Rugby's macho culture doesn't exactly promote the concept of turning the other cheek. If anything, 'get your retaliation in first' would be a more appropriate motto, and it is to Warren Gatland's eternal credit that a born-again Peter Clohessy, of all people, declined to retaliate against the Welsh frontrow in Wembley in 1999; his restraint helping to earn Ireland a three-pointer via David Humprheys in a 29-23 win, even if he felt obliged to tell the then Irish coach: "I copped a few punches for you today." It was, eh, a tad out of character.
Similarly, Leinster's English prop, Will Green, showed remarkable restraint in withstanding a flurry of punches from his Cardiff counterpart Gary Powell last Friday; the latter being sent to the bin to cool off for 10 minutes and Felipe Contepomi landing a valuable penalty in the 16-9 win. Green endeavoured to shed new light on this incident yesterday when claiming his biblical response was not down to an acute sense of discipline.
"No, I just couldn't get hold of him! I didn't see it coming," he said, tongue-in-cheek. "It came then it was over. He was about three yards away so I couldn't run after him to give him a thump. I could say it was discipline but I just couldn't get hold of him."
Perhaps he was also endeavouring to save face to a degree. But in the modern era, his coach, Michael Cheika, sympathetically put his player's conundrum into perspective.
"Things are hard these days though. I mean, someone whacks ya and you're expected not to do anything back. And if you do something, you're going to the sin-bin as well. That's a hard call." Nothing surer, for in most instances it is also simply the easier option for the officials to bin both players, regardless of who the provocateur was.
Discipline has long since become a more rewarding virtue in tangible terms anyway, with more prevalent television angles and citing procedures; all the more so away from home. Take Leinster's next outing this Saturday, when they must face the in-form leaders of an embryonic table, the Llanelli Scarlets, in the knowledge that the game will have a Scottish referee, David Changleng, and two 'neutral' Welsh touchjudges.
Nothing irritates the players more about the Magners League, and presumably this goes for the Welsh and Scottish players as well, than the cost-cutting presence of 'home' touchjudges, or as the organisers prefer them to be called, neutral touchjudges from the home country.
Irish players are of the view that Irish touchjudges are more neutral than most. This may or may not be so. Certainly, Connacht's experience last Friday at home to the Scarlets would tend to support the theory, although it should be pointed out that the two Cardiff players who were sinbinned followed conversations with the touchjudges.
Ironically, Green himself ended the game in the bin solely at the behest of referee Andrew McPherson, seemingly for tugging an opponent off the ball. "Something innocuous like taking a guy out at the side of the ruck. I do that 10 times a game," explained Green. "It's a contact sport, you get on with it. Our discipline has been a positive this year and we need to keep it good this weekend.
"It's a massive challenge to go down there but that's why we play this game - for this type of game. I've been to Stradey Park a lot in my career. I've had some good wins and I've been thumped a few times."
Cheika welcomes back Trevor Hogan, while Keith Gleeson must be nearer to being ready for his first start after his pre-season was cut short to seven weeks. However, the performances of feisty Australian lock Adam Byrnes (definitely not one for turning the other cheek) and Niall Ronan, declared fit having sustained no more than bruising to the hip when hobbling off against Cardiff, gives Cheika a couple of selection posers.
Next week sees the release of Brian O'Driscoll, Shane Horgan and Girvan Dempsey, and Cheika is hopeful that Gordon D'Arcy and even Malcolm O'Kelly might be back in the frame.
"We were hoping O'Kelly might be back this week but it hasn't worked out so we're going to let that run for another few weeks and see how he goes. But I'd say the way D'Arcy has been going in training, he might be in line for next week - if not to start, then maybe the bench," said Cheika.
Cameron Jowitt has also resumed contact training but Leinster's preparations haven't been helped by the presence of five of this week's likely starting team taking part in Ireland's mini-camp over the last three weeks, leaving them only one full session tomorrow and captain's run on Friday. So for the most part they've concentrated on technical aspects to their game, particularly focusing on the handling errors that undermined their performance against Cardiff.
"We need to be physical going to Stradey," said Cheika. "We need to go in there and really get into the contest, and make it a real battle. We've got to use the ball we get properly. If we make the same mistakes again we won't win." And possibly, if the need arises, turn the other cheek.
LEINSTER SQUAD (v Llanelli, Saturday): Johnny Wickham, Reggie Corrigan, Will Green, Ronan McCormack, Bernard Jackman, Harry Vermaas, Adam Byrnes, Owen Finegan, Trevor Hogan, Keith Gleeson, Richie Leyden, Jamie Heaslip, Stephen Keogh, Niall Ronan; Guy Easterby, Chris Whitaker, Felipe Contepomi, Christian Warner, Gary Brown, Luke Fitzgerald, Denis Hickie, Rob Kearney, Ross McCarron, Michael Berne, Kieran Lewis.
