When La Rochelle’s Arthur Retière squirrelled his way towards the Leinster try line and managed to slip the ball on to the whitewash it was the final, decisive, act of an engrossingly intense and, in every sense, huge match. Wayne Barnes wisely went to the TMO to check, to make doubly sure everything was completely in order.
However, the body language of all 15 Leinster players had already signalled that the game was up — the number of defenders should, of course, have been down to 14. Barnes played innumerable advantages followed by penalty awards during the build-up to the score and for the men in blue to escape without a “yellow” was on the bizarre side of things. If Retière had come up short by the merest fraction, Barnes’ barrister best would have been needed to explain.
While, in the heel of any hunt, it’s undoubtedly more satisfying to win against a full-strength team, referees just cannot be so tolerant. Yellow cards have a definite purpose and are there to prevent just the sort of persistent infringements Leinster were desperately employing.
The sheer belief which Ronan O’Gara has impressively instilled in his team is the hallmark of a top coach. The confidence simmered and spread throughout the whole town of La Rochelle during the week. Bars and cafes were full of people who were sure that the deal would, not just could, be done. Nobody was talking about anything else.
Had they lost, in addition to the non-card, there would have been other questions. While quite correctly wanting to ensure fast breakdown ball, Barnes seemed pretty quick to pull the penalty trigger on the French team, particularly in the first half.
Then there was a scrum on Leinster’s five metre line. Barnes looked to be raising his arm to reward La Rochelle when his assistant made him think again and the decision went the other way. Leinster went downfield from there, and kicked a penalty, three points added.
Of course, Leo Cullen will have queries, maybe talk about the ball being slowed, but there was really nothing Barnes did that materially affected the result. Three tries to none tells its very own story and it’s hard to recall the last time Cullen’s men failed to cross the line. Two great teams, with victory going to the best team on the day.
Up front Gregory Alldritt, Will Skelton and Pierre Bourgarit were immense and the oft-flaky goal kicker Ihaia West couldn’t miss. It all added up to just too much for Leinster to handle, but not, it must be said, by much, just inches.
The La Rochelle defence strangled and smothered Leinster’s attack which found, quite simply, that there was nowhere to go. For James Lowe read Raymond Rhule, the Rochelais winger had a superb match, including scorching Hugo Keenan for a terrific try. Even then Leinster had opportunities to kick to the corner and trust their DNA to score, but instead they decided to keep the scoreboard ticking over and for a while it looked like the silver boot of Johnny Sexton would be enough to bring home the fifth gold star. But it didn’t work and left them vulnerable to exactly what happened.
English is rugby’s official language and French referees have become very fluent, even having conversations with their fellow TMOs in that language. While some simple French rugby phrases are ideal, it didn’t seem the best notion for Barnes — without anything approaching similar fluency — to try his hand at dialogue. Amusingly, I think I heard “là, or here?”
In the Challenge Cup Final on Friday evening, Toulon’s Sergio Parisse got the ball rolling. Unfortunately, it was for the opposition, a sloppy pass on his own ‘22′ screamed ‘intercept me’ as it left his hands. Lyon’s Jordan Taufau gratefully fielded the gift and sent scrumhalf Baptiste Couillod in for seven points. The whole affair could have been over well before half-time in Lyon’s favour — but a tiny knock-on, and a foot grazing the dead ball line, saw two tries accurately ruled out.
Early in the second half we saw the clearest-cut example of a penalty try in European rugby history when Toulon’s full back Aymeric Luc desperately batted forward a scoring pass intended for Niniashvilli. That was another seven points, and Luc headed for the compulsory 10 minutes in the bin. While he was away, Lyon centre Pierre-Louis Barassi grabbed a further converted try and it was all pretty much done and dusted.
Lyon really whipped up a storm. It’s hard to credit that when they last met in the Top 14, in April, Toulon won at a canter, 43-10. Winners of the Champions Cup three years in a row, they trudged off the pitch having now lost four Challenge Cup finals in 12 years.
Why, sometimes, is a cheap shot not a cheap shot, and dangerous play is not penalised? When Toulon’s Eben Etzebeth slammed his massive 122kg frame into the spine, just below the back of the neck, of Lyon’s Davit Niniashvili, he was attempting to grasp, and it wasn’t easy to discern direct head contact. Niniashvilli had been in a sort of sitting position having completed a tackle and completely exposed to the violent hit, his head whiplashed.
The officials decided that events did not match the head contact protocols, so took no action. They may find it tricky to go outside these, but there is a catch-all law in the book which allows referees to do exactly that — it is, unsurprisingly, long forgotten.
Niniashvelli, clearly concussed, was not removed immediately, nonsensically being allowed to continue for the next play. Another blow for player welfare.
Luke Pearce had a good match, and was not too interested in scrum resets, a far better policy than those who have earned a reputation for over-patience, which is the best known recipe for cooking up collapses. Yes, his communication, and needless over-smiling chumminess, grated, but it was hard to fault his performance in an easy enough assignment.
The match never approached anything like the red meat intensity of the main course which followed on Saturday, but, nonetheless, it was a pleasant enough starter.
