Ross turns tide for Leinster to get out of tight spot

RUGBY:Sexton was man of the match but Ross, Healy and Strauss deserve to share the spoils, writes LIAM TOLAND

AS I stood 12 rows from the touchline on the half-way line I realised I was no longer a fan but a living participant in a match that had me exhausted emotionally and physically. Elbow’s One Day Like This had played and the players had returned to their sanctuary. I wanted to stand there on my own allowing the emotions flow through me and simply “be”.

I’ve been to many occasions in the past such as Lansdowne Road in 1991 and Gordon Hamilton’s try in the corner against Australia, or even Croke Park and Clare’s massive second win in three years in 1997 but nothing compares to the Millennium Stadium on Saturday night, or as Elbow sang, “Oh, anyway, it’s looking like a beautiful day.”

The Leinster lap of honour was long past and Northampton’s James Downey strolled past with his colleagues. Deep down I felt for him and his Irish team-mate Roger Wilson. Downey looked shell-shocked and I know at 30 his long-winding journey would have made Saturday a massive victory.

But something struck me that even deeper in his soul he would have given anything to be in the blue of Leinster amongst his brethren. It has been a long time since I was in a dressingroom and longer still since the Leinster dressingroom. Leo Cullen’s, Gordon D’Arcy’s, Brian O’Driscoll’s and Shane Horgan’s journeys date back to then, but there is no comparison to that era. Everything Europe could throw at this team was thrown and nothing could quell their quest for glory. Magnificent.

I’m not sure if it was Rocky III or IV but what Mike “Rocky Balboa” Ross achieved at scrum time was extraordinary in both the physical and the mental to intellectualise his way out of a hammering. From the off Northampton had several tricks from their front three and their back three. The scrum was to be a powerful determining factor of the game. I had felt Northampton might dominate but only just. Either way their assets outside the scrum were sufficiently limited to cause little scoreboard damage. It appeared to me that Soane Tonga’uiha and Dylan Hartley were intent on giving their number eight Wilson every advantage by targeting Ross. The importance of Ross’ hit and bind was crucial.

On the face of it Ross was unable to lock Tonga’uiha into position using his head and right arm therefore allowing the giant Samoan the latitude to move. The Northampton loosehead was able to lower the height to suit himself, swivel his bottom out with his powerful head and shoulders targeting Ross’ inside shoulder and chest. On the call Tonga’uiha was heading for Richardt Strauss and powering upwards through Ross.

Meanwhile Hartley was maximising the pain Ross was under, which brings the solution into focus. Scrummaging is a unit skill and a horrible chain reaction can occur elsewhere in the unit, but it is always the tighthead who gets hammered. The extent of Strauss’s injury may not have assisted Ross when he needed him and Cian Healy had his hands full.

Ross needed his frontrow mates like never before but he also wanted his mates further out to stop dropping the ball. There were 18 scrums, the majority in the first half when the Northampton blood was up and energy tanks full. This system requires the Northampton backrow to be violently committed, as Tonga’uiha’s body position can take him away from his secondrow.

Half-time came and went and the next scrum was to be crucial. Muscle does have a memory but Ross’ intelligence went beyond that. He now entered the scrum anticipating the Tonga’uiha system and did much to nullify it by dropping his shoulder and targeting Hartley, twisting his body inwards, old-school style and extremely wearing; a huge physical sacrifice. Tonga’uiha was tiring and crucially their backrow, buoyed by the first half made the fatal error – they nodded off, quit scrummaging and depowered Tonga’uiha.

The role of the scrum is obviously to restart the game but the more subtle role is one of team morale. Northampton built their 22 points on the scrum dominance, but in doing so they also tested Leinster’s resolve and when Leinster made changes to neutralise them Northampton were rudderless and powerless.

To that first half where the Saints were on fire. Their first-up tackles were ferocious, electing to hammer the Leinster ball carrier, providing ample turnovers in Leinster’s attempt for multi-phase rugby. Again Northampton kept numbers to a minimum at the breakdown which gave Leinster glimpses of light through Romain Poite’s whistle and great steals.

If the Saints defence was ferocious Leinster’s was unusual. For some reason they elected to employ a very aggressive 45-degree angled drift ignoring Saints outhalf Stephen Myler in anticipation of their back three attack. I counted nine missed tackles on Leinster inside shoulders in the first half. Four of them occurred on the way to Northampton’s opening try.

Myler made hay while Leinster figured out the evolving tactics. So much went down his channel in this period, including himself. It was high-tempo, precise, but basic cup stuff and the Saints were flying. But again the breakdown gave Leinster a way back in. Wilson made a great break off a 12th-minute scrum to be pulled down by Heaslip for Seán O’Brien to gain a powerful turnover and Leinster’s first points.

More was to follow on 23 minutes with a brilliant off-the-top lineout from Cullen with the play of the day. The brilliant Eoin Reddan switched with Horgan and off he went before finding O’Brien with O’Driscoll flying on to his shoulder. O’Driscoll had struggled to find his pace in defence but his lines were still there. An omen for the second half perhaps?

Man-of-the-match Jonny Sexton cranked it up in the second half and all it took was 16 minutes and 30 seconds to redress the failings and gain advantage. But Ross, Healy and Strauss deserve to share the spoils. Strauss was stuck to the ball which thankfully Cullen achieved from a late loose pass. Shane Jennings was on to bring balance to the backrow, freeing O’Brien to batter some Saints.

The Leinster tempo was up, running, limited scrums, hard running onto the ball – Strauss take a bow (33 metres v Hartley’s four). As the Saints captain strolled off the park with 12 minutes left my mind turned to the old school and the delight it brings to think of what Cullen, D’Arcy, O’Driscoll and Horgan, Jennings, Johnny O’Hagan, Jason Cowman, Professor Tanner, Emmet Farrell and many more have achieved in blue of Leinster.

Europe threw everything at you alright.