Gordon D'Arcy: The stage is set for Ross Byrne to silence the naysayers. The Johnny Sexton safety net has been removed so it’s up to Ross to build upon his measured performance in the quarter-final victory over the Leicester Tigers.
Jake White’s Bulls were forewarned and forearmed, using their superior power to rough up their visitors and then exploit that dominance through the pace of their back three in which Kurt-Lee Arendse and Canan Moodie excelled. Deegan produced another accomplished display, but Leinster were battered and bruised; it was a backhanded compliment that the Bulls went after them full-bore.
The French club’s policy since the start of the new year has been to play their full side at home and send the squad players out on the road. Antoine Dupont has only been involved in one matchday 23 for an away match in the French Top 14 and that was a game on New Year’s Day. When at Leinster Joe Schmidt would occasionally steal some time, devote a training session to an upcoming key game, rather than prepping for the next game on the schedule. It was very rare, complicated things a little for the players who were doubly engaged, and in terms of the net result, the material benefit gained was arguable.
Leinster have been almost ever present in the knock-out stages of Europe and the various incarnations of the URC since I retired in 2015 but have only one European Champions Cup trophy to show for their endeavours. The stage is set for Ross Byrne to silence the naysayers. The Johnny Sexton safety net has been removed so it’s up to Ross to build upon his measured performance in the quarter-final victory over the Leicester Tigers.
Jamison Gibson-Park, Robbie Henshaw, Caelan Doris and Tadhg Furlong will need to emulate Garry Ringrose’s impressive growth this season and the consistent excellence and positive influence he has brought to bear in big games. Toulouse can play any which way that suits. They probably kick a little more than Leinster to try and squeeze the opposition territorially but are lethal on turnover ball, or that which is poorly kicked. Their strike plays aren’t too shabby either.
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