Blunt attack
One moment in the first half sums up where Leinster are at the moment. Ian Madigan fielded a kick deep in his 22. The chase was poor and Madigan had four Leinster men outside him. These were the sort of situations where an alarm would go off in Dr Phil Contepomi’s head that screamed, ‘IT’S ON!’ but Madigan just drilled the ball down the field without even looking.
It is hard to remember a single Leinster line break outside of Eoin Reddan’s late dart. Harlequins? Well, Matt Hopper had a handful, Marland Yarde was a threat and Joe Marler made what was probably the most scorching break of his career.
For the third straight Champions Cup game, Leinster’s attack stalled. Ian Madigan’s passing was crisp and accurate, but little was done with the ball when it was passed outside.
Reddan’s impact
Just like in Castres, Eoin Reddan made a massive break that contributed to the winning score. The decision to start Isaac Boss was pretty baffling in mid-week, and that hasn’t changed in the aftermath. Boss was caught in possession on a few occasions whereas Reddan’s delivery was as quick as it always is.
Reddan also had the instinct to take that quick tap after his initial break. Leinster desperately needed some momentum at the time and that decision sparked a sweeping move across the pitch that culminated in the winning penalty being kicked.
On recent performances, there is case to be made for Luke McGrath coming into the 22 in the place of Boss.
The breakdown battle
Leinster usually excel in the contact area but their clearing out was nowhere near as sharp as it needed to be to ensure quick ball. Luke Wallace was constantly able to either poach the ball outright or disrupt it to a level that ruined Leinster’s attacking platform.
The Quins defenders were faster to the ball and tigerish on arrival. One chance in particular – after Jimmy Gopperth’s excellent kick to within 5m of the line – was scuppered after Rhys Ruddock was held up just short and all the Leinster players were caught ball watching.
Three early chances were wasted because of Leinster’s inability to protect their own ball – that is unacceptable if the team hope to progress further in the competition.
Madigan/Fitzgerald combo shows promise
As a whole the backline didn’t really fire but the two former Blackrock pupils looked good together. Luke Fitzgerald’s aggressiveness on the ball was well suited to Madigan’s slingshot passes.
Fitzgerald doesn’t simply step, he explodes. Every time the ball was in his hands, he was looking to exploit the space around the Quins defenders. After so many injuries, it is great to see Fitzgerald’s sharpness has not been dulled one bit.
Madigan’s bullet miss-passes were exceptionally accurate and his ability to put his comrade into space allowed Fitzgerald to dance over the gain line in the first half like he was tearing up the dance floor in Coppers.
Leinster fans were understandably excited about seeing the two Blackrock boys in tandem, and the early signs were very promising.
Does Jack McGrath need a rest?
For the second week in-a-row, the Leinster scrum struggled badly and Jack McGrath was the man Romain Poite picked out regularly. McGrath also had a tough time against Castres at scrum time and it is important to note that McGrath hasn’t played such a series of intense games in-a-row before in his career.
It would be very hard for Matt O’Connor to rest McGrath with two big inter-pros on the horizon but that might be what the loosehead needs to regain his top form.
