A penny for the thoughts of Tyler Bleyendaal after Leinster’s 10-try romp to victory against Harlequins at Croke Park.
For all bar 15 minutes at the start, it proved a rhapsody in blue, although tweaking a lyric from a Seals and Croft song seems more apposite; ‘summer breeze makes me feel fine blowing through the Harlequins defensive line’.
The majority of the 55,600 supporters that decamped to GAA headquarters got to savour the warm glow of the sunshine and the performance.
A history of Leinster and Harlequins' 'bloody' rivalry
The New Zealander joined the province last summer taking over from Andrew Goodman. There was always going to be an acclimatisation period, just as there was the previous year, when the players were inculcated into the teachings of the then new defence coach, Jacques Nienaber, the evolution of which this season has moved to a different stratosphere.
It’s been held as a comparable, Leinster’s defence brilliant, the attack/passing occasionally clunky and prone to breaking down – the old Alfa Romeo of the rugby world, nice to look at but not always dependable. But how much of this was driver error?
It would be foolish on the strength of a 62-0 win to suspend critical analysis or move to a case closed scenario but for large tranches of the game there was a lovely shape to Leinster’s attack, a consistent orientation that was both discernible and very effective. It was well thought and beautifully executed.
Harlequins picked two of the leading poachers in the English Premiership, Jack Kenningham and Will Evans, England international and number eight Alex Dombrandt, another backrow Chandler Cunningham-South in the second row and would have targeted the breakdown to go after Leinster possession.
The supposition was that the home side would have to commit numbers to protect their ball, but Leinster came up with a clever twin track rebuttal, using tip-on passes to win the gain-line collisions more often than not, or offloading after contact, which forced Harlequins to go back and around at rucks to try to sniff out turnovers.
As a ploy it was very effective. Tip-on passes only work if players run intelligent lines and the timing is right, examples of which were legion from a Leinster perspective. Quick ruck ball ensued.
Leinster and Ireland hooker Dan Sheehan is well known for hugging a touchline in phase play, and he did so semi-regularly and to great effect. Barrelling through two tackles, he set up the jumping off position for Leinster’s first try, taken acrobatically by Sam Prendergast. Sheehan’s carrying work was first class and, on several occasions, broke the game open for his team.
He was not alone. Josh van der Flier deservedly medalled in the man of the match stakes. Where once he might have been deployed to contesting the breakdown squabble, he was occasionally rehomed to the wider channels to devastating effect.
A first sighting occurred in the 11th minute as he powered into two tacklers, a more definitive involvement when he bounced Tyrone Green and accelerated into the visitors’ 22 in the preamble to the Joe McCarthy try.
On 24 minutes he ran a superb line as first receiver to break into open ground, and it was his switch pass that enabled Jamie Osborne to strike out for the try line and touch down. Van der Flier was also used in a passing capacity as the second to last player out near the touchlines. Jack Conan, excellent throughout, and later Max Deegan also popped up in those corridors.
Some of Leinster’s link-up play was superb, being able to pass out of the tackle, or straighten, draw and the soft hands in tight spaces that eventually unlocked the Harlequins defence. Ross Byrne’s try was a great example.
Prendergast’s ability to pick a pass, and the right one under pressure was a notable feature of his performance, and he was an excellent fulcrum for his team’s attacking set-up, as was Jamison Gibson-Park, who brought his customary speed and vision.
Jamie Osborne and James Lowe made a virtue of working in off their respective wings, particularly the latter who fulfilled a variety of roles as first receiver, punter-in-chief, and popped up frequently in the midfield. That roving commission wasn’t happenstance.
If Leinster players eschewed the jersey numbers on their backs, it had to be facilitated by work put in elsewhere by team-mates. Andrew Porter, RG Snyman, McCarthy and Conan did a great deal of the heavy lifting in the close quarter carrying, so too the outstanding Caelan Doris, all 24 occasions, from kick-offs or just trucking through the midfield.
Robbie Henshaw and Garry Ringrose were superbly direct in ensuring a good shape and it was nice to see a couple of flashes of Ringrose’s lovely footwork, not least for his try. Hugo Keenan is a Doppelgänger in work ethic for Winston Wolf in Pulp Fiction, based on his facility to clean up messes with no fuss, while remaining imperious in possession.
Glasgow Warriors will provide a much sterner test on Friday night at the Aviva Stadium, but Bleyendaal deserves a moment or two to reflect on a job well done, from whiteboard to scoreboard.
