Another poor Leinster performance, another 40 point victory

Even the die-hard [tag]Munster[/tag] fan must admit that the [tag]Leinster[/tag] [tag]back-line[/tag] is something special to behold.

Last Friday I was in Donnybrook for the Celtic Magners League game against the [tag]Ospreys[/tag]. Leinster put in a poor performance, never getting out of second gear.

After conceding a really early try you might wonder about their resolution… then [tag]Kearney[/tag], try. [tag]O’Driscoll[/tag], try. Half-time respite for the Ospreys, then… [tag]Hickey[/tag], try. Kearney, try (magic). O’Driscoll, try. All within 9 minutes. Back off the gas, make a few substitutions.

Up in the stand we wave goodbye to the nice fellows from [tag]Swansea[/tag] who were sitting in front of us. Subs caused lack of concentration, concede 2 tries – panic? Hell no, let’s score a few more. Only got the one more for [tag]Gleeson[/tag] and beaten by the final whistle in the search for their seventh try. Final score: 45-22. [tag]Awesome[/tag], in the true “shock and awe” sense of the word.

Fast forward to today’s bitter cold and windswept [tag]Donnybrook[/tag]and a [tag]Heineken Cup[/tag] visit from [tag]Edinburgh[/tag]. A guaranteed place in the next round at stake. A strong Edinburgh team visiting. A capacity 6,400 stadium (!).

4th minute: Kearney, try. Period of good Edinburgh pressure but not converted to points. 21st minute: [tag]Phillipe “Dr. Phil” Contepomi[/tag], try. Lovely play from the Edinburgh back-line to put Southwell in, try! Couple of penalties from “[tag]The Doctor[/tag]“.

After the break, an inattentive pass from Leinster disappointingly gives Cairns a score in the corner after some good pressure from the Cappuccino Cowboys. Not to worry – [tag]Horgan[/tag] try. From their 10m line, [tag]Keogh[/tag], try. Horgan, try. Horgan, try (the hat-trick).[tag]Contepomi[/tag] man of the match with a try, 5 conversions and 3 penalties (, but [tag]D’Arcy[/tag] was up there with some scintillating breaks. Final score: 49-10

A [tag]poor Leinster performance[/tag], nothing convincing on display.