Following Leinster’s 35-12 victory over the Bristol Bears in their Investec Champions Cup opener, we pick out our winners and losers.
Winners
Sam Prendergast
The kind of conditions that Bristol produced on Sunday evening provided a wonderful litmus test for any young fly-half, particularly one so much in the spotlight as Sam Prendergast is.
The newly-capped Irish pivot didn’t have it all his own way in the first-half, but the blast of the whistle to signal the start of the second 40 flipped a switch for the rookie.
Sure, he was aided by the introduction of Jordie Barrett – more on him shortly – and the class that Leinster have all around the park but he was far more than just a passenger.
The mark of a good fly-half is their ability to adapt their game to suit what is in front of them in terms of the opposition and weather, and today Prendergast succeeded in doing just that. Then there was his sharpshooting from the tee and his excellence with ball in hand to grab a brace of tries. It’s some year for the 21-year-old who has a really bright future ahead of him.
Joe McCarthy
Another mighty shift from the 23-year-old second rower who was able to empty the tank with the knowledge that a double World Cup-winning Springbok could pick up from where he left off. However, what really made Joe McCarthy a winner today was the fact that he was not sent to the sin-bin for his football antics.
If Jacques Nienaber had hair, he would have ripped it all out today as on three occasions his players tripped up the Bristol Bears’ ball carriers – literally. Only one-third of them visited the sin-bin with Prendergast’s actions completely missed by the officials but Max Deegan’s was not. While McCarthy’s actions were picked up, Pierre Brousset saved him the embarrassment of visiting the sin-bin for his actions. A frankly puzzling decision as previously a slide tackle or trip of that kind is an automatic yellow card.
Benhard Janse van Rensburg
Benhard Janse van Rensburg has been a fan favourite almost from day one at Bristol Bears and his stocks just continue to rise as he shifted into the fly-half role after AJ MacGinty’s injury.
It is not a foreign position as the South African started his career out as a fly-half and today he showed just how impactful he can be in that role.
The 27-year-old put a rather solid shift in the number 10 role despite Leinster ultimately cruising to victory but the outcome was not through his performance.
Jordie Barrett
A try, an assist and a flawless defensive shift. Did we really expect anything else? All Blacks star Barrett has proven his world-class pedigree time and time again. Today was just another addition to that catalogue as he produced a blinder on his Leinster debut.
He slotted in seamlessly and looked as he too had grown up in the Leinster system. He even threw a glorious out-the-back-door pass in the latter stages of the game.
Jacques Nienaber
Even though the former Springboks boss will be fuming with the needless cards and football tackles, he will be pleased that his defensive system held the best Premiership attack to just two tries.
The first came after a significant amount of pressure in their own 22 and was scored from short range. The final lunge from Max Lahiff was a smart move from the prop who spotted a mismatch with Prendergast guarding the ruck. The fly-half should never have been there, simply it was an error from a young player and one that can be easily fixed.
The next try came from a moment of individual brilliance at a time when his side were well up on the scoreline. Nienaber has high standards and will let rip about those two tries and the trip-ups but, overall, his system stood firm and it bodes well for another mighty challenge with Clermont up next.
Losers
AJ MacGinty
The brilliant USA international was forced off the pitch after just four minutes in what was a hammer blow for Bristol’s chances. Against a team like Leinster, you need a lot to go your way and MacGinty is a game-changer that could have really made a difference.
Hopefully, he will be able to return in time for the clash with La Rochelle as he is a pivotal part of the Bristol team.
Leinster’s football tactics
We have banged on about it repeatedly already but it was a sad sight for a team that has a world-class defence coach – the best in the business in fact – to see the players resort to sticking out legs to trip the ball carriers like a centre-back.
One of the incidents resulted in a yellow card but really there should have been three.
The rest of pool 2
Leinster lay down a marker today and not only because they won the match by 23 points but the manner in which they did it. Leo Cullen’s side were not at their best in the first half and certainly improved in the second but that was from vintage. Still, they walked away with a full house of points and set their sights on Clermont who brushed Benetton aside on Friday evening.
They then clash with their old foe La Rochelle before taking on Bath and, after this weekend’s results, a win over Clermont will put Leinster in the driving seat to top the pool. Leinster have the capacity to rest players over the festive period and go full hog in those two later Champions Cup matches which will spell danger for the rest.
Meanwhile, Bristol were hamstrung by MacGinty’s injury but still produced a strong 40 minutes and they showed today that if you are not switched on, they can score something out of nothing. Pat Lam’s side are dark horses so beware.
Ciaran Frawley
Barrett’s success in his first outing for Leinster threatens Ciaran Frawley’s spot in the matchday 23 for the remainder of the Champions Cup, particularly once Jamie Osborne returns.
Frawley’s form of late has been turbulent to say the least as he has swung from world-beater to an absolute mare. He is bound to get a shot in the upcoming Irish derbies and it will be crucial for him to take at least one of them.
Ellis Genge
The Bristol Bears loosehead was having a fine outing in all facets of the game and particularly at scrum time where he gave Rabah Slimani a real hard time.
However, Genge left the pitch looking rather uncomfortable and was unable to return to proceedings when the Bears needed further front-row cover. The England star has had a torrid run of injuries in recent times and it would be a real shame if this injury sidelines him again.
Andrew Porter
It was almost like the Grandpa Simpson meme for Andrew Porter as he entered proceedings only to return to the touchline a short few minutes later. Unfortunately for the Irish loosehead prop, referee Brousset had enough of the scrum delays and found Porter to be guilty of delaying it. In a rare scene, Porter and Lahiff both got yellow carded and rather comically.
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Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/bristol-bears-v-leinster-winners-and-losers-all-black-produces-a-blinder-on-debut-despite-teammates-embarrassments
