Murray Kinsella Reports from Le Havre

IT WAS SUPPOSED to be a handy skip across to France yesterday. It turned into a travel nightmare for Leinster and their fans.

Having set off in the lingering snow early yesterday morning, Leo Cullen’s squad were due to fly out of Dublin at 10am and land into Le Havre around midday before enjoying a leisurely captain’s run and putting the feet up to relax for the evening.

They didn’t get a captain’s run, having arrived in the middle of the chaos that Dublin Airport descended into yesterday following the freezing weather on Thursday night.

Leinster’s flight was delayed by five hours and after they finally got into the air, they had to circle Le Havre before being diverted to Aéroport Paris-Beauvais. With bus transfers an issue, some of the Leinster group ended up having to hop into taxis to make the two-and-a-half hour journey back to Le Havre, arriving after 9pm, tired and fed up after a very frustrating day.

Spare a thought for the travelling supporters who were left stranded in Beauvais and Charles de Gaulle airports yesterday evening. They were the lucky ones who actually made it to France. Others had their flights out of Dublin cancelled.

Your correspondent had an epic journey too. The long flight delay, driving on the other side of the road, major roadworks leaving Google Maps stumped, incredible fog en route to Le Havre, and then a night porter straight out of Fawlty Towers. Sacré bleu.

None of this was ideal before an early game against a dangerous Racing 92 team [KO 1pm Irish time, BT Sport]. There’s simply no time for Leinster to feel sorry for themselves and the rest of us who made it over should get to witness a brilliant rugby match. The juice should be worth yesterday’s laborious squeeze.

As they set out in search of their fifth Heineken Champions Cup title, Leinster start with a big ask in the northern port city of Le Havre, home to the impressive Stade Océane.

Stade Océane in Le Havre. John Walton John Walton

Given the likely scale of the challenge, it was useful that Leinster had to flex most of their muscles last weekend. Cian Healy’s red card after 20 minutes against Ulster – since overturned – left them with a mountain to climb but the eastern province sprinted uphill until the final whistle. It was a phenomenal demonstration of the level they can go to.

The hurt of their defeat in last season’s Champions Cup decider against La Rochelle, as well as their exit in the semi-finals of the URC, has lit a fire under them. Many teams think this is going to be their season in Europe but there’s a hint of desperation about Leinster’s desire to claim the title for the first time since 2018.

Being without captain Johnny Sexton and tighthead prop Tadhg Furlong today isn’t ideal but Leinster can back their depth with some confidence. The clever Ross Byrne would start for most European teams anyway, while Michael Ala’alatoa is experienced in the front row. It’s interesting to see Leinster name Healy as their back-up tighthead again.

Whatever about the absences, Leinster have many weapons to call on. Stand-in skipper Garry Ringrose is in the form of his career, James Lowe was muscular on his return against Ulster, Caelan Doris is world-class, Andrew Porter is at an elite level, Dan Sheehan is one of the best hookers around, and the second pairing of James Ryan and Jason Jenkins looks mean and balanced.

Perhaps the most interesting selection is Ryan Baird continuing at blindside flanker after one of his best games for Leinster last weekend. He’s a phenomenal athlete and now just needs to become a more consistent force in the biggest games. Leinster will need all of his power, mobility, and x-factor as they face a Racing side packed with all of those things.

The Parisians can look forward to the arrival of Stuart Lancaster next summer but Laurent Travers’ side have been tipping along nicely, rising to second in the Top 14 thanks to consecutive wins over Montpellier, Brive, Perpignan, Clermont, and Toulon.

To be fair, those teams aren’t at Leinster’s level – maybe Montpellier on a good day  – but Racing have many different ways in which they could hurt the Irish province.

20-year-old scrum-half Nolann Le Garrec and Scotland’s Finn Russell are an instinctive, creative halfback pairing who will hope to get the array of stars outside them firing. Ex-England wing Christian Wade has returned from American football to make an impact this season, although you’d fancy Leinster to test him defensively.

Juan Imhoff is as hard-working a winger as you’ll find but finishes with finesse too, while former Munster man Francis Saili can be impactful with his strike-running in midfield and 21-year-old fullback Max Spring is classy. Captain Gaël Fickou, one of the best defenders in the game, is the backline glue.

Nolann Le Garrec is a clever scrum-half. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO

Up front, Racing can call on the might of France lock Cameron Woki, relentless  flanker Wenceslas Lauret, and jackaling loosehead prop Eddy Ben Arous, as well as having a decent bit of firepower in reserve on their 6/2 bench.

They’re lethal in transition but Racing do have a looseness around them at times too. The French side have strengths at the defensive lineout but their maul work is inconsistent. Their attacking kicking game creates try-scoring chances but they sometimes leave space in the backfield.

There is undoubtedly a stunning European performance in this Racing team but Leinster’s task is to make sure they face the kind of pressure they haven’t yet encountered this season.

As last weekend reminded us, Leinster can go to a place where many teams struggle for air. They’ll look to shake off the cobwebs of travel and go to that place again today. Everyone can worry about getting home after that. 

Racing 92: