URC: Leinster 76 Zebre 5
The overarching sense was that although Leinster cranked up the biggest winning margin in United Rugby Championship history, it did not erase the defeat by Northampton just over a week ago. Turning the page is all well and good and 12 tries, with Jordie Barrett scoring two of those and winning man of the match, was Leinster flexing, but to their critics doing it against Zebre was perhaps the wrong time against the wrong team.
So, there was no real joy in Jack Conan’s words afterwards, although getting selected for the Lions tour did bring some light to the week. If anything, the demolition of the Italian side was more evidence of how poor Leinster were in Aviva Stadium seven days earlier in the Champions Cup.
The way the URC match panned out was an exercise in addition as Leinster pierced the Zebre defence at will. Four tries in 25 minutes for the winning bonus point. Six tries by half time, two of which were claimed by Barrett. The All Black almost added a third just after the break but as he was tackled just a few metres out he offloaded to Sam Prendergast for the outhalf to romp in for try number seven on 44 minutes.
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Like the first half, the occasional flare up of Zebre showing some menace going forward was negated by their porous defence and Leinster were in the mood to punish someone, Northampton perhaps still at the forefront of their minds.
“To be honest I don’t want another week like that,” said Conan afterwards. “Monday and Tuesday were pretty grim, a lot of soul searching and stuff, honest conversations about how poor we were the weekend before and then we got out, ran around on Monday and tried to bring a bit of craic, a bit of energy to it.
“Tuesday night was the awards so we got to send the lads off properly, like everyone who is leaving, and then Thursday. So, it was kind of a week of mixed emotions, highs and lows, distractions and then you got to prep to go again and make sure that you’re better than you were before – it would be hard not to be better than we were after last weekend. So, yeah a strange old week. I wouldn’t fancy doing it again.”
Conan delivered a strong performance with several streaking runs forward. It was his raid into the Zebre 22 in the opening minutes that served up the first try, a one-handed offload to Rónan Kelleher.
Josh van der Flier, Jamie Osbourne twice, Ciaran Frawley and James Culhane all got on the scoresheet in the second half with just one reply from Zebre’s Gonzala Garcia after 66 minutes. Conan didn’t score but it hardly detracted from his game, eye-catching and effective just days after he was selected to tour with the Lions in Australia this summer.
Northampton and Lions selection five days later made for a week of swinging emotions.
“No, look you’ve no clue. You find out like everyone else,” he said of his inclusion in the Lions squad. “There is no insider trading or anything like that. That’s the truth. I was watching at home on Thursday or whatever and went home and my wife had to put our baby to bed.
“I paused the TV and then I went to watch it and played it. I was just chatting to Ed Byrne and put the phone down and picked up right before the names got announced and all I got was a message from Conor Murray like ‘yes go for it’ love heart, love heart, love heart, and I was like oh I got picked. (The television) was obviously a minute ahead or whatever after pausing, I hadn’t realised ... nice way to find out from one of your mates telling you, texting you.”
Leinster have secured the top seeding in the URC with a game to play against Glasgow in the regular season before the quarter-finals.
When Northampton lost to Leinster in last year’s Champions Cup semi-final they went on to with their domestic championship. Pressure and focus now fall on Conan and his team-mates not to bring home another empty-handed season or have another down day like they did against the Premiership side. Conan believes Leinster just weren’t at their best.
“Yeah. That’s not taking anything away from Northampton. They were class, they came with a really good game plan,” he said. “They stuck to it and it paid dividends. We just weren’t good enough. As much as they beat us, we beat ourselves. We did so many things that have ... we took so many steps backwards. Some of the ‘D’ stuff, our collisions, the fluidity that we’ve gained in our attack over the last while.
“We were really disappointed, because obviously the coaches put all these plans in place and as players you’ve got to go out and act on it and bring it to fruition. We just didn’t do that. Which is tough, because this group has so much experience of losing big games. It’s hard to put your finger on why, but look, it happened.”
SCORING SEQUENCE – 3 mins: Kelleher try, Prenderast con 7-0; 5: McGrath try, Prendergast con 14-0; 18: Baird try 19-0; 25: Barrett try, Prendergast con 26-0; 31: Barrett try, Prendergast con 33-0; 39: Lowe try 38-0; Half-time 38-0; 44: Prendergast try, con 45-0; 49: van der Flier try, Prendergast con 52-0; 55: Osborne try 57-0; 61: Frawley try 62-0; 66: Garcia try 62-5; 75: Culhane try, Frawley con 69-5; 80: Osborne try, Frawley con 76-5.
LEINSTER: J Osborne; J O’Brien, G Ringrose, J Barrett, J Lowe; S Prendergast, L McGrath; J Boyle, R Kelleher, T Clarkson; J McCarthy, D Mangan; R Baird, J van der Flier, J Conan (capt).
Replacements: J Gibson-Park for McGrath (30 mins); McGrath for Gibson-Park (36); J McKee for Kelleher, A Porter for Boyle, R Slimani for Clarkson, J Ryan for McCarthy, C Frawley for Prendergast, R Henshaw for Ringrose, J Culhane for van der Flier (all 51); Gibson-Park for McGrath (67).
ZEBRE PARMA: J Trulla; S Gregory, F Paea, E Lucchin, S Gesi; G Montemauri, G Garcia; L Franceschetto, G Ribaldi, J Pitinari; R Nasove, L Krumov; B Stavile, I Bianchi, D Ruggeri (capt).
Replacements: M Hasa for Franceschetto (29 mins); T Di Bartolomeo for Ridaldi (48); A Fusco for Trulla, G Da Re for Montemauri (both 53), M Canali for Nasove (58); I Neculai for Pitinari (62); F Drago for Staville, G Ferrari for Ruggeri (both 70).
Referee: S Grove-White (Scotland).
