THE GLASWEGIAN SKY was filled with 50 shades of grey, the Celtic Park stands empty of everything bar the echoes and the shadows as Johnny Sexton stood and posed. And in those precise moments, with an orderly queue of 13 rivals waiting in turn to get their picture taken with the Guinness Pro14 trophy that Sexton and Leinster lifted the previous May, a realisation dawned that the sun had finally set on a season he will never forget.
“There’s an old saying,” Leo Cullen, Sexton’s coach, said on that Tuesday afternoon in August 2018, “that success makes you weak.” And that was why, on his first public outing as Leinster’s new captain, Sexton, Irish rugby’s serial winner, felt that the time had come to park 2017-18 in the cupboard of history.
Maybe it was the presence of those 13 players on the Celtic Park pitch that made it easier for him to do so. Or maybe it was the haunting memories lurking in the back of his mind of how the years preceding Leinster’s season of glory were unfulfilled and barren. Once he was part of a side who won three Heineken Cups in four seasons, a golden age followed by an age of regret, and this was why on this dank day he spoke about leaving Leinster with a second legacy before he retires.
“We are at a point where we can weigh everything up and make a decision as to how we go forward,” Sexton said.
Little were we to know then that their sense of direction would be easily mapped, their Sat Nav pointed towards Glasgow and Newcastle, where that season’s respective Pro14 and Champions Cup finals took place. They won the first, lost the second but something else happened along the way that season. On 27 April, 2019, Leinster lost to Ulster in the last game of the Pro14 regular season. It is the last time they were defeated in that competition.
So when we reflect on 2020, the 19 wins from 20 games, the six times they won by 30 points or more, the fact that all bar one of their 19 victories were by a score or more, we can now see how so much of their recent success stemmed from the attitude Sexton and Cullen adopted on that otherwise forgettable afternoon in Glasgow.
“We have to do is ask ourselves, ‘How do we get better from last season?’” said Sexton that day.
The answer is by adding new layers of depth to their squad, instructing their players to treat every game as their final. With so many options in their squad, they can afford to punish complacent attitudes.
You saw it for yourself this year, from the opening game of 2020 when they were like debt collectors knocking on a victim’s door, destroying Connacht 54-7 at the RDS, knowing that if you treat Andy Friend’s side with disrespect then there is a danger you will go home with spit in your face.
You remember another win over Connacht, a week when Cian Healy had criticised the western province’s decision to allow retiring captain John Muldoon take a conversion the previous season in a 37-point win. Healy used the word ‘disrespect’ in the build-up.
That day, as his team mates made their way through a grey Galwegian evening and into the narrow tunnel that divides the Clan Stand, where the most raucous of the Connacht supporters congregate, their pantomime villain purposely waited until last.
The Connacht fans made it clear during the warm-up that they disagreed with his opinion. There was no hiding now, as the teams made their way to the pitch. Last out was Healy, who slowly walked past the noisiest of the Connacht supporters, listening to their jibes, refusing to contemplate running until he was 20 yards beyond them. This wasn’t an entrance; this was a statement of intent.
If you are looking for the seeds of Leinster’s dominance in 2020, it’s there in that moment.
They aren’t scared of going to any place, facing any opponent. Every game is treated as a big one.
And it showed in their 2020 results – as they won each of their away games; each of their five interprovincial derbies, all their Champions Cup group matches, their Pro14 semi-final and final.
Only once did they lose – when Saracens came to Dublin and did a number on them, a wake-up call if ever there was one, a reminder that domestic domination is all well and good, but the absolute elite at European level are unforgiving.
That loss left one dark cloud hanging over them, an asterisk next to the 19 wins. Such are Leinster’s standards that the arrival of one trophy, the return of 19 wins from 20 games, goes down as a very good year not a great one – because to them, greatness is measured by winning the Champions Cup.
The 2020 awards go to ….
Player of the year …..Garry Ringrose has matured into a quiet, inspiring leader who has a big-game temperament to go with his obvious ability.
