RUGBY COLUMN – APRIL 21 2015
By Daire Walsh
THERE was extra-time heartache for Leinster at the Stade Velodrome on Sunday afternoon, when a decisive try from Bryan Habana ensured that Toulon progressed to their third consecutive top-tier European decider.
24 hours prior to this encounter, Toulon’s Top 14 counterparts, Clermont Auvergne, had booked their place in the May 2nd showpiece courtesy of a 13-9 success against Saracens. There is an interesting Irish angle to Clermont, as their current forwards coach is Jono Gibbes, who previously held this role in both the Ireland and Leinster set-ups.
Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt was also the club’s backs coach for three seasons, and is fully aware of the motivation they will have following their Heineken Cup Final reversal against Toulon in the Aviva Stadium two years ago.
However, with so many players from the international squad featuring for the Blues, Schmidt will undoubtedly share in the disappointment felt by countless Leinster supporters.
Matt O’Connor’s charges were primed for a big performance, and thanks to three penalties by Ian Madigan, they led 9-6 at the mid-way point. This would have dispelled any hint of complacency from Bernard Laporte’s team, who eventually restored parity after the restart with a third successful Leigh Halfpenny place-kick.
Madigan was then presented with a chance to moved Leinster back into the ascendancy on 64 minutes, but this time his effort rebounded off the post. This missed opportunity was punished ruthlessly by the outstanding Halfpenny, before Madigan made amends with a 69th minute three-pointer.
This led to an additional period of 20 minutes in total, and although swapped efforts between Madigan and Halfpenny meant that the teams initially remained inseparable, the sin-binning of Ali Williams offered Leinster a potentially crucial numerical advantage.
Yet, it was Toulon who produced the greater response to this incident, and after Halfpenny’s sixth penalty edged them in front, a wayward pass from Madigan was intercepted by Habana, who used his blistering pace to break over the line.
This was a major set-back for Leinster, and despite narrowing the gap to five points (25-20) with a much-needed Sean O’Brien try, their European odyssey came to a halt.
Elsewhere, the Ulster Bank League regular season may have been completed, but there was some Kildare interested in the 63rd Annual Colours Match, which took place in the UCD Bowl last Thursday evening.
This is a yearly fixture between UCD and Dublin University (Trinity), and on the side of the hosts, there was a total of seven players who were educated in Kildare schools. Gordon Frayne, Peadar Timmins, Conor McQuaid and Tom Fletcher all attended Clongowes Wood College, while Newbridge College duo James Tracy and Sam Coghlan Murray were joined by former Naas CBS star Adam Byrne.
Clongowes trio Tom Collis, Nick McCarthy and Sebastian Fromm were in the Trinity starting line-up, and with the latter player in fine form, the visitors were on course for their first title success since 2011.
A Tracy try kick-started a final-quarter UCD revival, however, and a last-gasp seven-point Conall Doherty salvo ultimately provided the Students with a 32-29 triumph.