Pool Two/ Leinster v Gloucester: John O'Sullivan talks to former Leinster forward Victor Costello about the province's quest to lose the tag of underachievers.
"Greatness is more than potential. It is the execution of that potential. Beyond the raw talent, you need the appropriate training. You need the discipline. You need the inspiration. You need the drive."
- Eric A Burns
Potential can be rendered into a positive and negative illustration of talent. Fulfil it and success should follow. Fail to deliver and risk drowning in a deluge of criticism. Just ask anyone closely associated with Leinster rugby in the 11 years of the Heineken European Cup, a province whose bi-polar disposition on the pitch has seen them field bouquets and brickbats alike.
When attuned, few teams can match the aesthetic splendour of Leinster's rugby but on the days when wires become crossed, the hiss of static is deafening. When raw talent and results are balanced on the scale of public opinion, Leinster are routinely pilloried as Irish rugby's great underachievers; style without substance. That attitude will persist until they taste European success.
Former Ireland number eight Victor Costello made his European Cup debut for Leinster on November 1st, 1995 and made the last of 57 appearances in that tournament - he's Leinster's most capped player in that competition - when coming on as a replacement in the 2005 quarter-final defeat by Leicester at Lansdowne Road.
During that period he endured the good, the bad and the rugby. He's suffered being thumped on French soil and revelled in administering beatings on halcyon nights at Donnybrook. He knows what it's like to play in a European Cup semi-final and lose, when expectation and intention were not endorsed by action.
He's listened to the musings of bar-room experts, alikadoos and the media who dispense criticism and occasionally offer a panacea for Leinster ills.
"There's no easy answer as to why Leinster haven't translated potential into a European Cup success. I suppose over the years there have been different reasons at different times for losing matches. It's not just about talent. It's about getting the timing right in terms of performance, attitude on the day, mental strength, physical strength and something that no team can do without: a little bit of luck.
"But probably the single biggest drawback has been a lack of consistency. If you look at Leinster's last two games against Border Reivers and Munster it sums up a long standing weakness. Against Munster everyone was hitting the same note, there was an aggression there to match the skill and flair. On their day Leinster are capable of beating anyone in the world and conversely because of that it's a stick used to beat them.
"I could have written the script for the Borders game. If you look at Munster in the Heineken Cup, they are remarkably consistent in terms of their performances; and you have to be, hitting seven out of 10 every game. There's no point in reaching nine one week and five the next. You can't dip below a certain standard.
"When a team like Leinster has that ability they're always going to be judged by that potential. If they didn't have those flair players then the attitude would probably be, 'ah god love them, but sure they did their best', but that's never going to be the case - and rightly so."
That Leinster houses the capital city and the team are regarded as preppish by the rest of the country comes with the territory. Costello laughs: "I was down in Jamestown, Leitrim, for the All-Ireland football semi-final between Dublin and Mayo, watching the game in a pub.
"Everyone was up for Mayo, relishing the fact that the city boys got whipped. If you look back at the Munster-Leinster semi-final last season, it was a game Munster simply could not lose. They didn't dare. When Anthony Foley talks about the fear of losing that match, he knows that he couldn't show his face in Killaloe if he did.
"The unconditional support given to them means so much to them as individuals and they guard it preciously. There is that wonderful bond between players and fans, sacrifices made, that facilitates a do or die approach. Leinster didn't have that but things are changing. In the past they relied on talent whereas the focus now has to be on getting results.
"It was only at Ronan O'Gara's wedding in conversation with Munster team manager Jerry Holland that I began to fully appreciate the complete and utter pride and determination that drives them as a squad. Skill might get you to the semi-finals in Europe but it is that pride and determination, feeding off the hunger and hurt that will win you a trophy.
"You have to applaud that attitude and those scenes at the final last year in Cardiff should be used as a worldwide marketing tool for the game."
There are signs that Leinster are making a connection in the community manifest in the numbers that travelled to Bath and Toulouse last season and the atmosphere at the recent clash with Munster. The suspicion is, though, that the province aren't tapping sufficiently into a potentially massive fan base.
As Costello observed, Leinster need to appeal to a broader section of sports fans. "What's wrong with people supporting the Dubs during the summer and Leinster in winter? They need to connect with the supporters on a regular basis right around the province. They have got to banish the images of the past of the guy who trots off to Kiely's, win or lose. You want to invite passion in the support, creating a Hill 16-like atmosphere. The team will profit because it'll give them momentum."
Until then Leinster won't be able to shake off their past. Costello recalls the days when travelling to France was undertaken with a mindset that lacked the belief to win.
It was about hoping to be competitive, occasionally achieved for 30, 40, 50 minutes and then capitulating. Costello recalled: "Some of the French teams we encountered in those days were better than the current vintage but we didn't have much faith in ourselves.
"Munster generated that huge travelling fan base, turning Toulouse or Biarritz into Limerick. When you are out there under the cosh it makes a massive difference. The home team would score a try and there'd be this explosion of noise. We'd get one only to be to be greeted by silence. It was a bit eerie. If you examine Leinster's home record, particularly at Donnybrook during those 11 years, it's very good.
