Champions Cup: Leinster 15 Clermont Auvergne 7
Leinster will celebrate the victory but precious little else after a substandard performance full of glitches, missteps, system and pilot errors, basic skill deficiencies, and all the while dogged by a weariness that might be a legacy tariff from having so many players on Ireland duty during the Autumn Nations Series.
Off-colour mentally and physically, the home side had to rely on some excellent individual displays as they stuttered and spluttered their way past a gutsy and physically robust, if limited, Clermont Auvergne challenge, the visitors compromised by ill-discipline and injury misfortune.
The French club conceded 15 penalties, which on other days would have provided the perfect conduit for Leinster to squeeze the opposition territorially and chase tries. But a misfiring lineout, operating at just above a 50-50 return from 16 throws meant that Clermont escaped with their line intact more often that they had a right to expect.
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There were a couple of crooked throws, but hookers Rónan Kelleher and Gus McCarthy deserve a sympathetic ear. The set-up was sluggish, took too much time, and this allowed Clermont to make several good reads and get in the air. In some respects, it was a microcosm of Leinster’s general performance, out of kilter and messy.
Leinster head coach Leo Cullen admitted: “We didn’t see some of the pictures and then we got rattled, a couple of throws went awry, a combination of lots of different things and then suddenly you are losing seven lineouts, or whatever it was.
“That sort of creeps into the rest of our game. Going back to guys coming back from international Tests, there’s a big effort to get up to speed for Bristol, then there’s a short week and you don’t quite get to the emotional level we had last week.
“It’s something we need to be conscious of, I’m not trying to make excuses at all but there’s a lot more in us and if we want to be successful and go on in this competition. We were able to muddle our way through but it did feel like we were muddling our way through. The reality is that we are not quite where we want to be.”
Individuals stood up and stood out. James Ryan’s performance in general play was excellent, Jordie Barrett was one of the few Leinster players to demonstrate some composure and quality, Robbie Henshaw, Garry Ringrose and Max Deegan all carried and played with purpose, but it was very much solo enterprise for the most part. Andrew Porter had a superb game.
The home side struggled with a lack of connection and accuracy in general play, passing was ragged and unsympathetic at times and but for a dominant scrum, the unthinkable, losing, would have been a great deal closer.
There were a couple of moments where Leinster properly represented the talent in the group, evident in the work of the official man-of-the-match Sam Prendergast and Deegan in creating a try for Ringrose. It helped to neutralise the first try of the match that went Clermont’s way, courtesy of a fortuitous ricochet and a sharp finish by Alvereti Raka.
Porter’s last-ditch tackle saved a try at one end of the pitch before Barrett scooped up the loose ball and set in motion a counterattack that swept the length of the pitch with a brief pitstop for a tapped penalty move. It was fitting that the New Zealander bookended the couple of phases when he powered through two tackles to score a try.
Leinster’s scrum was top class. Cullen explained that Rabah Slimani had been very influential in the build-up in talking about the scrum culture at his former club. “So yeah, scrum good, lineout not so good. Last week, scrum was very messy, lineout was better.
“We’re still searching for a consistent performance. I’m not sure we’ll ever get the perfect one, but we’re certainly a long way off perfect. But a bit more consistency across the board, we’re still searching for that.”
Leinster led 12-7 at the interval and the only score that they could muster in the second half was a Prendergast penalty, which the outhalf won for a clumsy bodycheck that saw Peceli Yato receive a yellow card. The home side were able to make line-breaks in and around the breakdown where Clermont left space, but the support and next decision wasn’t sharp.
Cullen said: “Guys are trying hard, they really are. You want them to be brave, make an offload. Conditions, whatever has gone on before, they’re getting jittery and we’re not quite in a flow. We’ve got a competitive group; some guys will be pissed off that they haven’t been picked over the last couple of weeks and they’ll get an opportunity against Connacht,” a reference to next Saturday’s URC match at the Aviva Stadium.
“It’s up to them to deliver and show what they can do because guys had an opportunity today and it was mixed. Listen, let’s face it, some lads didn’t go as well as we’d have hoped they’d go. Is that the way that we’re preparing them?
“We need to look at ourselves as coaches and go away and be very self-reflecting in terms of messaging and all the rest.
“The dressingroom is frustrated at how we performed because we want to put on a better show in front of our home fans but at the same time, you’ve got to win against a team that is used to these sort of arm-wrestles in the Top 14.”
Leinster have a couple of interprovincial derbies against Connacht and Munster over the Christmas period during which time they must find an antidote to Saturday’s malaise, both in personnel and patterns, so as to be in better nick when their European journey takes them to La Rochelle in the new year.
SCORING SEQUENCE – 4 mins: Raka try, Jauneau con, 0-7; 21: Ringrose try, Prendergast con, 7-7; 25: Barrett try, 12-7. Half-time: 12-7. 47: Prendergast pen, 15-7.
LEINSTER: J Barrett; L Turner, G Ringrose, R Henshaw, J O’Brien; S Prendergast, J Gibson-Park; A Porter, R Kelleher, T Clarkson; J McCarthy, J Ryan; M Deegan, J van der Flier, C Doris.
Replacements: G McCarthy for Kelleher, R Slimani for Clarkson, RG Snyman for McCarthy, J Conan for van der Flier (all 47 mins); A Osborne for Turner (51); F Gunne for Gibson-Park, R Byrne for Prendergast (both 64); C Healy for Porter (75).
CLERMONT AUVERGNE: A Newsome; L Tauzin, P Fouyssac, G Moala, A Raka; I Simone, B Jauneau; E Falgoux, E Fourcade, M Ala’alatoa; P Yato, R Simmons: K Tixeront, A Fischer, F Lee (capt).
Replacements: B Urdapilleta for Moala (17 mins, HIA); T Giral for Fouyssac (26); C Ojovan for Ala’alatoa (h-t) B Massa for Falgoux, G Akhaladze for Fourcade (both 51); Ó Rixen for Simmons (61); A Chalus-Cercy for Fischer (67); S Bezy for Jauneau (67).
Yellow card: P Yato (47 mins).
Referee: L Pearce (England).
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