THE SOUNDTRACK OF the RDS was tuned to winning – Def Leppard’s ‘Undefeated’ was followed by Muse crooning ‘we will be victorious’ – but all the while it was punctuated by pockets of Exeter Chiefs fans and their droning Indian war-song.
They travel well.
Leinster’s crowd were later to arrive. This is familiar territory for them, but what is less familiar was the way the Exeter Chiefs turned up and pulled the plug from whatever device generates the rhythm.
The game ebbed from the edge of one 22 to the other, but neither side could find a cutting edge. Ian Madigan, again picked to run from fullback, did his best to crack the code early on. Twice he found space after fielding a Gareth Steenson kick with too few chasers.
The converted number 10 was also culpable, however, and should have been held to account when Steenson’s cross-kick bounced awkwardly and he flicked it out of play and out of danger.
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A try would have been no more than the competition débutantes deserved on a day when their eight-man packed worked as single entity, gushing into every minute gap Leinster thought was available.
As Eoin Reddan predicted early in the week, Tom Hayes was indeed in the thick of it, producing a full repertoire of abilities which at one point even stretched to a chip and chase into the Leinster 22. The sun may have been shining, but Hayes ensured it was a day for wet-weather rugby.
“Tom’s been a big part of the success of this club over the past number of years,” said head coach Rob Baxter as his captain and man of the match sat next to him post-match. “Along with a couple of other guys, he’s played a massive start in getting us into the Premiership and now into Europe.”
The man himself, he sat with a smile like a Cheshire cat. His brother John, he says, never warned him how tough Heineken Cup rugby would be. But he had viewed the obvious evidence of a stiff Bull on Sunday mornings.
The facial expressions on Leinster’s number four were equally telling.. Leo Cullen had not endured a comfortable day.
“We didn’t get a rhythm,” he said, “even when we did we coughed up a couple of line-outs.”
Quizzed on what technically went wrong Cullen could offer little more than a shrug of the shoulders, ”just a bit sloppy in our execution.”
Leinster threatened to show off their backs in the second half, but too often Fergus McFadden was sent on a crash-ball route. The Chiefs always appeared the more effective side. Both out-halves were guilty of passing up valuable three-point opportunities; but with the crowd baying for decisions, you always sensed it would come back to haunt the visitors more than the hosts.
All week, the Leinster camp have emphasised and underlined the virtues of the Chiefs and all of those qualities were evident today. Joe Schmidt called them “greater than the sum of their parts”, and the sum of their parts played very well indeed.
Smothered
The problem, from Schmidt’s perspective was an over-eager attack. Back in the RDS for the first time in three weeks: Leinster too often allowed themselves to be tempted and ended up smothered into a ruck.
The other mission statement this week from the eastern province did not come to pass either. Schmidt asked his squad to build on the performance laid down against Munster. The result would have followed, but the pack today – particularly the second row partnership – was found wanting.
The RDS was tuned to winning and the four points may well be the most important thing, but by the end Joe Schmidt was agitatedly dancing around his control box. He could only watch on and hope that Iganacio Miere’s last-gasp kick did not make the posts. It sailed wide, and Schmidt and his fans could breath again with four points in the bag and in second place in the pool.
The Chiefs have proven they can travel well, but there will be close to 11,000 tomahawks at Sandy Park next week to remind them how good it feels to be home..
Close shave: Leinster narrowly avoid providing Chiefs' latest scalp
THE SOUNDTRACK OF the RDS was tuned to winning – Def Leppard’s ‘Undefeated’ was followed by Muse crooning ‘we will be victorious’ – but all the while it was punctuated by pockets of Exeter Chiefs fans and their droning Indian war-song.
They travel well.
Leinster’s crowd were later to arrive. This is familiar territory for them, but what is less familiar was the way the Exeter Chiefs turned up and pulled the plug from whatever device generates the rhythm.
The game ebbed from the edge of one 22 to the other, but neither side could find a cutting edge. Ian Madigan, again picked to run from fullback, did his best to crack the code early on. Twice he found space after fielding a Gareth Steenson kick with too few chasers.
The converted number 10 was also culpable, however, and should have been held to account when Steenson’s cross-kick bounced awkwardly and he flicked it out of play and out of danger.
A try would have been no more than the competition débutantes deserved on a day when their eight-man packed worked as single entity, gushing into every minute gap Leinster thought was available.
As Eoin Reddan predicted early in the week, Tom Hayes was indeed in the thick of it, producing a full repertoire of abilities which at one point even stretched to a chip and chase into the Leinster 22. The sun may have been shining, but Hayes ensured it was a day for wet-weather rugby.
The man himself, he sat with a smile like a Cheshire cat. His brother John, he says, never warned him how tough Heineken Cup rugby would be. But he had viewed the obvious evidence of a stiff Bull on Sunday mornings.
The facial expressions on Leinster’s number four were equally telling.. Leo Cullen had not endured a comfortable day.
“We didn’t get a rhythm,” he said, “even when we did we coughed up a couple of line-outs.”
Quizzed on what technically went wrong Cullen could offer little more than a shrug of the shoulders, ”just a bit sloppy in our execution.”
Leinster threatened to show off their backs in the second half, but too often Fergus McFadden was sent on a crash-ball route. The Chiefs always appeared the more effective side. Both out-halves were guilty of passing up valuable three-point opportunities; but with the crowd baying for decisions, you always sensed it would come back to haunt the visitors more than the hosts.
All week, the Leinster camp have emphasised and underlined the virtues of the Chiefs and all of those qualities were evident today. Joe Schmidt called them “greater than the sum of their parts”, and the sum of their parts played very well indeed.
Smothered
The problem, from Schmidt’s perspective was an over-eager attack. Back in the RDS for the first time in three weeks: Leinster too often allowed themselves to be tempted and ended up smothered into a ruck.
The other mission statement this week from the eastern province did not come to pass either. Schmidt asked his squad to build on the performance laid down against Munster. The result would have followed, but the pack today – particularly the second row partnership – was found wanting.
The RDS was tuned to winning and the four points may well be the most important thing, but by the end Joe Schmidt was agitatedly dancing around his control box. He could only watch on and hope that Iganacio Miere’s last-gasp kick did not make the posts. It sailed wide, and Schmidt and his fans could breath again with four points in the bag and in second place in the pool.
The Chiefs have proven they can travel well, but there will be close to 11,000 tomahawks at Sandy Park next week to remind them how good it feels to be home..
Player Ratings: Leinster v Exeter Chiefs
As it happened: Leinster v Exeter Chiefs, Heineken Cup
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Brian O'Driscoll European Rugby Champions Cup Jonathan Sexton Leinster pool 5 RDS Reaction Exeter Chiefs