RUGBY OPINION
End of an era at Leinster
By Daire Walsh
ASIDE from their heroic effort against Toulon in the semi-final of the European Rugby Champions Cup, the 2014/15 season has proven to be a thoroughly underwhelming one for Leinster. Since their demolition of Castres Olympique in Pool Two of Europe on 17 January, the Blues have only secured three victories from 11 games in all competitions.
Last Friday night’s 10-0 success over Benetton Treviso at the RDS was only their second win in eight Pro12 encounters, although it was at least enough to ensure their qualification for next season’s Champions Cup. Edinburgh’s 19-5 reversal away to Newport Gwent Dragons means that Leinster are guaranteed a place in the top six, although they will be hoping to record a final round victory against the Scottish outfit at Murrayfield to ensure that they don’t fall below fifth place in the league standings.
With their play-off aspirations officially coming to an end in Belfast a fortnight earlier, there was a strangely subdued atmosphere in Ballsbridge for the visit of Treviso. It signalled the end of an era in many ways for Leinster, as back-row stalwart Shane Jennings (who was unavailable for selection because of a concussion problem) was the first player to say his goodbye to the Blue Army supporters during the half-time break.
It was the turn of Gordon D’Arcy to express a fond farewell after the game (he made a sizeable impact from the replacements bench late on), although he may yet appear in the early rounds of next season’s league campaign if he fails to make Ireland’s World Cup squad.
However, out-half Jimmy Gopperth certainly played his last game on the RDS turf, and he will be representing Wasps in the Aviva Premiership next term. His final-quarter penalty placed the tie beyond Treviso, and brought the curtain down on a largely forgettable encounter.
Naas native Jamie Heaslip led by example with a powerful ninth minute try, but Leinster failed to build momentum following this deadlock-breaking score, and even though Treviso rarely threatened the opposition line, it was a performance that summed up the frustration of the past few months for all those connected to the province.
The return of Jonathan Sexton will be a timely boost for Leinster as they aim to bounce back in the 2015/16 season, although their resources will be tested in the absence of their international stars for the opening weeks of the campaign.
Elsewhere, there was disappointment for Naas RFC in the Leinster Youths U15 McAuley Cup decider at Donnybrook last Monday week (4 May), when they were narrowly defeated (11-10) by Mullingar in a gripping contest.
Alex Reilly’s third-minute penalty had helped the Forenaughts outfit to open the scoring, but following a try from full-back Paul Smith, as well as a brace of place-kicks by Conán O’Hara, their Midlands counterparts held an 11-3 interval advantage.
A converted score by Jake Rochford offered Naas a lifeline upon the resumption, but in spite of their best efforts on the day, the brave south Kildare side came up just short in the end.