'Mixed feelings' for Leinster after overcoming fierce Bayonne

Murray Kinsella Reports from Stade Jean-Dauger

18 MATCH POINTS from a possible 20. Four wins from four. 

Leo Cullen probably would have taken that if you’d offered it to him at the beginning of December.

Leinster have secured top spot in Pool 3 of the Champions Cup and will be playing at home in the Round of 16 in early April. In that sense, it has been business as usual for the Irish province.

They may still end up as one of the top two seeds – which would guarantee home advantage in a possible quarter-final and semi-final too – but they’ll have to wait to see how Bristol’s clash with Bordeaux and Glasgow’s game against Saracens go tomorrow.

Bordeaux and Glasgow are both already on 15 match points, so bonus-point wins for them would guarantee top-two seeding. Yet they’re facing challenging games, so Leinster will wait and see.

As they fly back to Dublin this evening, Leinster will be happy to have got out of Bayonne with the 22-13 victory. The home side were impressive, offering serious physicality, scoring a classy first-half try, and generally making life difficult for Leinster, with their brilliant home support playing a part.

The rain meant handling was tricky and Leinster’s attack was blunt at times, while they made errors on several occasions, but they did score a superb try through Dan Sheehan, while Sam Prendergast finished their second late on after a clever chip kick from Harry Byrne, before Max Deegan crossed for a third from a Bayonne lineout botch. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough time to grab a bonus-point score.

As with other recent games against Leicester, Ulster, Munster, and La Rochelle, the Leinster players had to dig in and show composure under pressure.

So there was good stuff sprinkled in with the frustrating moments against a good Bayonne side who were clearly motivated to defend their territory.

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The injury disruptions, of which there were a few, didn’t help Leinster, so their mixed feelings after the game were understandable.

“It’s full-on with the games at the moment, isn’t it?” said head coach Cullen.

“You come off last week’s game and you’re trying to integrate a couple of guys fresh back into the group. You’re creating a little bit of disruption in the team, some selections, but you’re trying to have a bit of fresh energy at the end of the game.

“So you probably see that maybe played out in the game. I don’t know, maybe I’m overthinking things.

“Listen, Bayonne is a very tough place to come. The conditions make it even harder and when we concede the try at the start of the game, they have a lead, so it’s perfect for them.

“We have some chances in the first half. I’m thinking there’s a cross-field kick to JJ where he has the ball and just loses the ball. Then there’s Tom Clarkson, where he looks like it’s a double movement essentially, and it’s another opportunity not taken.

“We were down in that area for a little while. Then you’re like, ‘Ugh, we’re in for a proper dogfight.’ The longer Bayonne are in the game, even though we know they have nothing to play for, they have a huge amount of pride.

“They were a team that played with unbelievable pride today. They fired into everything. You couldn’t say they were lacking in any contacts in the game, could you? So they were fully into the game and with a lead they’re even more into the game now, so they have a lead to defend.

“Then it became a bit more challenging at the start of the second half. We had to deal with a bit of disruption as well.

“It’s pleasing the way the players show good composure again to find a way to get to win the game. We’re a bit mixed feeling again in the dressing room. Pleased, but… there’s probably a big ‘but’ there as well.”

And that’s the feeling Leinster have had throughout this run of nine wins in a row – that there is more to come.

Winning nine consecutive games is obviously very positive. They have earned themselves a home Round of 16 clash in the Champions Cup and forced their way back into the URC play-off race after a slow start.

Yet Cullen and co. believe that they can be much better later this season, even if they’re now heading into a period of further disruption with a big group of players on Six Nations duty with Ireland.

“Obviously, a lot of lads will be away for two months between now and then,” said Cullen.

“But how much room for growth is there? It’s huge.

“We’ll continue to work with whatever group we have during the Six Nations and then it’s coming together again, similar to coming together after November.

“The only difference is conditions tend to be slightly better. The December and January games, it’s roll the sleeves up, it’s down-and-dirty in these types of conditions.

“We’ve had a bit of that. So the tail end of the season, it’s different.

“To get 18 points, you’d love to get 20, but listen, we’ve got 18. Take it. Move on. Lots of good stuff within that and let’s see where we end up.”