A year into the Jacques Nienaber experiment and the jury is still out. Had Ciarán Frawley’s late drop goal against Toulouse been a few metres to the right, ala his winning effort in Durban seven weeks later, hiring the Springboks’ two-time World Cup winning coach would have been hailed as a masterstroke.
Leinster would have reaped the benefits his Midas touch and uncanny ability to win tight knock-out games. Instead, the pain endures and Leinster’s uncanny habit of losing Champions Cup finals and URC semi-finals was extended into a third season, and at what cost?
For while no player or supporter would have minded had a fifth star been etched on to the jersey, Leinster did sacrifice some of their DNA last season.
There were some gritty wins (away to La Rochelle) and trademark thrashings (at home to La Rochelle). But, though the strike moves remained inventive, the multiphase attack honed by Stuart Lancaster regressed, especially in the Champions Cup.
That vengeful 40-13 win over La Rochelle was an outlier in the knock-out stages, for Leinster were less convincing at home to Leicester and Northampton when indebted to hat-tricks by Jamison Gibson-Park and James Lowe.
In the Pro14, Leinster finished third, having topped the table for the previous six seasons, so condemning them to a semi-final away to the Bulls. This was primarily caused by losing twice to Ulster in the regular season, when their haul of 65 points was 14 down on the previous campaign.
There was no shame whatsoever in losing another marvellous Champions Cup final in extra time to Toulouse and Antoine Dupont, hailed as the best club side and best player ever, particularly as the officials’ marginal calls went against them. Within five weeks Toulouse had beaten La Rochelle and put 60 points on Bordeaux-Begles in the French final.
Nonetheless, Leinster supporters were entitled to compare the grief their pack suffered against the Bulls before being bulk suppliers to the drawn series against the Springboks.
And so, they go again.
Tyler Bleyendaal has been co-opted on to the coaching ticket to replace Andrew Goodman, the long-serving Ross Molony and Rhys Ruddock have moved on to be replaced, effectively, from within, while the departed Michael Ala’alatoa, Jason Jenkins and Charlie Ngatai have been replaced by new signings in Rabah Slimani, RG Snyman and, on a half-season deal from December, Jordan Barrett.
Prospects
The arrival of two stellar global names in Snyman, a two-time World Cup winner and world-class impact lock, and Barrett, a multipurpose player with a warrior spirit, were perhaps with an eye on filling some more seats at the Aviva Stadium while the RDS is being upgraded.
Their acquisition has hints of the Leinster hierarchy sanctioning the signings of Isa Nacewa, Rocky Elsom and CJ van der Linde to supplement a squad already featuring Felipe Contepomi and Chris Whitaker in 2008 as the spark to ignite their breakthrough first Heineken Cup.
However, Leinster were serial underachievers then, who had never reached a “European” final and made a pool exit the previous season whereas they’ve since reached eight finals, winning the first four and losing the last four.
Snyman and Barrett should add stardust and a hard-nosed winning mentality to a squad that has come up fractionally short for three seasons.
The composition of Leinster’s backline is already the cause of pub conversations, and who they plump for at outhalf will also be fascinating.
Bleyendall, the one-time Crusaders and Munster outhalf, had carved a strong reputation at the Hurricanes and will hopefully be given the scope to re-energise Leinster’s attack.
No matter how the IRFU or Irish management dress it up, the Emerging Ireland tour is disruptive given the provinces will miss them in rounds two, three and four, albeit there’s clearly been some give and take looking at the callowness of Leinster’s chosen dozen. They also have the depth to cope.
Helpfully too, there’s no World Cup and their 17-strong contingent in South Africa should be back in harness for their marquee fixture against Munster at Croke Park on Saturday, October 12th.
Admittedly, the fourth November Test against Australia will affect Leinster more than their hosts Ulster the night before. Cue a tricky Champions Cup pool draw, with treks to Bristol and La Rochelle again in January followed by six-day turnarounds before home ties against Clermont and Bath.
Plotting another home route to a fourth final in succession will be a tall ask, but they have the depth to go deep in both competitions. Ending their relative drought, and even winning a double, is not beyond them.
One to watch: Jamison Gibson-Park
The naturalised Kiwi had even become integral while you-know-who was alongside him at outhalf and Gibson-Park was even more of the team’s heartbeat last season. His ability to make decisions while playing at breakneck tempo, invariably execute accurately, attack the narrow side, see the space and link with a kindred spirit such as James Lowe are integral to Leinster, all the more so in the big games. It’s an ill wind and all that too, as he’s back after missing the SA tour with his hamstring issue.
Players In:
RG Snyman from Munster
Jordie Barrett from Hurricanes (short-term deal)
Rabah Slimani from Clermont
Jack Boyle from the academy
Paddy McCarthy from the academy
James Culhane from the academy.
Players Out:
Michael Ala’alatoa to Clermont
Jason Jenkins to Sharks
Ross Molony to Bath
Ed Byrne to Cardiff
Charlie Ngatai released
Temi Lasisi to Connacht
Ben Murphy to Connacht
Rhys Ruddock retired
Martin Moloney to Exeter Chiefs
Chris Cosgrave released
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