Barrett shows class but Clermont and lineout give Leinster plenty of problems in nervy win
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A ninth win in nine games for Leinster this season, and a second straight win in the Champions Cup, but Leo Cullen’s side were made to work much harder than expected by their French visitors on a wet and cold Saturday evening.
Some of that work they made for themselves.
Clermont Auvergne had former Wallaby Irae Simone starting at out-half for the first time at the age of 29, but it was still a strong team and the Top 14’s third-placed side kept this one competitive for the entire 80 minutes.
No bonus point for Leinster then. That never looked remotely likely.
The Champions Cup has taken on a tonne of water in recent years, the diluting of its competitiveness aided by the English and French unions with their structural sabotage and the tendency of too many teams to play weakened and disinterested sides. Kudos then to Clermont here. And Leinster?
Sam Prendergast again looked to the manor born, and Jordie Barrett looked classy if a tad out of his comfort zone at times in a full-back role that has become unfamiliar, while James Ryan and Max Deegan got through untold work.
Standing out more than any of those, though, was a malfunctioning lineout that did untold damage to best-laid plans. They had 16 throws on the evening and could only claim 60% of them. Not nearly good enough.
Like Ireland this last year and more, most recently in November, Leinster have serious issues to solve out of touch if they are to have any hopes of fulfilling their undoubted potential in this tournament and claiming a fifth star.
They fell behind after less than five minutes, a grubber kick from Simone ricocheting off Max Deegan’s boot and into the path of the chasing Pierre Fouyssac whose offload set it up for Alivereti Raka to get over from the next ruck.
Alex Newsome’s conversion made it the perfect start for the visitors who went on to make it difficult for a Leinster team that looked slick at times in general play but had so many problems at the lineout and had other issues in the away 22.
Leinster finally stitched enough rugby together in the 22nd-minute, a period of incessant pressure and phases ending close to the try line with Prendergast wrapping around, taking a pass from Deegan and sending Garry Ringrose over.
Their next try was a close-run thing, Newsome dropping a gift on the Leinster line with five points abegging and, before Clermont knew it, they were back-pedalling frantically to the far end where only a penalty concession halted their assailants.
It was a short reprieve with Barrett sent over for the try seconds later, his second in just his second game for the club. Prendergast sullied an otherwise excellent half by missing the gettable conversion and it left Leinster with a 12-7 lead at the break.
Tight on the scoreboard, the first-half had its moments of vibrancy. The second was a much scrappier affair as a light rain drizzled down on the stadium and even a yellow card shown to Peceli Yato for a blatant shunt on Prendergast didn’t engineer much separation.
Prendergast put over the penalty to add to Yato’s punishment but Clermont managed the next ten minutes mostly in the Leinster half or in the game’s middle third. Two missed kicks to touch from the young Leinster ten played a big part in that.
The game ticked through the hour mark with just the eight points between them and with ne’er a hint of control from the home team, not least when reserve hooker Barnabe Massa sprinted clear from his own 22 and almost set up a breakaway try.
This one was getting very uncomfortable.
A star-studded Leinster bench helped them pull away from Bristol Bears on opening weekend six days earlier but that didn’t happen here, even as the likes of RG Snyman and Jack Conan were sprung from the pine. There were no more scores.
Leinster turn their focus now to three rounds of URC interpros and then revert to Champions Cup action in January with a trip to Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle before they wrap up their Pool 2 duties with the visit of Bath to Dublin.
Barrett, L Turner, G Ringrose, R Henshaw, J O’Brien; S Prendergast, J Gibson-Park; A Porter, R Kelleher, T Clarkson; J McCarthy, J Ryan; M Deegan, J van der Flier, C Doris.
J Conan for van der Flier, R Slimani for Clarkson, RG Snyman for Joe McCarthy, G McCarthy for Kelleher (all 48); A Osborne for Turner (53); F Gunne for Gibson-Park and R Byrne for Prendergast (both 65); C Healy for Porter (76).
A Newsome; L Tauzin, P Fouyssac, G Moala, A Raka; I Simone, B Jauneau; E Falgoux, E Fourcade, M Ala’alatoa; P Yato, R Simmons: K Tixeront, A Fischer, F Lee.
B Urdapilleta for Moala (HIA, 18); T Giral for Fouyssac (27); C Ojovan for Ala’alatoa (HT); B Massa for Fourcade and G Akhaladze for Falgoux (both 52); O Rixen for Simmons (62); S Bezy for Jauneau and A Chalus-Cercy for Fischer (both 68).
L Pearce (England).