It may sound like fortune-cookie wisdom, but I have long taken the view that the best defence is a strong offence, where moving the ball to the space on a pitch, quickly and efficiently, is the best way to control and dominate matches.
Perhaps the philosophy was inherited philosophy during a certain time as a player with Leinster, pointedly after our first Heineken Cup success in 2009. Before that we were definitely guilty of overplaying in the wrong areas of the pitch and also looking to work miracles with slow ball. It wasn’t the most intelligent application of resources.
It’s only when we were able to strike a balance between pragmatism and flair that we achieved the results of which we were capable given the talent in the squad. A perception of Munster back in their halcyon days was that they operated at the other end of the spectrum, labelled as a practical, hard-nosed team who were happy to distil their patterns right down to a 10-man approach.
It was both unfair and misguided. They played some breathtaking rugby at times but there was clarity in their approach. When the occasion demanded they were happy to go to the kicking game or entrust possession to the care of their forward pack. This was a game plan that Leinster eventually became more comfortable with as we matured as a group.
I’m not a big advocate of heavily prescribed attacking patterns. I prefer now as a spectator, and preferred as a player, the real-time scenarios when players scan for opportunities and have that courage and capacity to react in an instant.
That might be in the last minute of a game, deep inside your 22, as was the case with Jack Crowley in Munster’s narrow defeat to the Northampton Saints over the weekend, where the outhalf took the more difficult option from turnover possession. He could have kicked it but he didn’t, and his reward was to jailbreak his team from inside their 22. It could have rescued the win if better decisions had been made subsequently.
Munster looked lively with the ball in hand throughout, however defensive lapses proved costly. Tadhg Beirne’s frustration was palpable in his post-match comments. His appraisal that when Munster are good, they are very good, but when they are poor, they are very poor, was fair. Munster were good enough to beat Northampton on the day. The trip to La Rochelle feels like a scant reward for their effort.
At every point in a game there is space, the question is always about the players’ ability to get the ball there quickly and efficiently. There are a lot of factors at play, the alignment of the opposition defence, but also the speed of the ruck and how players combine will ultimately decide if the team in possession finds that space in a meaningful way.
When it clicks, it can look effortless and can present a glossy picture, where it’s hard to see what the opposition defence could have done to prevent it.
Bath’s 14-0 blitz early on at the Aviva Stadium took everyone by surprise, not least the home side. But in a perverse way it served to resurrect Leinster’s attacking prowess, a trait that has not always been as prevalent in recent matches as coaches, players and supporters would like.
The English club, driven by their halfbacks Ben Spencer and Finn Russell, pulled the Leinster defence apart and forced Leo Cullen’s side out of their comfort zone, which, as it transpired, was no bad thing.
As I have suggested before, playing a high defence line without successfully slowing down the preceding rucks is always risky, especially with a player of Russell’s quality lurking. As a defensive strategy it sits well with South African teams as they are built to slow down rucks, enjoying and embracing the physicality required to do it consistently.
Bath fullback Tom de Glanville’s second try was a good example of what can go wrong with this type of defence. While the initial ball from the Bath set piece was scrappy, their ruck speed remained very quick, to which Leinster struggled to adapt.
What ensued was that two passes from the touchline cut out a large portion of the Leinster defence and then a quick ruck enabled Russell to pick his pass. Leinster’s Jamie Osborne and Hugo Keenan were wrong-footed, caught between a need to press high and the realisation that the pass had beaten them. Leinster’s defensive system is excellent but will occasionally be susceptible to brilliant play or pilot malfunction.
Leinster accepted the invitation to sharpen up in attack, Jamison Gibson-Park cut out four Bath defenders with the one pass in the build-up to one of Robbie Henshaw’s tries. It highlights the scrumhalf’s importance to Leinster and Ireland.
The decision and execution, the right thing at the right time, brought the best out of others, and Keenan timed his pass perfectly to Henshaw. The change-up was pivotal to the try being scored, as to the Bath defence it appeared that Sam Prendergast had built a pivot shape off a pod of players; this caused the visitors to narrow their defence in anticipation.
RG Snyman brought a similar impetus and impact to Gibson-Park as the South African started and finished a match-defining score. His initial offload allowed Leinster to breach their opponents’ defence. There was no move called, just an appreciation that getting the ball to space could yield a dividend. It did seconds later.
Ultimately, rugby remains a game of balance. Whether it’s Leinster rediscovering their attacking flair under pressure or Munster grappling with defensive lapses despite their spark with the ball, the key lies in adaptability. Teams that can seamlessly shift between attack and defence, that recognise space and exploit it with precision, will consistently find their way into the winners’ enclosure.
Leinster’s willingness to embrace the chaos against Bath was a timely reminder that great rugby isn’t always about structure, it’s about seizing moments. For Munster the frustration of narrow defeats must serve as fuel for their next challenge.
In rugby, as in life, there is beauty in imperfection. The best defence may indeed be relentless attack, but only when balanced by the ability to adapt and execute under pressure in the white heat that tempers champions.
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