Stone cold killers show no signs of letting up

No room for romance as Cullen’s all-conquering Leinster deliver statement

Jack Conan of Leinster scores his side's first try during the Guinness PRO14 Final match between Leinster and Munster at the RDS Arena

Ruaidhri O'Connor Twitter

March 29 2021 02:30 AM

Those of us on the outside looking in saw Munster as a team with all the probable cause in the world. Once again, we overestimated motive when considering Leinster’s ruthless killer instinct.

The lads on Mindhunter would have a field-day with Leo Cullen’s stone-cold assassins. Most of them had just completed a Six Nations, they were going for a fourth Guinness PRO14 in a row and Toulon are in town next Friday in the competition they really want to win.

There was no blue army to back them, while Munster had their retirees and 10 years of hurt stored up in what we expected would be an emotional performance.

Like an All-Ireland final involving Dublin and Mayo, there is no room for narrative when these teams meet.

Leinster turned this thriller into a cold-case review, reduced an intriguing classic into a tired old repeat.

When Mike Adamson ended Munster’s misery with the full-time whistle, there was no out-pouring of joy but smiles more suited to men who had just completed a decent week’s work and could look to a meal-kit and a nice glass of wine.

Another medal for the collection, another year walking by the PRO14 trophy at their UCD base and another excuse to sip a beer in the changing-rooms afterwards.

For Devin Toner, Scott Fardy and Michael Bent who lifted the trophy together, this might be the beginning of the end of the road. Contracts are up and the budget has contracted, the senior figures are the ones who will pay the price.

But then you look at the young men who drove the team forward at every opportunity.

Rónan Kelleher gave the watching Ireland assistants, John Fogarty and Paul O’Connell, a 65-minute showcase of the things he can do that Rob Herring can not. One lineout went astray, but that wasn’t really the point as he threw men in red jerseys around the place for fun.

Ryan Baird came off the bench and stripped CJ Stander with his first touch. Andrew Porter came in for Tadhg Furlong and reminded everyone that there’s more than one world-class tighthead prop in this neck of the woods.

Could any other team do what Leinster did with Dan Leavy, Will Connors, Caelan Doris, Scott Penny and Josh Murphy out injured?

Between them, the outstanding Rhys Ruddock and Jack Conan carried the ball 43 times for 106m. Josh van der Flier’s impacts were less frequent but just as good. They reduced Gavin Coombes, Peter O’Mahony and the retiring Stander to by-standers.

For all of the romantic narratives we can apply to sport, this group of players live by a simple code.

“We want to win everything we can, we want to win every single game in every competition we’re in and that doesn’t change,” Conan said as his mind instantly drifted forward to the arrival of Toulon. “It’s even more important this week.”

Before the bus departed for the long, familiar journey south, Johann van Graan dialled into another Zoom call to explain another loss to Leinster.

This was his fourth PRO14 campaign to end in defeat in Dublin 4. For all the improvements that have been made on his watch, the target keeps shifting and they can’t close the gap.

For the South African, the equation is simple. Leinster are the best team in this league and Munster are the only team who can get close to them.

Getting close and beating them are very different things.

“There was no doubt in our minds that we could come and win here today,” he said. “We know that it’s an away final against the three-time champions so there’s no way around that.

“It doesn’t help that you try and tell them some fairy tale. We’ve got to keep chasing them and currently, they are just too good for us.

“What I would say on top of that comment, they’re currently too good for everybody in the PRO14 so I believe that we are the closest to them. Unfortunately, that’s not good for us. We want to keep chasing them.

“We had a lot of belief about this but once they go two scores up, nobody catches them.

“We knew we were in trouble at 16-6 and if you look at those last five minutes, the more we wanted to play, the more they just shut you down.

“The way Robbie Henshaw hit Chris Farrell kind of summed it up a little bit.

“Give credit where credit’s due. I said to Leo afterwards, ‘Well done, you guys are the well-deserved champions and it’s up to everybody else to keep chasing you guys’.”

The game-tape will not be pretty viewing for the beaten team, who must pick themselves up for Toulouse on Saturday.

Considering their own standards, Leinster will review the footage and wonder how this was so close.

If they can bring that level of intensity and focus, they have the players in every department to hurt teams and there is no shortage of motivation.

“I think it’s just our mindset,” Conan said. “We got out there to win every moment in front of our face and we’re incredibly proud to play for this club, incredibly proud to play in the RDS and as finals go, it doesn’t get much bigger than playing your local rivals in the RDS.

“Obviously, it’s a weird few weeks. Lads come back in from international camp, there’s been lads who have been slogging away doing unbelievable work since we’ve been gone.

“So it’s tough to fit back in and pick up from where you left off and be able to build on it, but I think we put in a great 80 minutes today.

“Bar a few undisciplined moments, from myself included, in the first 40 minutes, I think we looked defensively really strong out there.

“We left a few scores out there, we could have punished them a few more times, but it’s a testament to how hard they work and how dogged they are that they don’t give up.

“We’re pretty happy with where we are after that 80 minutes, but there’s another few massive weeks to come here at the club.”

Normally, they’d be off on their holidays after the PRO14 final but this unusual season means there’s two more trophies to play for and they’ll turn up for work at UCD today as if they’ve achieved nothing – ready to go again.

Their brilliance puts a dent in whatever belief exists in the three other provinces. It’s going to take something special to bring this era of dominance to a halt.