Weekend of regrets and missed chances

IT WAS a weekend of cup rugby where the French displayed their scrum, their bench and when it mattered their key players. Conversely it was an Irish weekend of missed opportunities that time at the video recorder will confirm. What would have happened if Wayne Barnes drew different conclusions on Connacht’s breakdown? Three visits inside Toulon’s 22 resulted in Barnes’ whistle. Each time Connacht lost opportunities.

If Connacht were to have beaten Toulon then their young number eight George Naoupu had to match Juan Fernandez Lobbe’s every move. In the opening half Lobbe was sensational and Naoupu couldn’t get into the game.

On 11 minutes Jonny Wilkinson went down with a neck injury. The ensuing Connacht lineout was won off the top but Connacht failed to run at Wilkinson. He survived and continued to contribute to the scoreboard before eventually departing on 58 minutes; the match won and the score 12 points to 19.

We’ve all heard of the “championship minutes” before and after half-time, but the 10 “extra” minutes changed the course of their season with Mafi Kefu’s try. Their effort and vastly improved game should promise for a great revival next season but with no Heineken Cup rugby for them and limited to one-year contracts, Connacht’s recent success could be wiped away by a Guinness Premiership cheque book.

Leinster like Connacht had opportunities. What would have happened if Eoin Reddan managed that touchdown? In every team sport there is an expected degree of parity between competing semi-finalists. However, the winners generally have an advantage in at least one area.

A creaking scrum can be managed if anticipated. A plan of sorts can be prepared all week to combat, such as a very quick channel ball, insisting on a very low platform, backrowers remaining disciplined and attached, picking your best scrummagers, etc.

I fear the sheer dominance of Toulouse was not anticipated and the scrum soon became a damage-limitation tactic. The 29th-minute scrum penalty conceded by Leinster just didn’t put Toulouse out to nine points, it placed huge doubt in the Leinster team, added to by Cian Healy’s early withdrawal. This doubt added enormous mental fatigue to already fatiguing bodies.

Leinster continued working very hard. No one epitomised this more than Reddan. To see substitute Maxime Medard outpace Leinster’s outside backs in search of a try was incredible. But it was Reddan who provided his distraction. He made countless cover tackles and but for a brilliant arm tackle by Vincent Clerc could have swung the fixture. As the minutes wound down on this battle in the Pink City I couldn’t help wonder, had Leinster over-emphasised a kicking game on Shaun Berne to compensate for the loss of Johnny Sexton? Did Berne threaten the line like his opposite man David Skrela?

Just before half-time the ball arrived to Fritz who looked up and saw Brian O’Driscoll. Frightened of the great man he fired an attacking ball straight into touch. Was he tested? In a sense Leinster’s weaknesses were cruelly exposed but Toulouse went almost scot free.

Skrela won man of the match on Saturday. Any of the Toulouse front five would have been worthy winners but for me Byron Kelleher stood out as man of the weekend. He is the living embodiment of Toulouse rugby. At times he resembles Alan Quinlan; annoying and antagonising and was constantly in the face of Leinster. He gave Jamie Heaslip a torrid time at the base. He made eight tackles, one behind the machine that is Thierry Dusautoir. Patricio Albacete was brilliant around the breakdown but Kelleher was ferocious.

Biarritz had the best player on the pitch in Dimitri Yachvili. In Damien Traille’s absence he had a lot of weight to carry and at times he was very alone. It’s easy to look at his six penalties but it was the assured pair of hands, the brain and the management Yachvili brought to the fixture which won the day. His team, particularly his backs, lacked penetration, remained badly aligned and were happy to ship aimlessly.

Keith Earls’ try from a brilliant Jean de Villiers turnover illustrates how poor Biarritz were at times. The video will be hard to watch for Munster as Yachvili and at times Imanol Harinordoquy were the only difference between the sides. Losing five scrums doesn’t help but Munster like Leinster could have asked questions further out. Both Iain Balshaw and Takudzwa Ngwenya were ripe for the picking. But the opportunity was lost.

The French scrummage and power were the killer in all three fixtures. Clearly the reaction to the scrum will be cheque books at dawn by the provinces but Dan McFarland, Reggie Corrigan and Paul McCarthy should be given time to develop Irish props.

liamtoland@yahoo.com