in exchange for the way things stand right now?
Here’s hoping the boys can stay focused over the coming week because further down the competition they’ll need to crank things up even more if they’re going to face their biggest challenge of all.
What – you think I mean beating Toulouse or winning the cup itself? No, I actually mean making Old Mr Grumpy smile before the season’s out 
CLICK HERE FOR MY THOUGHTS ON THE OTHER IRISH PROVINCE’S EUROPEAN PERFORMANCES AT THE WEEKEND
