February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
Leinster 23
Montferrand 20
A 23-20 success at Montferrand mightn’t seem that impressive at first glance, but given that the French club had won all 20 of its earlier European games in its own impenetrable backyard, Leinster’s achievement was put into red-letter perspective.
For rugby’s uninitiated, the chances of coming away from France with anything more than a liking for the cuisine are about as good as winning the lottery, and, not surprisingly then, Leinster’s triumph has put them in pole position for automatic qualification from Pool Four. A repeat victory over Montferrand in Dublin this Friday would almost certainly secure a quarterfinal place for coach Matt Williams and his players.
However, the glorious retreat from France was tainted as wing Gordon D’Arcy was dangerously tackled by international wing David Bory in the act of scoring Leinster’s first try. Bory planted both his knees into D’Arcy’s back after the Leinster player had touched down — a cynical ploy that merited instant dismissal — but neither the referee nor his touch judges saw any evil, or were prepared to act on any evil.
With D’Arcy forced to travel home in a wheelchair and now on the injured list for the next vital game, Leinster were considering the option of “citing” Bory in the absence of any action by the myopic officials. Revenge by means of another victory on Friday might just be enough recompense.
A staunch defensive performance meant that Leinster were behind by only 17-9 going into the final quarter and after Brian O’Meara had converted D’Arcy’s try to add to three early penalties, the visitors were only a single point behind. They then completed a memorable European first when Denis Hickie scored in the corner in the final minute and O’Meara once again added the extra points.
Meanwhile, Ulster put themselves back in contention in Pool Six when they ground out a brave 13-9 victory over reigning French champions in Belfast. David Humphreys kicked two penalties and converted the game’s decisive try by James Topping. Ulster, Biarritz and the 2000 champions Northampton are now level with two wins each.
It was much more comfortable for Munster, who crushed Viadana of Italy by 64-0 in Cork. Munster ran in nine tries in all, with Ronan O’Gara scoring one and adding a further 19 points through eight conversions and a penalty. The key match is which should decide the group takes place between the Irish province and leaders Gloucester of England.
In the European Challenge Cup, a lower grade competition, Connacht lost their first leg game away to French side Narbonne by 42-27, meaning that Connacht have to win by more than 15 points in the return match in Galway on Sunday.