"I'm not trying to make excuses. There have been poor performances."
There have also been occasions when Leinster simply haven't been good enough as a team, but it is the defeats to Perpignan (2000), Leicester (2004) and Munster (2006) that have taken the most sizeable chunks out of their reputation.
There have been too many aberrations to be swept away by mitigating circumstances related to each game. It would be wrong to suggest that the current management or group of players don't have the desire or wherewithal to push Leinster to a European title. No one works harder on the pitch or training ground than Brian O'Driscoll, Shane Horgan or Keith Gleeson and their example is aped by team-mates.
Costello admits: "Today against Gloucester is another significant staging post for this team. The Leinster pack need to rip into them from the start, set the tone and maintain it. If they don't then it'll be a case of the same old script.
"This Leinster backline has been around for the last five or six years and every one of them is playing well. We said in the past if we could give them a decent platform then they'd win us the game.
"Nothing has changed in that respect. You have to make the most of your assets and to do that the pack has to get some go-forward ball. It doesn't matter if it's a yard or 10. It's not about dominating an opposition pack, it's about winning the ball you want in the right places on the pitch. It's about keeping things simple and not over-complicating.
"I have every faith in this bunch of players. Consistency is the key. I like to think of Leinster as a sleeping giant, having great potential on and off the pitch."
Nine staging posts, no cul-de-sacs and a European triumph containing style and substance could exorcise a lot of ghosts.
The pleasure
2005-2006 quarter-final: Toulouse 35 Leinster 41
Arguably the province's greatest ever performance in Europe, when they travelled to Le Stadium in Toulouse and humbled the home team with a masterful display of running rugby. The pack provided the platform and Felipe Contepomi proved the playmaker supreme. It was his ability, courage and vision that unlocked the French side time and again.
Cameron Jowitt, Denis Hickie, Brian O'Driscoll and Shane Horgan grabbed the tries, with Contepomi kicking three conversions and five penalties. Not even two late tries by Yannick Nyanga and Yannick Jauzion could take the gloss off a performance that most neutral observers considered the best of the competition.
2005-2006 pool match: Bath 23 Leinster 35
This was a must win game for Leinster and they demonstrated the aptitude and the talent to hammer one of the top Premiership sides. Brian O'Driscoll led by example with a stunning performance but in truth it was a fine all round display by the team. Contepomi was once again a catalyst at outhalf while Malcolm O'Kelly's late try was crucial in securing a bonus point.
2003-2004 pool match: Sale Sharks 16 Leinster 23
Having suffered a surprise one-point defeat at home the previous week (23-22), Leinster were really up against it when they went to Edgeley Park in Manchester looking to rescue their aspirations, especially without the injured O'Driscoll. However, out of necessity, Gordon D'Arcy made his bow for the province in the centre and turned in a wonderful display.
It was his slicing break past the despairing tackle of Chris Mayor that created the game-defining try for Brendan Burke. Leinster's other wing, John McWeeney, had earlier crossed the Sale line while Brian O'Meara's boot did the rest of the damage. It reinforced a growing belief that the Irish province could go on the road and win.
1999-2000 pool match: Leicester 10 Leinster 32
It was a pretty toothless Tigers performance as they had nothing to play for at that stage of the competition, while Leinster would eventually miss out on tries scored, having tied with Stade Français on eight points. However, this game proved that the Irish province could compete away from home against the top English sides and was a forerunner to them winning away at Northampton the following season.
The pain
2005-2006 semi-final: Leinster 6 Munster 30
It all went wrong for Leinster from the kick-off, and the final couple of tries conceded to Munster outhalf Ronan O'Gara and centre Trevor Halstead simply exacerbated a thoroughly depressing day. Munster were by far the better side and although that wasn't reflected in the scoreboard until those final thrusts, they won with something to spare.
Leinster had probably gone into the game as marginal favourites by virtue of their win over Toulouse but that notion was quickly rubbished as the Munster pack held sway and their backs embellished the victory.
2002-2003 semi-final: Leinster 14 Perpignan 21
The suggestion was that Leinster would never have a better opportunity to win the competition, as both the semi-final and final would be played at Lansdowne Road. Having just about survived, certainly with a patchy performance against Biarritz Olympique, in the quarter-final, the Irish province threw away their chance of success with an insipid display against a workmanlike French side.
Matt Williams's decision not to start Nathan Spooner backfired, as did the absence of a place-kicker for Leinster who squandered opportunities. The stage had been set but Leinster fluffed their lines.
2004-2005 quarter-final: Leinster 13 Leicester 29
Lansdowne Road was to prove a graveyard for Leinster ambitions as they were eclipsed by a rampant Leicester Tigers. Bullied up front, Leinster never managed to get a foothold in the game, their only try coming late on from Shane Horgan. They had gone into the match as number one seeds in the competition but Leicester made a mockery of that.
The Tigers scored two tries, Ollie Smith and Daryl Gibson crossing in each half, and Andy Goode booted 19 points from four penalties, two conversions and a drop goal.
