The public response to another Champions Cup heartbreak for Leinster has been disappointing but not surprising. The vocal criticism of Leo Cullen has been mob-like in its ignorance.
Here are the facts.
Across the last five years, Leinster have lost three finals and two semi-finals in this tournament. These defeats have been an epoch-defining series of missed opportunities that history will not judge with kindness.
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Here is another fact. Leinster and Toulouse are the only teams in Europe to have reached the final or semi-final in each of the last five years. Leinster have also reached five Champions Cup finals in the last seven years.
This unprecedented run of consistency does not come about without superb coaching leadership.
Leinster’s consistent excellence is the envy of every professional rugby organisation on the planet. Despite the lack of silverware, if you offered that record to Munster, Toulon, the Sharks or Bristol they would take your arm off.
Understanding that two things can be true at the same time, both these points must be considered when judging this generation of Leinster players and coaches.
As the boss, the buck stops with Cullen. It’s a responsibility which he has never shied away from. However, coaches receive far too much praise in victory and too much criticism in defeat.
Despite all the massive changes over the past few decades of professionalism, rugby remains a players’ game. This means that coaches do not make the split-second decisions that so often define the outcome of matches. These are made by players.
When Joe McCarthy was sinbinned for pulling the jersey of Thomas Ramos in the Six Nations match against France in March, it probably cost Ireland the match. None of the coaches shouldered the blame.
Together, players and coaches design match plans. However, the responsibility for implementing the actions of those plans rests squarely on the players’ shoulders.
We can see no greater example of this than in last season’s Champions Cup decider, when Ciarán Frawley narrowly missed a match-winning drop goal that would have delivered the trophy to Leinster.
When Leinster then lost to Toulouse in extra-time, the knives came out for Cullen.
A few weeks later, playing for Ireland in the second Test against South Africa, Frawley once again took a match-defining attempt at drop goal. As it sailed between the posts, Andy Farrell was lauded for the success.
Neither Cullen nor Farrell was responsible for the drop goals that defined the outcome of those matches.
Those who pay good money to watch their team are more than entitled to their opinions (although opinions are like backsides: everyone’s got one). But it is imperative to remember that the commitment of supporters is next to nothing when compared to the almost pathological dedication of those in the team.
With that in mind, consider the extent of pain in the hearts of the Leinster players and coaches as they watched another opportunity drift past them.
This does not mean we cannot strongly critique Leinster’s performance, but simply to blame the coach is superficial and unfair. In the Round of 16 and in the quarter-finals, Leinster’s defence did not concede a single point. Yet against Northampton, Leinster’s defensive systems and tackling were well below standard.
The key statistic for Leinster is that they made only 97 tackles compared to Northampton’s 153. Yet they missed a staggering 41, giving them a horrible success rate of only 58 per cent.
You don’t win big knock-out games with defensive numbers like that. If players miss tackles, no defensive system can work. For some reason, Leinster lacked the urgency to organise and the aggression to hit.
Henry Pollock’s try was the greatest example of the lack of energy inside Leinster’s defensive system. In the lead up to his try, Northampton took possession from a Leinster kick. The chasing line from Leinster was a disorganised and disconnected dog-leg. It was so low on urgency that even after a tackle had been made, on the very next play, Leinster’s defensive line had not yet fully organised itself. This allowed Pollock to run into a gaping hole just one pass from a ruck.
While an ugly sense of entitlement has seeped into Irish fan culture, we should really be applauding Northampton’s attacking masterclass on how to deconstruct Jacques Nienaber‘s rushing defensive system. To achieve this requires attacking teams using footwork before contact and a short passing game that can combine with exceptional ball movement skills to get the attack into the wide channels where there are no defenders.
Over the past six seasons Leinster have been knocked to the canvas so many times I doubted they could muster the spirit to get back on their feet
Northampton designed an exceptional attacking game plan based on skill and bravery that ultimately dismantled Leinster’s defence. As the attacking wave washed over Leinster, sadly the many mental scars that the team has accumulated over the past five years emerged.
It was tough to watch.
Many years ago, I visited the Carlton AFL club in Melbourne, Australia. On the wall of their training area was a large sign that read: “We win together and we lose together.” It is mantra that holds strong inside every team with a powerful culture.
Teams like Leinster. Staff, coaches and players are as one in being responsible for the team’s performance in victory or defeat. A club’s unity of purpose for a shared responsibility.
Over the past six seasons Leinster have been knocked to the canvas so many times that I doubted they could muster the spirit to get back on their feet to contest at the elite end of the game. After so many heartbreaking defeats the burden must be heavy to carry. Somehow they defied the odds and fought on. In each season they have proved me wrong.
That is because champions get up when it seems they can’t.
Time will tell us if this is the end of this group’s unimaginable story – or just another heartbreaking chapter along their journey to a yet unfulfilled final goal.
