HEINEKEN CUP/London Irish 11 Leinster 11:WHEN THE dust had settled on a breathless, at times exciting, often scrappy, muddled, topsy-turvy game, it seemed not even the protagonists – and certainly not Leinster – knew quite what to think during the endgame or immediately afterwards.
The holders’ muted reaction at failing to beat London Irish for the third time this season may have been borne out of their competitive frustration, but it didn’t suggest they were all fully aware that a draw had secured Leinster’s third home quarter-final in the tournament’s history, or their first in Michael Cheika’s five-year tenure.
In an often illogical pool, Scarlets may feel they deserve to finish above London Irish given they beat them twice, for which, in turn, Leinster ought to feel mightily relieved.
In the end a draw was a fair result, in part because neither deserved to win what was another punishingly physical and full-on encounter in which both sides will rue a host of missed opportunities.
One of the recurring themes of the weekend was the selection and performances of outhalves.
Where Northampton coach Jim Mallinder had opted for the flashier talents of Shane Geraghty ahead of the more reliable Stephen Myler, London Irish coach Toby Booth chose the supposedly more stolid and solid virtues of Chris Malone ahead of the more extravagant if brittle playmaking of Ryan Lamb.
And it got curiouser and curiouser.
Geraghty employed an ill-fitting kicking game, and badly, whereas Malone was picked not to score tries, which he did, but to kick points, which, by and large, he didn’t.
Although he did score all of London Irish’s points with a well-taken try and two penalties, his routine conversion hit the post, he missed two kickable penalties (one which he’d probably regard as a sitter) and three attempted drop goals, while also declining another.
The hero-villain role, as he ruefully acknowledged, is part of the outhalf’s lot, and even at the death he could still have saved himself and his team with those two long-range drop-goal attempts – the second courtesy of Rob Kearney’s “Paddy Wallace Moment”.
By contrast, Jonathan Sexton’s invaluable drop goal augmented three out of four well-struck penalties (the other hit the upright).
The outhalf was also targeted defensively and withstood a fair old battering with some credit, and responded by taking the ball strongly into contact himself.
When he had a platform, he also ran the show well, but Leinster had virtually nothing to work off in the opening half-hour, and that was, in part, of their own making. Privately, Cheika and his brains trust will surely question their selection policy.
Bernard Jackman was presumably picked for his ball-carrying to compensate for the decision to prefer Shane Jennings over Seán O’Brien, though he did not look physically right.
But opting for his lineout darts against the Nick Kennedy-marshalled Irish defensive lineout – long since regarded as the best in Europe – always looked a curious gamble.
As events transpired, Leinster won only one of their first four throws and then had to resort to locating Nathan Hines at the front. With John Fogarty on board, Leinster’s lineout improved out of all recognition, which is a tribute to his throwing.
It was also helped by the arrival of Malcolm O’Kelly for the injured Leo Cullen in the final quarter, which gave them all manner of options.
This in turn meant they could make more use of Gordon D’Arcy, by some distance the game’s most penetrating and potent runner and the only one whose spellbinding footwork could locate any space in the well-congested midfield. He really is at the top of his game.
Ditto Jamie Heaslip, who had another big game. Among many huge moments in the match were his covering tackles on Topsey Ojo in the 53rd minute and Sailosi Tagicakibau in the 74th which probably saved tries.
The holders had chances too, not least when the trademark “Leinster wrap” ended with a forward pass by Kearney to Shane Horgan, and when D’Arcy brilliantly linked with Brian O’Driscoll and Isa Nacewa on the blindside but the latter’s try-scoring floater inside to D’Arcy was correctly judged slightly forward by Nigel Owens.
In any event, Leinster scored within a minute: a destructive shove on an Irish five-metre scrum enabled Kevin McLaughlin to nab Peter Richards, and though Heaslip was held up, scrumhalf Eoin Reddan had the awareness to put Nacewa over on the blindside from a quick recycle.
Owens, overseeing yet another exciting finish, seemed to turn against Leinster after a stern warning to CJ van der Linde and Cullen for something the South African did off the ball and Healy probably deserved his match-turning yellow card for taking exception to Bob Casey’s roughing up of Reddan.
How David Paice then escaped punishment, though, was somewhat selective by the officials, and likewise Faan Rautenbach for a subsequent stamp.
As the penalties mounted, Owens, taking a particularly dim view of Leinster’s wheeling the scrums, so Leinster’s hold on a home quarter-final gradually weakened.
But with a little dollop of Irish luck – on a day of muddled and multiplied Irish loyalties – they got there in the end.
SCORING SEQUENCE: 5 mins: Sexton pen 0-3; 35: Malone pen 3-3; 38: Nacewa try 3-8; (half-time 3-8); 66: Malone try 8-8; 78: Malone pen 11-8; 79: Sexton drop goal 11-11.
LONDON IRISH: D Armitage; T Ojo, E Seveali’i, S Mapusua, S Tagicakibau; C Malone, P Hodgson; C Dermody, D Paice, F Rautenbach, N Kennedy, B Casey, R Thorpe, S Armitage, C Hala’Ufia. Replacements: P Richards for Hodgson (33 mins), P Ion for Rautenbach, K Roche for S Armitage (both 59 mins). Not used: J Buckland, D Murphy, G Johnson, P Hewat, R Lamb.
LEINSTER: R Kearney; S Horgan, B O’Driscoll, G D’Arcy, I Nacewa; J Sexton, E Reddan; C Healy, B Jackman, CJ van der Linde, L Cullen, N Hines, K McLaughlin, S Jennings, J Heaslip. Replacements: J Fogarty for Jackman (30 mins), S Wright for McLaughlin (50-57 mins), S O’Brien for Jennings (57 mins), M Ross for van der Linde (58 mins), M O’Kelly for Cullen (61 mins). Not used: M Ross, S Berne, G Dempsey. Sinbinned: Healy (47-57 mins).
Referee: N Owens (Wales).
