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It was a pity Leinster's invincible league campaign finished so anonymously, but they have entered the pantheon as the PRO14's greatest ever side
September 12, 2020, will go down in history as the strangest rugby final ever in Ireland. There was nothing at all odd about the sight of Leinster picking up a trophy – Saturday night’s celebration was their 11th such victory in 13 seasons. What was weird, though, was the lack of public adulation accompanying this latest Leinster PRO14 triumph.
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Previously won league honours were cheered to the rafters by adorning spectators, a combined 93,000 at recent showpieces in Glasgow and Dublin, but such was the effect of the pandemic restrictions currently in place in Ireland, you were hard-pressed to twig there was a game of magnitude taking place at the weekend.
Heading to Irish rugby HQ from the Ringsend direction, what caught the RugbyPass eye were Liverpool and Leeds jersey wearers stood outside the few watering holes open along the way, smoking cigarettes and having a natter before the TV football from England got started.
The rugby? Bar a few blue flags attached to some lamp posts as you approached the Dodder and a handful of fanatics waiting to cheer the passing team bus as it entered the Aviva, this was a showpiece robbed of the atmospheric hustle and bustle of league final day, something recorded in all its technicolour glory in the behind the scenes RugbyPass documentary on the 2018 decider featuring Leinster at the same ground.
Even the aftermath Saturday night was rather tame. It was 9.34pm when GALA’s Freed From Desire blared over the PA system as the trophy was classy lifted by departing long-serving duo, Rob Kearney and Fergus McFadden.
Incredible @leinsterrugby sealed a third consecutive title by coming from behind to beat @UlsterRugby in style 👏#GuinnessPRO14 report 👉 https://t.co/dhvdCSwSPl
Catch all the highlights at https://t.co/2lIuc64fpF 📺 pic.twitter.com/sdrYoPiwHp
— BKT United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) September 12, 2020
But after a follow-up blast of the Quo’s Rockin’ All Over The World, that was that. Out came the stadium crew to quickly disassemble the PRO14 trophy presentation stage and Leinster disappeared down the tunnel, their celebrations restricted to a few dressing room beers before they get back to work with Saracens due in town next Saturday for the rescheduled European quarter-final.
It was a pity Leinster’s invincible league campaign had finished so anonymously but they would rather that than nothing at all, and quite the bromance currently exists between them and the PRO14 organisers who are well aware they are the tournament’s greatest drawcard.
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“Comparisons have been made by some with the Ajax team of the 1970s and 80s where their dominance was built by a conveyor belt academy that delivered top-class players to the first team year after year,” enthused PRO14 boss Martin Anayi in the final’s digital match programme. “Leinster are arguably one of the best club sides in the world and that sets a high bar for everyone in the Guinness PRO14.”
Leinster boss Leo Cullen reciprocated when he eventually beamed in for the virtual post-match presser from the stadium bowels, chuffed that they had a title to play for given it looked for a while their campaign had terminated with the February 28 RDS destruction of Glasgow.
“Credit has to go to Guinness PRO14 organisers to get this condensed schedule out which is two pretty full-on derby games which leads into semi-final and final. It’s a nice clean end to the season, so huge amount of credit has to go to the tournament organisers. The were very proactive right from the off… it might have been easier to say, ‘We’ll cut our losses here and move onto the following season’.”
The now completed restart to the 50-week season that commenced last year in late September has enabled Leinster to enter the pantheon as the league’s greatest ever side, the unprecedented 63-game title hat-trick broken down into 50 wins, two draws and just eleven losses across the three seasons.
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It’s a consistency that is an enviable monument to rotation freshness, an ability to keep the squad ticking over in a fashion that doesn’t much affect collective performance no matter what the personnel available on any given weekend. Saturday night’s 27-5 win over Ulster provided further evidence. Talisman Johnny Sexton had epitomised so much that is good about Leinster at this business end of the tournament over the years.
Man of the match in the 2018 decider win over Scarlets, numerous PRO14 showpiece categories were topped by him coming into the 2020 final – most minutes played in finals (538), most points (76), most penalty goals (20), most conversions (8). But all those metrics mattered not a jot when it came to Cullen deciding his team would be best served by benching Sexton and starting Ross Byrne instead.
'We wish our fans and families could be here.' 🙌🔵@AindriuPorter chats to @eirSport following the #GuinnessPRO14 Final win over Ulster tonight. 👊#LEIvULS pic.twitter.com/zIsVLXCURa
— Leinster Rugby (@leinsterrugby) September 12, 2020
By the time the 35-year-old did step into the fray on the hour, the result was already decided with Leinster dominating, 20 points to 5 clear and Ulster wishing they hadn’t poked the bear with the brilliantly taken fourth minute try that was ultimately their only score.
There will be cribs that Leinster are far too good for the PRO14 in its current guise but rather than spin that as a negative, their hegemony should be embraced as a positive and their high standard something rivals should aspire to rather than complain about.
Their latest title triumph now beautifully sets the scene for next weekend, the juggernaut collision of the PRO14’s new hat-trick champions and Saracens, winners of the English Premiership in four of the five past seasons and reigning European champions whose reputation has been tarnished by the grubby salary cap scandal.
It’s one not to be missed – even though you will again be hard pressed again to twig a game of magnitude is taking place at an empty stadium pining for its raucous celebration days of old.
Leo Cullen's Invincibles go marching on 👏 https://t.co/624IRbw2Ll
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 12, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
Je suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
25 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
25 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
25 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
25 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
11 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
11 Go to comments