When Richie Murphy, his coaches and players sat down to analyse last Friday night’s URC match against Leinster in Belfast, the manner of the defeat will have been painful to reflect on. Ulster will know they strayed very far, in both tone and content, from what has served them well this season. No one enjoys losing, but some setbacks take longer to purge from the system.
Ulster looked uncharacteristically flat and as a result, it sucked the atmosphere from a packed stadium. You have to give your supporters something to cheer about. The resurrection on the scoreboard was too little, too late. To me, the home side resembled a team that had played that match many times in their head. They were guilty of wanting it too badly.
I’ve been that player. In the build-up to the 2003 World Cup, I was maybe two seasons into a rehabilitation of my career, desperate to get into that squad. Game time was elusive and despite longing for a chance with every fibre, I failed to capitalise when the minutes arrived. I tried to do everything and ended up doing very little. My World Cup dream never materialised.
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Leinster endured similar hardship when losing European semi-finals to Perpignan and Munster – they were guilty of being distracted mentally. The balance between getting the head right to enable the body to follow is a fine line. Decluttering is the key as it frees up everything required to perform.
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There is a silver lining from last Friday’s match, from an Ulster perspective. Once the lessons are absorbed it will stand to the young coaching team and the players going forward. Experience is a great teacher if you’re receptive.
Travelling to Munster this week is a perfect opportunity to find out whether Ulster were flat against Leinster or have already reached their ceiling for the season. I don’t think it is the latter.
Leo Cullen’s side were deserved winners at Affidea Stadium, but the performance again raised familiar questions. Cohesion was patchy, which is an oddity because the individual contributions continue to be so strong. Scott Penny was outstanding, He was physical, precise and showed the kind of decision-making at the breakdown that turns the tide of a match without ever appearing on a highlight reel.
His line speed in defence was a key element in Leinster’s suffocation of Ulster in that opening hour. Hugo Keenan again reminded everyone of what a genuinely world-class player looks like, operating imperiously from fullback.
Leinster are still chasing that cogent performance. They remain stuck between the substandard and the sublime, often in the same match. Toulon loom in a Champions Cup semi-final on Saturday week. The home side will need to be close to their best because anything less won’t suffice. If they were playing Toulon in France, I’d almost expect Leinster to be considered underdogs.
Last Friday night, Leinster played like a team miffed that Ulster were getting the pre-game plaudits. That edge can be harnessed. It plays, you would think, directly into Jacques Nienaber’s wheelhouse. In knockout rugby, small margins can have big consequences if you’re out of kilter.
The URC playoff picture will make for compelling watching over the next three rounds. Connacht’s win in South Africa gave them more than just points. Think back to Shayne Bolton’s chip and gather for Ben Murphy’s try. Would that have come off last season? I don’t believe it would have.
It reminded me of Brian O’Driscoll’s fly-hack out of the late Tom Voyce’s hands at the RDS for my former midfield partner’s try against Wasps. Everyone had rights to the ball. O’Driscoll won the space, as did Bolton, and that comes down to wanting it more than the other guy.
That type of belief comes from encouraging players to play. They start to see it on the pitch – passes stick, confidence grows. Connacht get a free swing against the Lions this week after achieving beyond their wildest hopes in Cape Town.
Closer to home, Munster welcome Ulster to Thomond Park under a dark cloud of uncertainty that refuses to budge. There is so much to be gathered from this match – positioning in the table for the URC run-in, Champions Cup qualification and momentum.
As Ulster may have been guilty of wanting the result against Leinster too much, Munster cannot afford to get derailed by the noise surrounding the club and lose sight of the job at hand. A huge responsibility rests on the shoulders of captain Tadhg Beirne and playmaker Jack Crowley over these next three matches. Crowley’s confidence is contagious and a catalyst.
The next three weeks in Irish rugby are, genuinely, as interesting as any stretch of the season. Leinster against Toulon in a Champions Cup semi-final. The URC playoff positions still fluid enough that every result carries real consequence. Connacht hosting Munster in what could be a pivotal afternoon in the west. The outcomes are uncertain in a way that is rare and welcome.
What I find myself returning to, after Friday night in Belfast, is that question about the relationship between expectation and performance. Ulster carried the weight of the occasion into the fixture and were slowed by it. Leinster seemed lighter, freed, to play as a team with something to prove rather than to protect.
Holding on to that feeling will be crucial when the roles are reversed for Leinster and Toulon come to town. The best teams find a way to carry that weight without letting it slow them down. As the season accelerates to a conclusion, all four Irish provinces must try and master that requirement.
