Vince Lombardi quotes are tossed around more often than footballs, but for me, there is one in particular that carries a certain resonance – and it transports me back to a couple of moments in my career. The famous American football coach once observed that “winning isn’t everything, but wanting to win is”.
Two images flood the mind’s eye. The first is in a Heineken Cup semi-final against Perpignan at Lansdowne Road. I’m slow to get off the ground. Leinster are odds-on favourites. We lose, badly. The second match is in Bordeaux, another semi-final, this time against Clermont Auvergne and we fight tooth and nail to find a way to prevail.
Have Leinster answered their critics with this URC title win?
Lombardi’s words came back to me once again at the weekend as I watched the United Rugby Championship (URC) final in Croke Park. Leinster wanted, needed the win, and they got it. The crowd relative to the size of the stadium was modest, but the performance was not. And while it wasn’t razzle-dazzle in content, it doesn’t diminish the appeal.
Leinster’s display was based on grit, precision and control, a champion’s effort. It must also be respected as a stand-alone achievement of note, not a consolation prize. There had been a sense of emotional conflict for players and supporters alike going into the final, a hangover that lingered from the Champions Cup semi-final defeat to the Northampton Saints.
That’s understandable, but it should not overshadow a URC triumph that represents a significant victory as a single entity but also in the broader context. Dan Sheehan perhaps said it best when he ventured that he wanted to go into Lions camp with a winner’s medal. That’s the thing. For all the talk of “bigger prizes” and “European glory,” players, like supporters, value trophies.
Players live and breathe that sense of achievement, value it, and fight for it. The URC win may not have been top of the wish list, but make no mistake, this team cared deeply about lifting that trophy.
Leinster had their cake earlier in the year with sell-outs at the Aviva and Croke Park, embroidered with rugby moments that sparkled and built anticipation. But in the business end of the season, fatigue crept into performances, numbers thinned in stands and a growling restlessness among supporters grew louder.
In a game like this, no one wants the ball, but you need it to score points
None of that mattered to the 23 in Leinster blue last Saturday. This was a throwback performance, the kind Leinster haven’t needed to dig out too often in recent seasons, one that evoked memories of the day they finally beat La Rochelle, with Jacques Nienaber newly installed, and Ciaran Frawley nervelessly slotting the winning kick. A muddy, gritty classic in France, where territory and possession in the right third of the pitch were the only currency.
In a game like this, no one wants the ball, but you need it to score points. While it sounds simple, teams that build their pressure points better get the opportunity first. You want the pack to grind, your nine to box-kick, your 10 to think. Leinster got all of that.
Luke McGrath, a late entry to the starting jersey, delivered the kind of performance that underlines his importance. His box-kicking was accurate, his tempo sharp, and his decision-making perfectly tuned to the needs of the pack. Sam Prendergast, beside him, played the role of facilitator with quiet composure. No fireworks, just patience and poise; anonymous in the best possible way.
Backed by James Ryan and Joe McCarthy, Leinster’s scrum was a weapon, and Clarkson stood tallest
Then there was Tom Clarkson, a player who came of age. He wasn’t a safe pick; he was a merit pick, and he repaid that trust with interest. Backed by James Ryan and Joe McCarthy, Leinster’s scrum was a weapon, and Clarkson stood tallest. He’ll head to Georgia soon with a target on his back and a new standard to maintain.
Elsewhere, foreign flair brought steel too. Jordie Barrett and RG Snyman gave reminders of why they were marquee signings. Barrett, in particular, offered a lesson in value, not the flashy or glitzy but the lasting kind.
He carried in tight spaces, occupied defenders, hit the right line at the right time, the stuff that wins matches. Barrett doesn’t just carry for metres; he carries to create, to shift the shape, to make someone else’s job easier. That’s Test-level rugby, and it’s why he is what I would associate with being an All Black, the standard bearers.
More than once, he drew three defenders. In a game where space was gold dust, that’s a gift to any attack. He will leave a lasting memory and hopefully an influence on his former team-mates as he departs for New Zealand, and with it a lingering sense that the guy cared. Much like Brad Thorn in my day, the best players don’t just survive tough games; they change them.
Leinster will likely reflect on this season as fulfilling and frustrating. A title won, a bigger one lost but there’s learning in both experiences. Perhaps one of the biggest questions heading into next season is around how they challenge themselves before the knockout stages.
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There’s a case to be made for mixing combinations more, stretching the fringe players, and manufacturing more pressure moments across the calendar. Easy wins can create a mirage of readiness. Maybe the hard games need to come sooner. Because when it gets tight, when it’s one score in the final five minutes, that’s when being battle hardened matters most.
And now, for some, attention shifts. The Lions are gathering and among that pride, Leinster and Ireland players, wrangling emotions like satisfaction, regret and a sense of optimism, coexisting and powerful, capable of being harnessed and used positively in a different coloured jersey; a red one.
The narrative from some quarters is that Joe Schmidt’s Australia are there for the taking, that a Lions win in the Test series is already being touted as a fait accompli, even though the history tab says otherwise.
If this Leinster group learned anything this season, it’s that nothing is guaranteed. Good teams lose. That’s sport. Lions selection is a rare honour; success within that environment is even more difficult to accomplish. And for those lucky enough to wear the iconic jersey this summer, the challenge is clear. Because as we’ve all been reminded, success is never given, it’s taken.
