It’s turn out to be a Groundhog Day repeat of nightmare proportions for Leinster, however their third successive slim defeat in an Investec Champions Cup ultimate might this yr spell hassle for the groups contending within the major league competitors they compete in.
The following few weeks will inform us whether or not Leinster have discovered from previous errors and can at the very least partially make up for the harm they’d have felt after being almost males within the premier EPCR competitors once more and seize the silverware on supply within the Vodacom United Rugby Championship.
The finals weekend within the EPCR competitions offered what we thought it could – a Hollywoodbets Sharks win in Friday night time’s curtain-raiser adopted by the drama and emotion of the actual deal, the Investec Champions Cup ultimate.
The Sharks belong within the Champions Cup. There’s little question about that. You don’t have as many World Cup successful Springboks because the Durban franchise has on its books and never play for the primary prize.
And the turnouts for the 2 video games underlined the distinction in standing between the 2 competitions – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was scarcely half full when the Sharks turned on an outstanding show of finals rugby to beat Glouchester within the Problem Cup ultimate, and it was bulging on the seams for the Toulouse/Leinster recreation.
The Sharks have hit their goal by making the Champions Cup however their win within the “curtain-raiser” ought to have whet their urge for food to be a part of the primary occasion subsequent yr. And if they’d an opportunity to observe the Champions Cup ultimate on tv earlier than flying out with their trophy, they may have had their appetites additional whet, for it was a seismic event.
Though there have been solely two tries throughout what turned out to be 100 minutes of rugby as the sport went into additional time, the sport didn’t disappoint. Nicely, at the very least not until you’re a Leinster fan. The Dublin crew would have been described as deserved winners had a drop aim try within the ultimate minutes succeeded as an alternative of shaving the posts.
That was how shut it was between elation and despair for a Leinster crew that has the majority of the Eire crew in it.
However Toulouse turned the screws though they misplaced Richie Arnold to a crimson card and since they’d toughed it out over the primary 80 minutes after which, like La Rochelle had completed two years in a row towards the identical opponents, capitalised on their momentum on the finish, it ended up with them being the deserved winners.
The Toulouse win means they’ve now taken a two Cup lead on Leinster within the ongoing battle to be recognised as Europe’s most profitable crew – the French facet now have six wins to Leinster’s 4.
Tellingly, Toulouse have received six of eight finals they’ve performed in, whereas Leinster have appeared in additional finals than anybody however have made a behavior of failing on the ultimate hurdle.
Which cues Leinster’s subsequent mission. Their harm will likely be acute. Three finals in a row that went right down to the wire and all of them misplaced. Most groups would wrestle to return again from that sort of disappointment as soon as, not to mention thrice. However Leinster should regroup rapidly, for they nonetheless have an opportunity to do what they’ve did not do within the final two seasons, which is win the URC.
Simply as they may have nightmares remembering how La Rochelle celebrated their demise within the earlier two seasons of the competitors that morphed into being the URC after beforehand being the PRO14, so they may have sad recollections of Munster lording it over them after final yr’s semifinal. And the yr earlier than that it was the Vodacom Bulls.
Leinster do have one benefit on final yr. Within the World Cup yr, the knock-out video games of each competitions, the Champions Cup and the URC, had been performed in successive weeks. Leinster, had they received the URC final yr, would have performed 5 playoff video games in a row.
This time round it isn’t like that. On Saturday they play one ultimate league recreation towards a Connacht facet that has a lot much less to play for after being defeated by the DHL Stormers final day out. Leinster are at house, and whereas place within the high 4 is necessary, they’ll’t drop out of the highest 4. To allow them to afford to relaxation these gamers that must be rested.
Fixture
United Rugby Championship
Leinster
Connacht
Sure, the Connacht recreation is a quasi playoff recreation if Leinster wish to get again into the highest two or end high of the log, however it isn’t an actual playoff recreation just like the one the one they needed to play final yr straight after the Champions Cup ultimate. Or for that matter the yr earlier than, once they went straight into the Bulls recreation off the Champions Cup decider.
A full power and motivated Leinster enjoying via the playoff part will likely be onerous to beat, and whereas they used to dominate the PRO14, they are going to be effectively conscious that they’ve but to win the URC, which is a stronger and extra aggressive competitors now with the addition of the highest South African groups.
They are going to wish to preserve their arch-rivals, Munster, from celebrating once more, additionally they received’t wish to concede something to any of the South African groups. And most significantly, in the event that they get the following few weeks proper, they may at the very least partially salve the injuries of a 3rd successive Champions Cup runners up medal.
For South Africans, the Sharks win on Friday night time was nice information because it means there will likely be at the very least three native sides in subsequent season’s Champions Cup. The phrases “at the very least” are used as a result of there’s nonetheless an opportunity the Emirates Lions can be part of the Bulls, Stormers and Sharks.
With the Stormers assured of at the very least a seventh positioned end, and due to this fact qualification for the elite EPCR competitors, a Lions win over them in Cape City within the ultimate recreation might imply the league season will finish with three South African groups within the high seven.
Having 4 groups within the Champions Cup will likely be fairly one thing for South African rugby and can assist out the nation on the map in a contest which was given a fantastic showcase once more within the epic Tottenham Hotspur Stadium ultimate.
Investec Champions Cup ultimate
Toulouse 31 Leinster 22
EPCR Problem Cup ultimate
Hollywoodbets Sharks 36 Gloucester 22
Closing spherical Vodacom United Rugby Championship video games:
Leinster v Connacht (Dublin, Friday 20.35)
Glasgow Warriors v Zebre (Glasgow, Friday 20.35)
DHL Stormers v Emirates Lions (Cape City, Saturday 13.45)
Benetton v Edinburgh (Treviso, Saturday 14.00)
Scarlets v Dragons (Llanelli, Saturday 16.00)
Hollywoodbets Sharks v Vodacom Bulls (Durban, Saturday 16.10)
Munster v Ulster (Limerick, Saturday 18.15)
Cardiff v Ospreys (Cardiff, Saturday 18.30)
United Rugby Championship
P
W
L
D
PF
PA
PD
BP T
BP-7
BP
Complete
1
17
12
4
1
63
2
17
12
5
0
61
3
17
12
5
0
60
4
17
12
5
0
60
5
17
11
6
0
54
6
17
11
6
0
53
7
17
11
6
0
49
8
17
10
6
1
49
9
17
9
8
0
49
10
17
9
8
0
45
11
17
9
8
0
45
12
17
4
12
1
30
13
17
4
13
0
25
14
17
4
13
0
22
15
17
3
14
0
16
16
17
1
15
1
15
