Rugby:It's funny how the best team in the tournament invariably wins the Heineken Cup. Think Toulouse four times, or Leicester, Wasps, and Munster twice each. It doesn't always happen in competitions with a knock-out finale, but Leinster have been the best side in Europe again this season and by dint of retaining their crown and thus winning it for a third time in four years, have legitimate claims to being the best team the tournament has ever seen.
Deserving finalists too, Ulster have done themselves and their province proud this season, as did their fans today, and there was no shame in losing here, even if 42-14 must have been tough to take. Joe Schmidt has taken the gritty, winning , solid foundations laid by Michael Cheika and turned Leinster not only into the best team in Europe but, by some distance, the best team to watch as well.
Much may be made of Leinster scoring their two breakthrough first half tries from turnovers at scrum time, but would Ulster have maximized these opportunities? For starters, they didn’t have a carrier like Sean O’Brien, nor an offloader like Brian O’Driscoll, while Gordon D’Arcy’s carrying and distribution were also key components. Leinster’s willingness to switch the point of attack from close in to wide out or from open to blind is exceptional, with Jonathan Sexton the man pulling the strings.
Everyone works off the ball and everyone plays with their heads up. There was even the sight of Richardt Strauss pirouetting and softly popping the ball when newly arrived replacement loose-head Heinke van der Merwe called for a short pass and took a straight line before offloading back to Strauss.
Even though not quite at their best, Leinster can always fall back on their defence which for much of the first hour was the busier of the two in terms of tackle count. Much had been made of the threat posed by Chris Henry at the breakdown, where he had caused Munster untold problems in the quarter, but Leinster have their own slew of breakdown specialists. In the event, it was O’Brien and co who did more damage and furthermore, Schmidt, Jonno GiBbes and the players had clearly brushed up on their judo skills (perhaps with some tutelage from Brad Thorn) at the breakdown in protecting their own ball. And all this despite few favours from Nigel Owens, whose first-half penalty count was 7-2
Experience, collectively and individually, of finals told. Giving a full Heineken Cup debut to a 20-year-old in the semi-finals at home to Edinburgh was one thing, giving Paddy Jackson his second match in the final at Twickenham against the best team in Europe quite another. Leinster had Ulster’s kicking game well marked, often with three men at the back, Ulster opted for a running game, but if that was to be the case they would definitely have been better served by playing the superior passing and running repertoire of Ian Humphreys.
To compound this, Jackson put one out on the full, eschewed a two-to-one overlap and then, having kicked out on the full when Stephen Ferris fumbled the ball back into the Ulster 22, was hauled off when Leinster’s stunning maul had earned a penalty try.
For a while, Ulster had a better shape to their running game, and were rewarded when Paddy Wallace put Darren Cave over. But as both teams turned to their bench, Leinster’s is both better and more in tune with what they are about. At times this season their ‘seconds’ have almost been better to watch then their firsts. Fittingly, in the culture created by Schmidt, no sooner had Dave Kearney carried strongly than a couple of recycles later four of the subs, John Cooney, Ian Madigan, Sean Cronin and van der Merwe were combining for the latter to score, with Cronin providing the last minute coup de grace when steaming onto a pass from the outstanding O’Brien.
Back to back titles and an historic third crown in four years. Next up a shot at an historic double by beating the Ospreys. The odds on that have just shortened.
