THE PARTIALLY cut-away strapping that stubbornly clung to Shane Jennings’ ankles seemed an appropriate visual image to reinforce the bruising nature of Saturday night’s Magners League semi-final at the RDS.
As the stand-in Leinster captain prepared to offer a player’s perspective in picking through the salient moments that ensured his team’s third successive victory over Munster in the tournament this season, it was instructive to recall the scenes at the final whistle.
Players struck a variety of poses that underlined the extreme physical nature of the contest, sitting on the ground exhausted, catching breath on their hunkers or simply hobbling slowly from the pitch nursing a variety of ailments.
There is always an intensity and passion when the provincial rivals collide but the timing of the latest instalment at the end of a long season may demand a heavy toll for those who must board a plane to New Zealand and Australia.
It’s just as well Leinster have a two week lead-in to the Magners League final against the Ospreys because they’ll need every minute to recuperate.
At least Leinster had the consolation of winning to salve their aches and pains.
Jennings initially offered an overview of a first half in which he pointed to Munster’s dominance in terms of the action areas if not the scoreboard.
“Obviously the score was three apiece but we didn’t feel we did much with the ball, and against the wind in the second half we knew we had to step it up a bit.
“I think we did; we started playing a bit more and tried to get better ruck ball. They’re good at slowing ball down in the ruck. (Nick) Williams was good on the ball and a few of their boys, the hooker (Damien Varley), was really good over the ball.
“But I think we improved in that area so much and that gave us a bit of ball to play with and then the boys came out with a good move and scored a try. I don’t know how Cian (Healy) didn’t score but those three points were important; it gave us breathing room. But they (Munster) always looked dangerous.
“They certainly kept going at us. It was a tough game. Jesus, they’re a physical side and, like everybody knows, they’re never going to lie down. So it was a great game and I think a lot of credit goes to them as well as us. We put in a good performance.”
Jennings elaborated when questioned specifically about the Tomás O’Leary’s high tackle on Healy that eventually led to a penalty, posted by Jonathan Sexton.
“Tomás hit him a good belt but I don’t think there was anything dirty about it. Tomás does it the whole time, he’s a good defender. But I think Cian, when he looks at it, will be disappointed that he didn’t score. But it was good we got the three points out of it. It kept a bit of momentum on our side.”
The Leinster flanker and captain in the absence of Leo Cullen added he wasn’t sure that a penalty try should have been awarded, pointing out Healy wasn’t in the act of grounding the ball and Munster might have had a justifiable grievance if a penalty try had been awarded.
He also explained the painful memories of Leinster’s 18-0 defeat to Munster at the RDS last season are still vivid and have helped shape the attitude to every clash.
“Those memories last pretty long, to be honest. So we know if we give them ball, if we let them get on top and get a bit of momentum they’ll do that (score tries and win) to us. Our defence has been good. I think tonight it was good and we really dug in because they had a fair old go at us.
“In the first half we were absorbing a lot of their pressure and it’s frustrating when you’re playing like that because you don’t feel you’re giving it a good crack. It was the same against Toulouse; I don’t feel we gave it a fair crack.
“Granted we were physical against them but we didn’t really do much so I think we just wanted to rectify that problem at half-time(on Saturday night).
“Our physicality was there in the first half but I think we were more accurate with our breakdown work and accurate in our backs, we got our set-piece plays going so we could try and impose ourselves. We’re pretty level-headed. It’s a semi-final.
“We’re obviously delighted we’ve got into the final but unfortunately we’ve won nothing yet.
“We were seeded number one so we’re pleased we won the semi-final but the Ospreys are a quality side so we can’t really rest on a good second-half performance. They’re a pretty special bunch over there. They have a good squad and a good set- piece, and they can attack from a lot of places. So we’re going to have to be on our game.”
