Leinster 6 Wasps 33
Slow, painful season coming. Not even in Leo Cullen’s worst nightmare could he have foreseen this record home European defeat.
This 27 point margin smashes the 27-10 loss to Leicester in 1996.
Remember those days? Cullen had just entered the fledgling Leinster professional system.
The 'injury curse' excuse used to explain Ireland's World Cup demise can't be rolled out after every defeat to a team Leinster previously swept past on autopilot. The loss of three abrasive forwards - Sean O'Brien, Richardt Strauss and Mike McCarthy - to concussion meant they were staring into a two score deficit without a strike runner to carry through an adequate Wasps defence.
This entire report makes for grim reading.
Ian Madigan started at fullback due to Isa Nacewa’s jarred knee. Zane Kirchner seemed like the safer bet in the back field with Garry Ringrose coming onto the wing but Madigan, unlike this same fixture last season, proved solid when retreating on bobbling ball and acting as a third distributor.
The second play-making hands being Noel Reid. Dubbed the best passer in Ireland by Gordon D'Arcy, who should know, Reid reinforced this praise with a wonderfully left handed lob to Kirchner just before Johnny Sexton made it 3-3 with nine minutes played.
That’s where the positives ended.
Ruaridh Jackson had opened the scoring after a damaged looking Mike Ross was penalised at an early scrum. Ross recovered to get the edge on Wasps loosehead Matt Mullan but Tadhg Furlong was destroyed when he relieved the veteran. In fairness to Furlong, the entire pack was crushed.
Last season Leinster were poor in their narrow victory over Dai Young’s visiting Englishmen. It didn’t seem possible that this team - with Sexton and Sean O’Brien back on deck - could be as sloppy.
But they were far worse.
There wasn't much concern when Elliot Daly's big left boot made it 9-6, despite some threatening signs whenever All Black fullback Charles Piutau galloped onto the ball.
Only an excellent Dave Kearney cover tackle on Frank Halai denied one such Piutau probe and pass (Ulster have purchased a world class fullback ahead of next season).
Kearney had started enthusiastically, seemingly burying his World Cup demons, but he was solely at fault for Christian Wade’s hugely damaging try on 30 minutes. Caught out of position for Joe Simpson’s box kick, the Irish winger let it bounce three times then fell over as Wade gathered and easily skipped over him to touch down.
Jackson’s conversion made it 16-6 at the turn.
Really it should have been closer but some poor passing by Eoin Reddan close to the Wasps line led to knock-on’s by Sean Cronin then Jack McGrath as Cullen’s men blew two crucial try scoring opportunities.
Strauss had already been forced off with the latest of several career concussions. Sean O’Brien suffered a similar fate after initially playing on despite a heavy blow around the 15 minute mark.
The Tullow flanker proved a massive loss as he was the main reason Leinster were able to power over the gainline.
Early in the second half Mike McCarthy brought the Head Injury Assessments up to three.
Presuming all three will need longer than six days to complete the return to play protocols the European campaign could be in ruins before they travel to Toulon on December 12th.
Without the injured Ben Te’o, McCarthy and O’Brien had been Leinster’s main muscle. Nathan Hughes and others immediately began making extra yardage than they had previously.
Suddenly the game was over. Frank Halai found the soft shoulder of Reid, took contact and offloaded to Joe Simpson who accelerated away from Hayden Triggs and some despairing blue jerseys.
Jackson’s conversion made it 23-6.
Cian Healy, Furlong and Luke McGrath arrived but the changes happened far too late.
Everyone, naturally, looked to Sexton for salvation. On 53 minutes he blasted a kickable penalty over the dead ball line.
Soon after the newly formed Leinster frontrow was twisted and minced.
Daly missed the long range penalty.
When Leinster did, finally, rumble into the Wasps 22, not until the hour mark, Mullan neatly stood up Cronin.
Jordi Murphy carried with relish but lost the possession in contact each time.
You can’t win a cruiserweight fight with welterweights.
The performance descended into farce when another scrum was destroyed by a ravenous, yet hardly intimidating, Wasps pack. Daly’s latest long range penalty fell short to Reid, who knocked on, before the retreating Jack Conan touched the ball in an offside position.
Jackson easily nudged the gift over to make it 26-6.
Rare to see Leinster’s faithful streaming out the gates with the clock still ticking.
They missed Piutau’s try. The All Black was in the right place, as the best players always are, at the right time to profit when Sailosi Tagicakibau was held up short.
Seconds later the PA guy, never short of a foolishly ill-timed use of his microphone, warned the disgusted crowd to snap up tickets for Toulon at the Aviva stadium the week before Christmas.
A repeat of last season’s at times shambolic displays didn’t seem possible.
Until now. It can only get worse. Bath at The Rec next.
Scoring sequence - 3 mins: R Jackson pen, 0-3; 9 mins: J Sexton pen, 3-3; 17 mins: J Sexton pen, 6-3; 19 mins: R Jackson pen, 6-6; 25 mins:
E Daly pen, 6-9; 29 mins: C Wade try, 6-14; R Jackson con, 6-16.
Half-time. 47 mins: J Simpson try, 6-21; R Jackson con, 6-23; 69 mins:
R Jackson pen, 6-26; 79 mins: C Piutau try, 6-31; A Lozowski con, 6-33.
Leinster: I Madigan; Z Kirchner, F McFadden, N Reid, D Kearney; J Sexton, E Reddan; J McGrath, R Strauss, M Ross; D Toner, M McCarthy; J Murphy, S O'Brien, J Heaslip. Replacements: S Cronin for R Straus (25 mins, HIA), J Conan for S O'Brien (39 mins, HIA), H Triggs for M McGarth (41 mins, HIA), C Healy for J McGrath, T Furlong for M Ross, L McGrath for E Reddan (all 49 mins), G Ringrsoe for D Kearney (71 mins).
Wasps: C Piutau; C Wade, E Daly, B Jacobs, F Halai; R Jackson, J Simpson; M Mulla, C Festuccia, J Cooper-Woolley; J Launchbury, B Davies; S Jones, G Smith, N Hughes. Replacements: A Johnson for C Festuccia, D Robson for J Simpson (both 55 mins), S McIntyre for M Mullan, P Swainston for J Cooper-Woolley (both 63 mins), J Gaskell for B Davies (66 mins), S Tagicakibau for C Wade (70 mins), G Thompson for N Hughes, A Lozowski for R Jackson (72 mins).
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France).
