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Give 'perfect final' to best referee in the business – Andy Goode
Everyone expected this Investec Champions Cup final between the best two teams in the competition, and an English referee will now help to ensure it is the spectacle we all want it to be.
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With Irish and French referees out of the equation, England’s Luke Pearce is surely the frontrunner to get the whistle for the May 25 decider.
His control of the breakdown, desire to see a fast-paced game, and ability to communicate in French make him the perfect man for the job.
Leinster and Toulouse were deserved winners in their semi-finals. The fact that they were both closer affairs than anticipated is a testament to Northampton and Harlequins, but both played on the edge and got away with a few close calls.
Romain Ntamack’s tackle on Andre Esterhuizen wasn’t looked at in Toulouse and you could pick out any number of breakdowns at Croke Park, with most people highlighting Jack Conan’s turnover at the end in particular.
It’s only cheating if you get caught and I’m sure both teams will push the referee to their limits again, but Pearce should get the nod for me and would help to ensure a fair contest at the breakdown.
One decision that wasn’t in any way controversial but did cost Quins the chance to make it a grandstand finish in Toulouse was Joe Marler’s slap and insult directed at Thomas Ramos
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There are mouth-watering individual match-ups all over the field but Jack Willis’ duel with Josh van der Flier in that back row department is going to be among the biggest of the lot, along with Emmanuel Meafou against Joe McCarthy in the engine room.
We all know Willis’ story and he was extremely unlucky with injuries as well as the sad demise of Wasps, but he has added another dimension to his game since moving to France. It’s crazy to think he only has 14 England caps and won’t be adding to that number anytime soon.
Of course, we have got the two best scrum-halves in the world at the moment going head to head as well and the battle for ball speed between Antoine Dupont and Jamison Gibson-Park will go a long way to deciding who wins with both sides reliant on shifting the ball quickly.
It’s the mental aspect that is arguably most intriguing of all given that Leinster have had the wood on Toulouse in recent years but struggled to get over the line in finals and some other big knockout games of late.
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A certain Jacques Nienaber and his history of winning the biggest of games by a single point might just tip the balance in the Irish province’s favour and his defensive system has certainly started to take effect.
The South African said it would take 14 weeks to see the work on that come to fruition and that coincided with their quarter-final demolition of La Rochelle.
Out of the Ordinary defence from @StadeToulousain's François Cros putting in 19 tackles ??
And two EXTRAORDINARY assists from @leinsterrugby's Jamison Gibson-Park ?
No wonder he's an @Investec Player of the Year nominee, voting still open ??
— Investec Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) May 7, 2024
Toulouse have a bit more nuance to their game and play differently to the reigning champions but you don’t get too many blitz defences like Leinster’s in the Top 14, so it will be interesting to see how they react to it.
Selection is going to be fascinating too and the potential return of both Garry Ringrose and Hugo Keenan will give the Irishmen a massive lift. Jamie Osborne and Ciaran Frawley are both good players but they aren’t experienced at the highest level.
On the other side, Blair Kinghorn has been tearing it up and was preferred to Ramos at full-back for the semi-final. But you have to have your first-choice goal-kicker on the field in a major final that could be decided by the finest of margins.
I fully expect the Frenchman to get the nod, given he is an 84 per cent kicker at international level and has never missed more than two shots at goal in a Test in his career. Kinghorn might start on the wing once his nose has straightened up a bit.
They went down fighting ?
Massive credit to both @SaintsRugby and @Harlequins for making the semi-finals what they were ?
And brilliant travelling support too ?? pic.twitter.com/B8lyyqpdlz
— Investec Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) May 7, 2024
The tournament has come in for some criticism again this year but the product on the field has been outstanding and the fact the English teams have proven they can compete with the bigger budgets in France and Dublin has been an enormous part of that.
At the climax of it all, though, we have the two best teams locking horns at a phenomenal stadium in what should be a hugely entertaining showpiece – and you can’t ask for much more than that.
Toulouse will play their way and Leinster will need to have more than one man on Dupont at all times. If they can shut him down, I just feel like the Irish side, with a new South African accent, might just have the edge.
For all the good work that Stuart Lancaster did, in tandem with Leo Cullen, Leinster only won the Champions Cup once in his seven years there. That was all the way back in 2018 so it has been a long time since they lifted the trophy.
Nienaber has come in having won back-to-back Rugby World Cups, including winning every knockout game in 2023 by a single point. That defensive nous and winning mentality could be the difference in a major final.
The drive for five has been a mantra for Leinster and it will be tight, but I’m backing them to put a fifth star on their jersey and who better to do it against than the team they are looking to emulate?
