Leinster to dine at top table

Heineken Cup Semi-final - Leinster 32 Toulouse 23:Perhaps unsurprisingly for a club that houses a Michelin-star eatery within the confines of it's own stadium, Toulouse are a side well used to feasting at the top table of European rugby. However, the fare served up at the Aviva Stadium this afternoon was somewhat less palatable for the French aristocrats.

The defending champions were denied by a Leinster side that had lived on scraps for the opening 40 minutes but, when the need was most pressing, came into their own and showed why they are regarded as the most dangerous club side in the northern hemisphere.

Behind on the scoreboard, and with the momentum slipping away, Leinster went through the gears and owned a second half that bristled with intensity. There is a real will to win in this group of players, and it is hard to see either Perpignan or Northampton denying them a second Heineken Cup title.

Given their well-publicised mauling in the scrum this time 12 months ago, so much was always going to ride on the first set piece. As it transpired, it turned out to be something of a phoney war, with Leinster penalised for the early engagement, but it did lead to Toulouse’s fortuitous opening try.

After conceding the free kick, O’Driscoll then fell foul of referee Dave Pearson, allowing David Skrela to have a shot at goal. The comedy of errors was completed when the ball struck the left upright, then bounced back on itself, as Florian Fritz gratefully pounced for the simplest of tries while O’Driscoll and Jonathan Sexton were all at sea.

Leinster needed to be flawless to depose the European champions. Gifting the visitors a seven point start within the first five minutes was just about the worst start possible.

Stung into action, Leinster immediately set about rectifying matters. Off good lineout ball, Gordon D’Arcy burst through the midfield, leaving would be tacklers in his wake, and when he was finally stopped Pearson could have penalised any number of red jerseys.

Sexton duly closed the deficit, but instead of building on that score, Leinster went back into their shells. Skrela restored Toulouse’s seven point advantage with a drop goal before Sexton responded with another penalty after Jean-Marc Doussain was caught in possession.

While Leinster remained in touch on the scoreboard, their general play left plenty to be desired. Eoin Reddan, perhaps hampered by an early knock, was unusually sloppy with his service and the backline ran down too many blind alleys seeking space where there clearly was none.

Richardt Strauss and Sean O’Brien, Leicester’s tormentors in the quarters, saw precious little ball, while too many tackles were being missed right across the park to afford any degree of comfort.

In contrast, Toulouse were playing with real intent. Fed a steady supply of quick ball, thanks in no small part to the backrow of Jean Bouilhou, Tyannick Nyanga and Louis Picamoles, Skrela marshalled a gifted backline with panache. The outhalf constantly put width on the ball with long, raking passes, but for once the French lacked the killer instinct when they smelled blood in the water.

In doing so, Leinster were always in the contest and exploded into life on the half hour mark. Wave after wave of blue shirts pounded away at the French line, and just when it appeared they would be repelled, Jamie Heaslip somehow scrambled under a pile of bodies to smuggle the ball over the line.

Unsighted, Pearson initially signalled for a knock-on, but consented to go upstairs when implored to do so by the Leinster players. The Englishman had no call to wait for the TMO’s decision, the deafening roars from the crowd telling him all he needed to know about the validity of the score.

Having made the breakthrough, Leinster once again found themselves on the back foot, and would end the half with 14 men. Not for the first time, O’Driscoll found himself at odds with Pearson – although he could feel harshly treated on this occasion – and was sin-binned for what the official deemed “cynical” play.

Skrela drew his side level from the resultant penalty but Sexton ensured Leinster would, somewhat improbably, turn in front with the last kick of the half (16-13).

Unfortunately for the home side, they would start the second half in much the same fashion as the first as Toulouse grabbed another try in the shadow of the Leinster posts. Having held up pretty well in the opening 40 minutes, the Leinster scrum was stretched beyond breaking point within minutes of the restart.

Awarded a scrum five metres from the Leinster line, the Toulouse eight ratcheted up the pressure. After the obligatory number of re-sets, the Leinster set-piece was shunted backwards allowing Doussain to feed Picamoles who bundled over unopposed.

Now was the time for Leinster to stand up and be counted. Individually, and collectively, they needed to deliver. To their credit, they did so in spades. When this Leinster team click, there are few if any sides in Europe who can live with them. The pack, with Heaslip leading from the front, grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck, and all of a sudden holes started to appear in the Toulouse defence.

Cian Healy, before he went off with a head injury, was hauled down just short of the line, while Luke Fitzgerald’s chip forward almost yielded something after Strauss threw his body on the loose ball with a wilful disregard for personal safety.

Clearly in the ascendancy, Sexton nudged the home side closer with two penalties before O’Driscoll delivered the knockout blow. Again, the real damage was done up front with the likes of O’Brien, Hines and Strauss pounding away relentlessly.

Something had to give, and when replacement Isaac Boss sent the ball to Sexton the number 10 gathered bravely before off-loading to O’Driscoll who wriggled home.

Even with 20 minutes remaining, there was a sense the Toulouse spirit had been broken and, although Nicolas Bezy’s late penalty set up a nervy end game, there was only going to be one winner.

Sexton, who would finish with a 100 per cent record with the boot, even had the temerity to tag on another three points with the last kick of the game when he could simply have kicked the ball dead.

It was a measure of how confident this side are when firing on all cylinders. Whoever awaits them in Cardiff, they go to the Millennium Stadium and next month’s final with nothing to fear.

Leinster: Nacewa; Horgan, O'Driscoll, D'Arcy, Fitzgerald; Sexton, Reddan; Healy, Strauss, Ross; Cullen, Hines; McLaughlin, O'Brien, Heaslip. Replacements: McFadden for Fitzgerald (57), Boss for Reddan (53), van der Merwe for Healy (53), Wright for Ross (74), Jennings for McLaughlin (53). Not Used: Harris-Wright, Toner, Madigan.

Toulouse: Heymans; Clerc, Fritz, Poitrenaud, Medard; Skrela, Doussain; Poux, Servat, Johnston, Maestri, Albacete, Bouilhou, Nyanga, Picamoles. Replacements: Jauzion for Fritz (61), Bezy for Skrela (68), Human for Poux (46), Lacombe for Servat (78), Falefa for Johnston (68), Lamboley for Maestri (61), Dustautoir for Nyanga (46), Sowerby for Picamoles (65).