Perspective is often shaped by the outcome so for Leinster a performance that contained seven tries, flashes of creativity and some fine individual contributions, was enough in the immediate aftermath to override any concerns relating to a handful of lineout glitches, lapses in discipline, and odd kicking flaw.
There were fewer imperfections, which is a sign of progress, while Leinster’s shape in attack and defence was more vivid. The home side benefited from the fact that Stade Francais sent a second-string side to Dublin for this Champions Cup encounter and that the summit of the visitors’ ambition for large swathes of the game was to put boot to ball.
Leinster head coach Leo Cullen was largely satisfied with his team’s attacking brio.
“I suppose it was the different variety in how the tries came about and [that] we created plenty of opportunities. We just looked a bit jittery at the start because after the try got chalked off early, it looked like the players were a little bit frustrated to me, trying a little bit too hard.
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“Overall, they were going to be a tough defence to break down because they are well coached by Paul Gustard, very well organised, so we are pleased to get seven tries and 43 points.”
Ciarán Frawley took a knock to his back, which went into spasm, but prognosis according to Cullen is that the outhalf will be available – Harry Byrne too – for next Saturday’s game against the Leicester Tigers at Welford Road.
The opening 40 minutes was a microcosm of Leinster’s season to date, the good, the less so, and a set piece issue in the four lineouts that went astray. They had a try chalked off for a silly obstruction offence, and some of the kicking options suffered from the double whammy of being poorly thought out and executed.
And yet, Leinster managed to produce some cracking rugby, invariably prompted by the outstanding Jamison Gibson-Park, whose vision and range of passing had his team humming in attack. James Lowe was another high-profile contributor as Leinster looked to work him into space on a regular basis, where his kicking and power in contact reaped rewards.
A key to Leinster’s ambition in attack depends on the player in possession selecting the correct multi-choice option and there were times in the home side’s bright opening, when overruling the pre-called choice would have been more advantageous, using the ‘front door’ runner rather than playing out the back.
Leinster began to win the collisions on the gainline, Dan Sheehan, Joe McCarthy, Josh van der Flier and Caelan Doris were particularly robust and effective in a fine pack effort, which enabled Gibson-Park to probe and ultimately expose Stade Francais’ weaknesses in defence.
The scrumhalf put the excellent Garry Ringrose through a gap, the upshot a try for Lowe. Two more followed before half-time, Doris did superbly to gather a bounce pass, pirouette, accelerate inside one tackler and into the 22 and from there Gibson-Park and Larmour’s hands put Van der Flier over in the corner.
Doris, whose brace of tries and all-round excellence saw him win the man-of-the-match accolade, was sharp in his footwork, and it showed in his ability to get through the initial contact point, often when faced with multiple tacklers.
He said: “I was happy with how I went. I’ve said it to you guys before, but my attacking game has slipped away a little bit. I haven’t had as many carries as I would have liked so far this season. I got quite a few today and I was just hungry to get on the ball. That’s traditionally been a strength of mine and that’s probably the bit of the game I enjoy most, so I was happy with how it went.”
Leinster’s third try materialised on the stroke of half-time, Sheehan latched on to Ringrose’s delicately weighted crosskick to power over in the corner. The Leinster centre and captain started the second half as he finished the first, a gorgeous break saw him race 60 metres, the preamble to Jordan Larmour’s first of a brace of tries, the wing effervescent in his work.
A couple of minutes later it was Ryan Baird’s turn – he had a super game all told – to show his athleticism and pace with a brilliant long-distance break finished off eventually by Doris. Larmour’s second try was executed with training ground precision.
Leinster had lost Frawley to injury after 43 minutes, but his misfortune allowed Sam Prendergast to road-test his progression against a Champions Cup backdrop. Cullen had been able to empty the bench relatively early. Tadhg Furlong survived the rigours of a first game in seven weeks admirably, while Andrew Porter was typically industrious. The scrum won a couple of penalties.
James Ryan enjoyed an excellent impact off the bench, while Tommy O’Brien was afforded a late cameo at outside centre.
The game also marked a landmark moment for Luke McGrath. Cullen said: “They are in the dressingroom there trying to enjoy the moment for Lukey, and his family are there as well. Those milestones are great. They are bloody hard to get to, 200 games for the club.
“He’s been a great servant and soldier for the team. The players enjoyed that but when it comes to Monday morning, [we will examine] what did we learn here and try and build a performance again.”
There was enough in the win to derive some satisfaction from the performance but the scope to improve is still considerable and they’ll need to get closer to a peak if they are to win at Welford Road next Saturday.
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