Comments on RugbyPass
A distinct discomfort with the officiating they were probably selected from the local IRA narcos branch along with the commentators bloody fly tippers.
1 Go to commentsWow, never thought I would read that
1 Go to commentsExcellent match. Great to see Keenan and Ryan back for Leinster. Super result for Ulster. Season is turning around.
1 Go to comments“We need eight or nine new players, who are hard-wearing and durable and experienced Premiership performers”. So why are they scouting a retired fullback who himself admits that his “body is broken”?
1 Go to commentsBrumbies hand, knocked a Crusaders hand. Therefore, knock on in goal. Crusaders, goal line drop out should’ve been awarded. most likely after that 24 each at full time, so extra time would’ve been the right an entertaining outcome. Act Jim
1 Go to commentsSpeell cehck
1 Go to commentsColeman is gaawwwwnnn.
1 Go to commentsnext SA head coach?
3 Go to commentsGreat try by van Poortvliet.
1 Go to commentsThey have been cruelled by injuries but almost nobody (Sevu Reece and Fletcher Newell big exceptions) has played above himself which regularly happened before. Surely Scott Robertson had maintained the recruitment programme and it looks like a reasonable squad. Last in this competition will stall a lot of careers. Penny seems likeable. But it’s not enough even though this was better. We haven’t been good enough and it’s not helped by the “it’s been 15 years since… “etc “after nearly every match. Seems somehow a soft gifting of something once valuable. Kieran Read giving comments last week almost choked describing the easy surrender of possession by the forwards. I’d love to think that the senior players some of whom are back can show enough pride in the jersey to test the Blues next week.
3 Go to commentsWho will Joe select for the back three with so many in form candidates? Just hope he doesn’t get shafted like Dave Rennie and to a lesser extent Deans.
6 Go to commentsAlways reluctant to blame a coach when losses rack up, but Penney must go. The backline is dysfunctional and the coach must carry the can. No cohesion, no idea and in many cases, minimal skill. The trains out of Roma St depart faster than the ball from Crusaders’ set pieces. Wouldn’t be surprised if the forwards went on strike.
3 Go to commentsAdding to earlier comment. Cullen Grace has been playing great at no6. Lio-Willie , who was on fire a few weeks ago, had a bad game. I think Cullen should have been moved to 8 earlier, Dominic Gardiner on earlier. Feel for Quinten Strange , put in a big shift .
6 Go to commentsWe dominated the scrums Ben Curry was all over pitch again .Surely James Harper got to be one of best English tightheads
1 Go to commentsRoos is a better option at 6 than 8 for the boks. Needs to work on his windgat though.
1 Go to commentsThe Sharks’ 2nd team maybe?
1 Go to comments‘radical’
1 Go to commentsCome back to Christchurch Robbie, please!
1 Go to commentsI think there is zero chance Sam Cane will be selected for another Test. There is simply no point except sentimentality. Razor is not sentimental- ask Wyatt Crocket. Razor is a ruthless selector
5 Go to comments> It would be best described as an elegant solution to what was potentially going to be a significant problem for new All Blacks coach Scott Robertson. It is a problem the mad population of New Zealand will have to cope with more and more as All Blacks are able to continue their careers in NZ post RWCs. It will not be a problem for coaches, who are always going to start a campaign with the captain for the next WC in mind. > Cane, despite his warrior spirit, his undoubted commitment to every team he played for and unforgettable heroics against Ireland in last year’s World Cup quarter-final, was never unanimously admired or respected within New Zealand while he was in the role. Neither was McCaw, he was considered far too passive a captain and then out of form until his last world cup where everyone opinions changed, just like they would have if Cane had won the WC. > It was never easy to see where Cane, or even if, he would fit into Robertson’s squad given the new coach will want to be building a new-look team with 2027 in mind. > Cane will win his selections on merit and come the end of the year, he’ll sign off, he hopes, with 100 caps and maybe even, at last, universal public appreciation for what was a special career. No, he won’t. Those returning from Japan have already earned the right to retain their jersey, it’s in their contract. Cane would have been playing against England if he was ready, and found it very hard to keep his place. Perform, and they keep it however. Very easy to see where Cane could have fit, very hard to see how he could have accomplished it choosing this year as his sabbatical instead of 2025, and that’s how it played out (though I assume we now know what when NZR said they were allowing him to move his sabbatical forward and return to NZ next year, they had actually agreed to simply select him for the All Blacks from overseas, without any chance he was going to play in NZ again). With a mammoth season of 15 All Black games they might as well get some value out of his years contract, though even with him being of equal character to Richie, I don’t think they should guarantee him his 100 caps. That’s not what the All Blacks should be about. He absolutely has to play winning football.
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