Leinster have the brawn and brains to prevail

RUGBY:When we played Northampton four weeks ago I was struck by the simple efficiency of their game plan and they won't alter it unduly for Saturday, writes BOB CASEY

THERE IS a certain envy with which I’ll look upon events at the Millennium Stadium next weekend. Having never played in a Heineken Cup final – London Irish reached the penultimate stage of the tournament a few years back – I’ll be a little green round the gills for a moment or two as I consider what it must be like to play in a match which is the pinnacle of a club player’s career. It’s not too shabby an occasion even if you’ve managed to play Test rugby.

There’s no doubting the special allure which the tournament holds for all participants and that’s why it’ll be a fiercely contested collision of minds and limbs in Cardiff. The Northampton Saints will bring a set-piece pedigree reflected in the fact that they’re in the top three, statistics-wise in scrum and lineout in the Aviva Premiership.

But there is so much more, not least in the ethos of the club. Director of rugby Jim Mallinder and forwards coach Dorian West champions old-school virtues: the team plays hard, celebrates with a few beers and are a tight-knit bunch. They can be a bit lippy and full of themselves – not yet backed up by silverware – and they wouldn’t win any awards for popularity. To some extents they are a product of their hinterland.

Northampton wouldn’t be the most picturesque town – the surrounding countryside is breathtaking with stunning scenery and well-heeled enclaves – and there isn’t a vast array of amenities. Players tend to congregate together socially. Rugby is the main sport and the Saints are idolised. There is plenty of interaction with supporters down to the fact they’d be discussing what’s in a player’s trolley at the supermarket.

They have retained largely the same bunch of players for the last three years, some from humble beginnings in the championship and that in itself fosters a powerful esprit de corps. It’s interesting to note the manner in which they are able to retain the players they want. Soane Tonga’uiha was offered ridiculous money to join Saracens and even though tempted to the point of leaving, he couldn’t do it when he reflected on the life he enjoyed with Northampton.

We played them about four weeks ago and I was struck by the simple efficiency of their game plan. They won’t alter it unduly for Saturday. They do the basics very well, work field position and maintain huge pressure on opponents, both in terms of the physically aggressive nature of their ball-carrying and their defence.

They’re unrelenting, direct in style and one of the fittest teams in the Premiership. It’s almost as if they have this mantra of “you won’t work as hard as us”. They like to launch James Downey – I’ve nothing but admiration for the impact he’s had up there – over the gain line and then get Dylan Hartley, Courtney Lawes and Roger Wilson round the corner.

Props Brian Mujati and Tonga’uiha, particularly the latter, will then look to expose a soft centre at ruck time; they look to take it through the guts of a breakdown two or three times a game and as Tonga’uiha showed against Ulster it can be lethal. Leinster won’t be overly burdened by complicated tactical analysis.

Northampton like to catch and drive at lineout time. They hold the jumper in the air for an extra second or two to try and get opponents to bite, make a grab for him and thereby force a penalty. Leinster will have to be patient and disciplined and must look to kill the maul stone dead. We have a saying that you have to stop a driving lineout within five seconds or you’re in trouble.

The Saints excel at reigniting a driving maul even after it has initially been sacked; what they do is illegal, strictly speaking, but unless the referee is very strong on this aspect of the laws they’ll get away with it more often than not. There is a simple premise at maul time that if you’re falling down or being pulled out, you grab one of the opposition with you. It’s about taking prisoners. West’s old school Leicester virtues are very much in evidence.

Northampton are very effective at the breakdown. Chris Ashton and Jon Clarke are good at counter-rucking, while Hartley, Mujati and Tonga’uiha pick and choose their moments to do likewise. When Leinster do go wide they’ll have to get over the ball quickly and powerfully to protect it from prying hands.

If Leinster can stop the Saints’ power runners then Steven Myler will default to the pocket and implement a kicking approach. It is up to the 2009 European champions to try to hurry him by putting pressure on through the scrumhalf or openside flanker. Ben Foden can occasionally get isolated because his first instinct is to run; if Leinster’s kick chase is on the money then the windfall could be significant.

Northampton don’t have breathtaking back-line variations. It’s quite a simple philosophy designed to exploit a weak tackle or to avail of the corrosive impact of big ball carriers. Leinster will have to police Ashton vigilantly. There is nothing he enjoys more than popping up close to the breakdown and finding a tired prop or secondrow barring his path. One thing we noticed in looking back on the video analysis of the match we played against them was the way in which they tired in the last 10 minutes and a number of holes that we failed to exploit. They don’t have a very strong bench, especially in terms of frontrow replacements.

That’s something Leinster can exploit. They need to work Mujati, Hartley and Tonga’uiha hard because in players like Heinke van der Merwe and Stan Wright they boast players who can make a genuine impact.

Hopefully Leinster will be dealing from a full deck, personnel-wise, and if that is the case then I think they’ll emerge victorious come Saturday night in Cardiff.

It’ll be tight but Leinster’s nerve has been good as they’ve shown all season. They possess both the brawn but, equally importantly, the brains to prevail.