ON RUGBY:Toulouse dominated the scrum and from a players' point of view that has massive psychological and physical ramifications, writes BOB CASEY
I SPOKE to Dave Ellis, France’s defence coach as well as ours at London Irish, about Thierry Dusautoir, a player I admire and one whom I thought would be a key player for Toulouse in their Heineken Cup semi-final against Leinster. I can’t claim to be hugely perceptive given his talent but I thought Dusautoir was typically influential in the French club’s victory.
His intelligence is obvious – he is a qualified engineer who works for Airbus – a view that Dave endorsed. Dusautoir left Biarritz to further his rugby career at Toulouse and has not cast a backward glance. He was a seminal influence as captain and as a player in France’s Grand Slam success. Dave pointed out that Dusautoir comes and speaks to him regularly about tweaking France’s defensive patterns.
It appears that it is one facet of the game about which he is passionate judging on the phenomenal 39 tackles he made in the World Cup semi-final in 2007. His leadership was exemplary against Leinster especially when Toulouse were starting to look a little fragile with the game poised at 9-9: the quarter-final of 2006 was definitely in the minds of some Toulouse players.
He gathered the players into a huddle and suddenly there was a renewed vigour and application in the way the home side played, graphically illustrated in their two-try salvo. Dusautoir also set the tone with that mammoth hit on Isa Nacewa.
Toulouse dominated the scrum and from a players’ point of view that has massive psychological and physical ramifications, not just in respect of the two packs but permeating right through the opposition line-up.
It applies to the backs too; everyone grows bigger and stronger when an eight is that much on top. It drains the opposition physically and also chips away at their morale. One side can’t wait for the next scrum; the other is dreading the moment. It also helps to frame an opinion for the referee Nigel Owens from a very early stage. He knew Toulouse had the dominant scrum and that can translate to his interpretation of other areas like the breakdown.
Anyone coaching rugby from underage up was handed a priceless lesson in the importance of the set-pieces to the sport. Toulouse were very comfortable on their own scrum and lineout, contested well on the Leinster throw and were devastating on the Leinster put-in. It should be noted that Jamie Heaslip and Eoin Reddan were outstanding in getting ball away under massive pressure.
Scrum dominance also has other knock-on effects especially for the eight under pressure and in particular the backrow. When a scrum is back-peddling as was the case with Leinster’s, the backrow is torn between staying down to push and not allowing the opposing number eight to get a clean break and the opposition backs to get front-foot ball.
Toulouse’s Shawn Sowerby is a fine athlete and that coupled with the obvious threat of the French side’s backline meant that Leinster were torn between two options, neither of which is particularly palatable. As a player you’re desperate to get off the back of a scrum to hammer the ball carrier but when the opposition is pushing as an eight, few teams can manage the luxury of not having all forwards locked into trying to contain them.
Leinster’s backrow would have been conscious of being in a retreating scrum and the ramifications of allowing Sowerby and Byron Kelleher to break into open spaces.
When Leinster won the Heineken Cup they lived on the edge, as all successful teams do, in terms of the breakdown and discipline. Under so much pressure on Saturday they were forced into too many transgressions. If they could have frustrated Toulouse for a little bit longer there is no doubt in my mind that Leinster would have been the stronger mentally in a tied game going into the final 10 minutes. Once Toulouse escaped the shackles of uncertainty – the two-try blitz largely killed off the contest despite Leinster’s admirable reaction – they offered a glimpse of what makes them such a potent side. Putting pace on the game, they forced Leinster into a defensive mix-up about who was blitzing and who was jamming and ruthlessly exploited the gaps.
I have huge respect for Toulouse flanker and their lineout guru Jean Boulihou from the time we met in a Heineken Cup semi-final. We were the dominant lineout in English rugby at the time doing a number on most opposition, yet we could not get near their ball. The French side was excellent in this respect on Saturday.
Munster’s defeat to Biarritz in San Sebastien was almost a carbon copy of the previous day’s other semi-final in terms of the way the game panned out: a dominant scrum and an edge at the lineout denied the Irish province the platform to guarantee continuity and territory. Biarritz rarely looked like scoring a try but the pressure they exerted in the set-piece and also at the breakdown forced Munster to concede penalties. Dimitri Yachvili literally kicked Munster out of the competition.
Connacht worked so hard in their Amlin Challenge Cup semi-final defeat to Toulon but having to make those 160 tackles drained them physically in the second half that had those two- or three-try scoring opportunities that could well have brought them victory. The players didn’t have the explosiveness in their legs from sheer fatigue to force their way over so they could only pick and flop before the chances evaporated.
They probably lacked the X-Factor, that something special that often stands between victory and a narrow defeat. Still it’s been a remarkable campaign and they should be proud of what they have achieved this season.
