The Leinster red card reaction and why they turned down kick at goal
Vanquished Leinster have shared their thoughts on why they turned down the opportunity to kick at the Aviva Stadium posts from long distance when trailing by a point with five minutes remaining in their agonising 26-27 defeat to La Rochelle.
The Irish side were awarded a 75th-minute penalty five metres in from the touchline on the 10-metre line after Jonathan Danty was yellow-carded for his high tackle on Caelan Doris to make it a 14-versus-14 contest just minutes after the home team’s Ronan Kelleher had been carded for a maul collapse during the lead-taking converted La Rochelle try.
However, instead of going for goal and the glory off the tee, Leinster decided that Ross Byrne should instead kick possession into touch in the 22 and that they would attack from there.
That try-searching tactic nearly paid rich dividends, Leo Cullen’s team massively pressuring the La Rochelle defence, but their momentum was killed when Michael Ala’alatoa was red-carded on 78 minutes for his shoulder-to-head contact with Georges-Henri Colombe at a ruck just metres from the try line. That left the match finishing with just 27 players on the pitch, 13 for Leinster and 14 for La Rochelle.
When Danty was yellow carded and the opportunity was there for Byrne to kick what could potentially have been the cup-winning points, he was four from six off the kicking tee for his afternoon’s work – his two misses coming from near-touchline conversions that hit an upright on both occasions in the first half.
Asked about the chat that led to Byrne going down the line rather than taking his chances with a kick at the posts, Garry Ringrose, who had assumed the Leinster captaincy following the 30th-minute departure of the injured James Ryan, said: “With regards to Ross, it’s always an option there and I would have 100 per cent trust in his feeling on the spot.
“We have seen him in big games get kicks from there, so I trust his gut on that. We backed ourselves in the decision we made.”
As for the subsequent breakdown incident that had referee Jaco Peyper reaching for the red card to dismiss Ala’alatoa for his illegal contact with Colombe, the player the sub prop couldn’t prevent from getting over the try line at the other end of the pitch on 71 minutes, Leinster boss Cullen remarked: “I’ll have to look back on it in more detail. You have got to just trust the referee’s call on the day.
“You know, it’s at the end of the game, I don’t know. I’ll have to look back on it, but I didn’t dwell too much on it in terms of studying the footage more.
“It was more ‘let’s try and put a plan together’ before the card even came out. I was getting a sense from the conversation that we needed to make an alternative plan, so I was more focused that at the time.”
The one-point loss for Leinster came 12 months after they were beaten by a three-point margin by the same La Rochelle opposition in Marseille. It hurt, but Cullen insisted his team won’t give up trying to win its fifth European title and a first since 2018. “It was an unbelievably tight game,” he reflected.
“Great occasion, amazing out there in terms of the atmosphere and everything else. The dressing room in there is pretty gutted as you can imagine because it means so much to the players, everyone has worked incredibly hard to get to this point and so, so close, unbelievably close.
“We started the game really well, lots of really positive things in the first half. On the flip side of that, second half even though we came up with some good turnovers in our end of the field we didn’t exit that well, so it just means we were feeding La Rochelle, they kept a lot of possession, territory that second half.
“Tight margins, they managed to get over the try line at the end this time last year. We are in that situation this year and we can’t get over the line. That’s how close it is. It has come down to the finest of margins on both days and unfortunately, on both sides of it, we just haven’t been good enough to do it. We just need our guys to stay at it, keep believing they will get there.
“There are things that guys will look back at with regret but unfortunately but it wasn’t to be today, but the big thing is not to lose heart. We are so close to it and we came up against a very, very good team.
“You have got to give them [La Rochelle] a huge amount of credit. They stuck at it after the start that they had and the character they showed to come back. You have got to give them a huge amount of credit. It’s devastating really. We went through that final where we went through being 16 points down in the past (versus Northampton in 2011), so I know what that feeling of jubilation is like.
“Now we are experiencing the other side of it where the players have built a big lead, 23-7 in the first half, and they get in for a try just before half-time. That is what you are going to get, it’s the top-end of the game we are operating at here.
“Up against a good team, well drilled, very good individual players, a slightly different model, the top Top 14 in terms of where they pull players from all around the globe.
“We have a bunch of guys that came through the system here for the most part and we have just got to stay at it. Just got to stay at it. Keep believing in what they do, working hard every day, keep pushing each other along. They will be back.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Beautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe 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
4 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 Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 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!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 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.
30 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 comments