Nobody is perfect, even Leinster.
They put a brave face on it and deep down they knew they had to be content with accumulating an imposing 29 points out of a possible 30 from this first third of the URC season.
Yet such is their ridiculously high bar that their slight irritation was also palpable. Thirty out of 30 would have had a nice ring to it.
“We will come in at the start of the week for a review and take a bit of a break then and reflect,” said Leo Cullen in that typically even-keeled manner of his after last Saturday evening’s hard-earned 24-6 win over the Lions at the Aviva Stadium in front of a 20,945 attendance.
“There are some things we are not quite happy with, even from what we are seeing in training. There are lots of things we can get better at. Nobody is losing the run of themselves, I don’t think.”
We can be sure of it.
Even so, a slightly less than perfect 29 points out of 30 is still five points more than at the corresponding stage last season.
On a weekend of contrasting fortunes, Connacht’s slightly laboured bonus point win over the Dragons left them fifth on 18 points. Ulster sit seventh two points back after their capitulation in Cardiff and Munster stand 12th on 12 points following a 41-24 loss to the Sharks that consigned them to three successive URC defeats for the first time in nine years.
Last season, Leinster ultimately finished in a relatively lowly third place. Lesson learned, and Cullen made little secret of their determination to finish first this season, and so ensure they will not have to travel outside Dublin in the knock-out stages.
Reflecting upon their win over Ulster in the quarter-final last June which ‘earned’ them a semi-final in Pretoria a week later which would end another trophyless season, Cullen recalled: “We had to travel to South Africa and I was sitting in this very chair when the backroom team was trying to organise flights and try and get ready so we know the challenges of trying to do that at the end of the season.
“So, if you could ideally have some of those home comforts rather than look around for flights; because it’s a busy time of year in general with people travelling and as we know there are passenger numbers and all the rest going on, which I’m sure we’re all clued-in on.
“That’s proving problematic for sports teams on the island of Ireland, to get out of Ireland, certainly from Dublin anyway. There are advantages to finishing first, so it is a positive start but still early days. What are we? Six games down and 12 to go. Do the maths.”
Leinster will fill in the blank URC weeks before a tricky trek to Ulster the night before Ireland host Australia with an ‘A’ interprovincial series which has been kept mysteriously under wraps and will no doubt eat into the Energia All-Ireland League.
“We have competitive interpro ‘A’ games. I’m not sure if everyone actually knows that,” said Cullen, before shedding some more light on it.
“It will be a proper competitive interpro, points table, trophy at the end of it. We play Connacht away in Creggs on the Saturday (November 16th), and then we play Munster on the Friday (November 22nd) after that in Terenure. It’s an ‘A’ game but we will try and make it senior-ish. I think that is important.”
Leinster provided 17 players to Andy Farrell’s 35-man squad for the Autumn Nations series, as well as RG Snyman’s recall to the Springboks’ squad, and Cullen said: “I think the other provinces are of a similar mindset, that they want to make it a proper and strong interprovincial ‘A’ series where there is something on the line.”
In previous seasons during this autumnal international break, Leinster have played friendlies against Premiership sides and hosted Chile, whereas Munster tend to look for a marquee fixture, the latest example being a meeting with an All Blacks XV at Thomond Park next Saturday after their trek to South Africa.
Cullen said Leinster have explored such possibilities as hosting international sides but are less inclined to do this in part for logistical reasons, such as the availability of stadiums and the commercial pay-off.
“There are some many variables there,” he said, “but these ‘A’ games will be as close to senior as what we have left in the building.”
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