In-form Heaslip leads by example

Cardiff 19 Leinster 23:ON SATURDAY night Leinster added some more substance to the sporting truism that the very best teams can play well within themselves and still find a way to chisel out a victory against durable opponents. They could have lost this Rabodirect Pro 12 match against Cardiff, but you somehow always knew in your bones they wouldn't.

Had Cardiff’s Leigh Halfpenny kicked a late second-half penalty that would have put his team ahead then maybe the result might have been different, but the probability is Leinster still would have found a way to claim their 10th successive league win. There’s such a deep-rooted sense of self-confidence in this team that they’re utterly convinced of their own ability to persevere no matter what the circumstances.

“We don’t care where we go or where we play,” admitted Jamies Heaslip after Saturday’s victory. “If we bring our own intensity and just worry about the job we have to do rather than the team that we’re playing, I don’t think it really matters where we go to or what the circumstances.”

Heaslip was captain on Saturday and filled the brief admirably. He’s been accused by some of letting his standards drop in the last 18 months, but he looks like he’s close to his best form again. He made eye-catching carries, hit every ruck with a manic intensity and in a furiously-physical final 10 minutes he threw his body into every collision with utter disregard for his own well-being.

He wasn’t the only one to catch the eye. Seán Cronin was his usual dervish self in the loose and it looks like his set-piece play has progressed significantly since joining Leinster, while Mark Flanagan was a revelation in his first start for the province. He’s not quite as tall as his cousin and secondrow partner on the night, Devin Toner, but he’s still a serious lump of a man and at the age of just 22 has the potential to develop into something special. “A lot of lads put their hands up tonight and I thought Mark in particular had an awesome game,” says Healip. “I think we can be a lot more clinical though. We turned over the ball a lot too easily and threw one or two passes we shouldn’t have.”

Leinster couldn’t have started any more clinically as they scored two tries in the first 10 minutes through Seán O’Brien and Rob Kearney. Johnny Sexton kicked both conversions and, at 14 points to zip down after just 20 minutes, Cardiff were staring down the barrel of a gun. They weren’t about to put their hands up though. Two penalties from Leigh Halfpenny and a Dan Parks drop-goal brought them back into the contest, and though Sexton slotted another penalty just before the break, it was clear Leinster were now in a real match.

The teams exchanged penalties after the break and then Cardiff really came roaring into the contest when burly prop Gethin Jenkins tunnelled his way over for a try that Halfpenny converted to close the gap to just one point. Ten minutes later he had a chance to put the home team ahead, but his penalty from the half-way line fell just short and a couple of minutes later when he fluffed a much easier chance. Leinster went straight down the field and won a penalty that Fergus McFadden landed to give his team a winning buffer they just about deserved.

Leinster manager Guy Easterby admitted afterwards: “No one is pretending we’re playing 10 out of 10 rugby,” says Easterby. “We’re winning games and showing a hell of a lot of character, but our game isn’t bang on at the moment.”

Sexton (tight hamstring) and Gordon D’Arcy (rib injury) had to come off and will undergo scans today, but Easterby is confident they’ll be fit to play by Sunday.

LEINSTER: R Kearney; D Kearney, F McFadden, G D’Arcy, A Conway; J Sexton, E Reddan; C Healy, S Cronin, M Ross; M Flanagan, D Toner; K McLaughlin, S O’Brien, J Heaslip. Replacements: I Nacewa for D’Arcy (39 mins), J Murphy for McLaughlin (half-time), F Carr for Sexton (59 mins), H van der Merwe for Healy (70 mins), L Auva’a for Flanagan (75 mins).

CARDIFF: L Halfpenny; R Mustoe , C Laualala, G Evans, T James; D Parks, L Williams; G Jenkins, M Breeze, S Andrews; B Davies, M Paterson; M Molitika, S Warburton, X Rush. Replacements: R Williams for Breeze (42 mins), R Rees for L Williams, J Navidi for Molitika (both 49 mins), H Robinson for Mustoe (73 mins), S Hobbs for Andrews (75 mins).

Referee: M Mitrea (FIR).