Ryan Bailey reports from the RDS
A PECULIAR TWO-WEEK period in Leinster’s season, and in a peculiar way Leo Cullen’s side can take a number of positives from a home draw with Benetton, even if they let victory slip with the concession of a last-gasp try when the clock was in the red.
With a home semi-final already assured and many of the front-line internationals wrapped up in cotton wool, Leinster apparently had nothing tangible to play for here, but a young side — the average age of which was 25 — showed immense fight and character.
Leinster huddle at the end of last night’s game. Source: Ryan Byrne/INPHO
They will be disappointed to let Benetton have the last word of an absorbing contest, as the Italians retained the ball for 30 phases to earn a share of the spoils at the death, but it was no more than Kieran Crowley’s deserved for their endeavours.
The visitors brought unrelenting physicality and were powerful in the loose, with the likes of Sebastian Negri and Abraham Steyn huge buttresses and primary ball carriers, who were rarely grounded in the first collision.
The speed of the Benetton ball, coupled with scrum-half Dewaldt Duvenage’s delivery and Tommaso Allan’s play-making, forced Leinster’s defence to get through huge work, often scrambling to repel wave-after-wave of green attack.
Four players — Scott Penny, Max Deegan, Caelan Doris and Jack Dunne — all made 25+ tackles throughout and in an otherwise disjointed and scrappy performance, there was absolutely no questioning the Leinster effort, hunger or desire.
After losing Josh Murphy before kick-off, and enduring further disruption during the first half when Noel Reid and Mick Kearney were forced off, Leinster went into the break trailing by seven points, before re-emerging with more urgency and attacking abandon.
They were rewarded through second-half tries from James Lowe, Bryan Byrne and Ciarán Frawley to enter the final throes 27-20 to the good, only for Ratuva Tavuyara’s dancing feet in the far corner and Allan’s clutch conversion.
“I thought it was a really good contest and you could see how much it means to Benetton, it’s a point more than what got this time last year against them,” Leo Cullen said afterwards, referencing his side’s shock defeat to the Italians here 12 months ago.
“I thought our guys, after dealing with some of the first-half disruptions when we lost a couple of players, you lose your 10 and your lineout caller, we were trying to adjust and we had a lot of young guys coming in as well.”
No doubt it was a physically bruising encounter for Leinster, and there will certainly be a lot of sore bodies this morning, but the hosts can take great credit from the way they defended their line with such conviction and desperation for long periods.
Benetton enjoyed 63% possession and 68% territory and their game-plan is based on breaking the gain-line at every opportunity through the power and grunt of their forwards. Twice they scored after long, multi-phase passages of bish-bosh rugby, Leinster simply unable to stem the onslaught.
“We struggled to put it all together in the first half generally and Benetton are a tough team to play against because they’re big and physical,” Cullen continued.
“They held onto the ball well and made life uncomfortable for us. But in the second half, I thought the effort from our guys was really good. You could see how much it meant to them and it was a big chance for a lot of guys.