April 3rd, 2006: JOHN O'SULLIVANsaw Leinster tame mighty Toulouse 41-35 in the Heineken Cup quarter-finals
THE LEINSTER dressingroom floor was festooned with discarded tape, bandaging, jerseys, shorts, socks, boots and bottles, the silence in marked contrast to the maelstrom, physical and emotional, that had prevailed for the previous two hours at Le Stadium in Toulouse.
In the pre-match huddle, captain Brian O’Driscoll had told his team-mates that in the big matches, those who aspire to be the best stand up to be counted. They responded in glorious fashion to dethrone the reigning European champions.
It was not just that they won but the manner in which they accomplished that goal. Toulouse frequently court rugby perfection in performance terms, coruscating forward power combining with athleticism, deft handling, raw pace and sublime angles of running. Leinster mimicked that brio in the French citadel.
It was cavalier at times, giddily illustrated by one cameo. Felipe Contepomi chipped with the outside of his boot when faced by three defenders deep inside his own 22. A training ground party piece for most, Leinster’s Argentinian outhalf’s audacity would probably have been rewarded with another slashing break but for an inadvertent trip by the trailing leg of a Toulouse player. He still managed to semi-rescue the situation.
Contepomi was magnificent, not alone a visionary but possessing the competitive ferocity and sang froid of the most ruthless predator. He unleashed the Leinster backline to telling effect: architect and artisan in equal measure.
His artistry was exemplified in two of Leinster’s tries, the first a homily to training ground precision. Contepomi’s inside pass and Shane Horgan’s beautifully timed run and strength in contact breached the first line of defence, the Argentinian taking a return pass. As the Toulouse scramble defence converged, O’Driscoll chose an exquisite line to appear on his shoulder and scamper clear, racing under the posts.
The second was down to vision, Contepomi releasing Denis Hickie inside the Leinster 22. The wing accelerated outside the first line of cover, glided around Yannick Bru and Fabien Pelous, linked with the supporting Gordon D’Arcy and showed strength and pace to score in the corner.
It was a gem, a graphic illustration of what the backline is capable of collectively. Individually they excelled, Girvan Dempsey solid and providing the score pass for Horgan’s try, the latter wonderfully athletic in chasing or receiving kick-offs and taking his try with a poachers opportunism.
If Contepomi was the shining light behind the scrum, then flanker Keith Gleeson was every bit as effective, turning in a brilliant display. He coursed the Toulouse players relentlessly, none more so than Freddie Michalak.
O’Driscoll, Dempsey and D’Arcy impressed but it was the backrow that will earn the most kudos, Cameron Jowitt, Gleeson and the superb young Jamie Heaslip, complementing each other beautifully.
Toulouse never gave up but they simply found themselves pitted against a superior force. Trevor Brennan was called ashore early and apart from the exceptional Yannick Nyanga, the French pack rarely managed continuity of possession to unleash their backs. Jean Baptiste Ellisalde gave a kicking masterclass. Yannick Jauzion was well marshalled, Fritz ran powerfully with fullback Clement Poitrenaud their most elusive runner.
Leinster led 19-9 at the break O’Driscoll’s try separating the sides after Ellisalde’s and Contepomi’s kicking duel. It was Michalak’s misplaced pass under pressure from Gleeson that gifted Jowitt a try. From there Leinster simply found another gear – O’Kelly’s lineout steal denying Toulouse a route back into the game when it was still a contest, and tries from Hickie and Horgan taking them out of sight.
The home side did rally with a brace of late tries but the significance was cosmetic. A little bit of Toulouse will be forever blue.
TOULOUSE: C Poitrenaud; V Clerc, F Fritz, Y Jauzion, C Heymans; F Michalak, JB Ellisalde; JP Poux, Y Bru, O Hasan; F Pelous, T Brennan; Y Nyanga, J Bouilhou, I Maka. Replacements: R Millo-Chluski for Brennan (49 mins); G Lamboley for Bouilhou (66 mins); JF Dubois for Michalak (73 mins); G Menkarska for Hasan, M Kunavore for Fritz (both 76 mins); V Lacombe for Bru (79 mins); M Medard for Poitrenaud (84 mins).
LEINSTER: G Dempsey; S Horgan, B O’Driscoll (capt), G D’Arcy, D Hickie; F Contepomi, G Easterby; R Corrigan, B Blaney, W Green; M O’Kelly, B Williams; C Jowitt, K Gleeson, J Heaslip. Replacements: R McCormack for Corrigan (56 mins); E Miller for Jowitt (66 mins); R Kearney for D’Arcy (81 mins); K Lewis for O’Driscoll (86 mins).
Referee: D Pearson (England).
