Every Wednesday morning at 9am we dip into the HoR archives…over the off-season we have been going month-by-month through Leinster’s 2013/14 campaign. This week we’re in February - as Ireland’s Six Nations campaign went from good to bad to worse, Leinster were quietly putting together a decent string of results to atone for the disappointment of falling just short in the Heineken Cup. This match at the RDS also came right after the news of Jonathan Sexton’s move to France.
The coaching staff from the four provinces are meant to know their place when it comes to the mother ship, but sometimes I wonder if they manage to find a way to make a point without actually saying it publicly.
A few weeks ago Ulster head coach Mark Anscombe named Tom Court to the tight-head position on the same weekend as Ireland played Wales, as if to suggest that the answer to Declan Kidney's problems in that area were right under his nose despite what happened at Twickenham last March.
Last night at the RDS I got the impression Joe Schmidt's Leinster were determined to show the Irish brains trust exactly what they were missing when they decided that Ian Madigan's only worth to the full test squad was to hold tackle bags for a week. And they did so by presenting viewers with the ultimate “game of two halves”.
The Scarlets have never been an easy team for us to put away in Dublin – it took a last-gasp McFadden penalty last season to get the job done. And after their win over Munster last week, they certainly must have felt they could come away with something from this encounter.
But going by their approach on the night, it seemed they were more interested in damage limitation – setting a defensive cordon and making things as difficult for the home side as they could. With Leinster's defence as reliable as ever, Llanelli’s only hope of a five-pointer would be to ship it out wide quickly and hope for a break and sure enough that's how they found the space for Andy Fenby's try.
The reason Leinster were a bit off guard, however, was that they had just broken through for a score themselves, with Andrew Goodman taking Conway's “Hail Mary” pass and crashing through Owen Williams to touch down.
And although the New Zealand import didn't exactly light things up from the kicking tee with three misses added to Noel Reid's one in the first half, he still did well to account for all out first half points and once he had a more accomplished out-half inside him he could focus more on his vital role in the centre with Eoin O'Malley which I feel has been the corner-stone of Leinster's shipping just 5 points in two successive matches.
But after an indifferent first half, we saw Ian Madigan trotting out of the dressing room taking his place at the centre to start the second. When news of Jonny Sexton's departure to France broke, a picture soon emerged on the net suggesting all was not lost at Leinster for next season thanks to the former Rock boy.
Well with all due respect to Noel Reid, the situation simply couldn't have been teed up more for the “Mad-dog” to show everyone what his presence on the pitch can do to a rugby team.
Now I'm not going to suggest his actual performance was perfect on the night...a pass or two went astray, a penalty or two didn't find touch, a place kick was missed. But although there were some great performances elsewhere on the park, particularly in the Leinster pack, there was an “x-factor” needed to turn those performances into points and you really can't deny that Madigan brought it.
To single out some of those displays by Leinster forwards, I have to highlight Jordi Murphy. Aaron Dundon got the nod for Man of the Match and certainly played well enough to show he belongs at this level (as do Jack McGrath and Ben Marshall I must add), but I would have given the award to Jordi for putting in what can only be described as a performance at Number 8 Jamie Heaslip would be proud of. Tackles, crash ball, steady-ness at the base of the scrum and of course the third try.
And it wasn't just the youngsters who were producing...watching back the action you have to love the way both Leo Cullen and Shane Jennings were pumped up for the occasion. The skipper was right on the ball to be sure that the ref asked “question number two” for that second TMO decision for the Dundon try, while during Leinster's fruitless 10-minute with the extra man Jenno was constantly screaming at the time-wasting Scarlets to hurry up at set-pieces.
Speaking of Jennings...what was that TMO on for that try which he wouldn't award? There was one angle that proved our number 7 got the ball down. There was another that proved he was over the line. Nuff said!
And speaking of set-pieces...with all the talk about the danger of Cian Healy's stamp on Dan Cole and how dangerous that could be, I wonder how the Welsh fans feel about what George Earle did to Dominic Ryan to earn his yellow card in the first half. True, the lifters may have held Jordi up for longer than is legal. But to take out a lifter like that is the type of action that can end a player's career. Hopefully a citing will follow despite the card.
But anyway...what was already a satisfying victory became one with a crucial bonus point after Jamie Hagan pounced on a loose ball in midfield with the clock at 79:54. The ball was shipped out wide and Dave Kearney took full advantage of the knackered Scarlet defence to get the ball near the tryline and the ever-improving John Cooney proved the hero by diving under Jordi's armpit over the line for try number four.
It was a freezing cold night at the RDS with a few snow flurries for good measure, but with a display that certainly negated the hammering we took from these Scarlets on opening day, the Leinster faithful who braved the weather were certainly well rewarded. And the “Mad-dog” popping over the conversion from the corner was the cherry on the icing on the cake.
If Paddy Jackson can take the Ireland reins today with a fraction of Madigan's confidence, he'll do just fine. JLP
Also this weekend
Cardiff Blues 22 - 26 Connacht
Benetton Treviso 34 - 10 Munster