Breakthrough player … Hugo Keenan A nod to Ryan Baird, too, who had a superb impact in 2020 – Keenan, however, is now first-choice with both Leinster and Ireland
Best moment …. Winning the Pro14 title should not be taken for granted. Nor should the fact that Leinster stayed unbeaten while doing so
And the worst ….. Losing to Saracens 25-17 killed their hopes of another double
There were many standout moments this year, many players that stepped up to the mark but for me the one player who epitomized all the good things about Leinster is Robbie Henshaw. Himself and Ringrose make Leinsters and Ireland’s best centre pairing and consistently deliver a quality of performances not matched by others either here or abroad. Long may it continue.
My wish for 2021? That we can get back to supporting our team. God I miss the RDS match days.
@Ro Molloy: so true
So if you include last seasons victories with this seasons, it something like 27 played and 26 wins. Which is an incredible stat.
@Greg Cavey: 28 out of 29 if you Champions Cup. That’s phenomenal. However they haven’t played any decent teams this yet this season. The lack of depth in most PRO14 squads makes it easy for them when the internationals are on.
Munster & Ulster are also too strong for most other PRO14 teams.
Leinster were convincing in Europe. Munster showed grit and hinted that real progress is being made. Ulster? More depth required & maybe more quality in some positions.
Playing in the PRO14 isn’t improving Leinster but maybe when the top SA teams join it will improve them & the other Irish provinces and therefore the national team.
@TL55: Why would they need to improve…They are the best in the league by far.
@Harry O’Callaghan: To beat the likes of Saracens, Exeter and Toulouse.
Leinster correctly want to the big fish in the big pond not just the little pond.
@Harry O’Callaghan: So champions cup quarter final losses are the acceptable Leinster standard now are they? Do you think Exeter aren’t looking to improve or will they just sit and wait for someone to take the champions cup and premiership from them?
@Kohn Jeenan: it’s acceptable to lose 1 game of rugby per season. This can happen if you can’t see the improvement year on year at leinster well your just not looking.
@Chris Mc: I didn’t say they aren’t improving though, they are, I was saying they definitely need to keep improving, since it was implied they don’t need to improve at all just for being the best club in the pro14….
@Chris Mc: do you not think leinster have some issues at the setpiece? Furlong should shore up the scrum but leinster still have a bit of a dependence on toner
@Tim Magner: the leinster lineout is very poor even with toner in it.
Any team who competes in the air will win a fair amount of leinster ball. Its hard to understand as Cullen was a very good lineout operator.
Its far too complicated, too many moving parts and as simple as it sounds putting toner (or Ryan) straight up at 2 often discourages teams from competing and as such makes ball to the back easier to win in the long run.
@Chris Mc: I just don’t think the leinster pack has improved since ’18. Back then they had probably the 2 best props in europe in furlong & healy, ryan was on fire, toner was 2 yrs younger, fardy was keeping lowe out of the hcup squad and leavy was at his best. Since then porter and doris have shown their mettle at international level and baird looks a serious prospect but I dont think the pack now is as good as it was
@Tim Magner: fair point, healy is not getting any younger and Jack is gone. Furlong will be back soon enough and porter is a fine prop.
Hooker we are in a better place and while Ryan is not playing as well as he was what’s coming through with baird Dunne and Moloney is getting better. The backrow is better now. Leavy is almost there and doris is firing, Conan, jvdf, connors, penny ruddock Murphy etc are all seriously pushing each other. This pack will gell over the next few months. Only real concern is at looshead.
@Chris Mc: yer by no means in a bad place, ye still have the best pack in the pro14. I think the 18 pack was the best in europe though. As you say though the 2 young hookers look the business, penny has the look of a class player and baird could be special so as a munster fan I know leinster are going nowhere
@Tim Magner: I guess time will tell with this lot. In fairness the munster pack is becoming a serious unit too. Bar kilcoyne your missing a front row but have a few younger ones who could step up but the likes of coombes JOD and Aherne all could really make the grade. Theres nothing like players who grew up wanting to play for a club.