After his side enjoyed a walk in the park against Northampton Saints in the European Champions Cup, Leo Cullen, the Leinster coach, is now bracing himself for a more testing festive period of Guinness PRO12 action.
It is not meant to be this way, but such is the reality of this topsy-turvy season in which the province made a mockery of the financial disparity that exists between Irish and English sides.
In fact, their nine-try-to-one win on Saturday was embarrassingly easy for Leinster, against a weakened Northampton side whose director of rugby, Jim Mallinder, did his best to argue was not his B team.
In contrast, Cullen cut a satisfied figure after the 60-13 win at the Aviva Stadium, but was not so happy with those who make the PRO12 schedule.
For starters, Leinster face Munster at Thomond Park on St Stephen’s Day at Thomond Park, before welcoming Ulster to the RDS five days later. Les Kiss’s men play their next game on December 23.
Advertisement
“Two games in five days is always tough, especially two games of that level, particularly when the team you’re playing second is coming off an eight day turnaround,” Cullen said.
“So, I think we’re a bit disadvantaged with the way those fixtures have fallen - or have been arranged. But we’ll get on with it and manage it as best we can, then we have a six-day turnaround with Zebre, so that’s three games in 11 days.”
Cullen can take some consolation from the fact six of his players were withdrawn before the hour mark on Saturday, with the game well and truly wrapped up by half-time.
Northampton began the game threatening to test Leinster after a heavy defeat at Franklin’s Garden the previous weekend, but having led 13-5 after 22 minutes, they failed to add anything to that tally as the hosts ruthlessly punished them for daring to lead.
Adam Byrne added a second try to his fifth minute score — his sixth and seventh of the season — as Leinster ran in eight more tries before the full-time whistle, which takes their pool Four tally to 20 for the season, with two games more to come. It is a far cry from last season when they scored only five tries in six games.
Advertisement
“It has been driven down from the coaches that you’re not going to get hung on a Monday if you’re looking to push the pass or push the offload,” Sean Cronin, who was one of the tryscorers on Saturday, said.
“Obviously, a level of sensibility has to come with the fact that you’re not to do anything stupid. But they’ve given us a bit of freedom this year and it seems to be working well.
“You can see those young guys are coming out with their chests puffed out and their willing to do it. It’s kind of got the older guys, the more experience guys going ‘this is a nice way to play.’ We’re all enjoying it.”
Cronin’s words chime with Cullen’s claim that last season was the “unusual” one in Europe, rather than this one. But one cannot ignore the different coaching structures now in place at Leinster, as well as recall the words of Graham Henry, the former All Blacks coach, who spent a few days with the province in the summer.
“The catch pass is very important, not running along the pass, but running into the pass,” he said in July. “Running straight lines, passing across the body. You fix defenders and you’re not running at 35 or 45 degree angle. I think that’s a very important part of the game. If Leinster can improve that particular skill they’ll get better results and score more tries.”
Advertisement
This philosophy was fully on display on Saturday, and Henry, if he was watching back home, would have been thrilled by some of Leinster’s attacking play — with one move involving Garry Ringrose, the centre, and Cronin showing the best of the “running into the pass” action.
“I’ve been training for when Garry gets his hands free and we can run on to the ball,” Cronin said. “It’s pleasing when you see stuff in training coming on to the pitch like that It’s something the coaches are trying to bring into the game.”