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Nothing is as obnoxious as other people’s luck
The Pro14 final may yet open summer tour opportunities for Welsh and Irish players who didn’t make the first draft. With so many of the Irish and Welsh intended tourists involved in the Leinster v Scarlets final, you’ve got to think it’s statistically likely to open the door for one or two -through someone else’s misfortune. Bearing in mind that Ireland kick off in Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium on the 9th June and Wales at the RFK Memorial Stadium in DC a week earlier -even a few minor knocks or injuries could cause significant disruption to international preparation.
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Wales have thirteen of their thirty-one strong touring party involved with the Scarlets and Ireland have a massive sixteen of their thirty-two player squad, involved with Leinster, in addition to Munster bound Tadhg Beirne on his last game for Scarlets.
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As for the final itself you’ve got to think it must be the perfect end to the season for Leinster. The Dubliners put Scarlets to the sword in the first half of their Champions Cup semi-final just over four weeks ago and for me not enough has changed since then to tip the balance.
If anything, Leinster have been further battle-hardened by two hard grafted wins against Racing 92 and Munster. Scarlets might learn from those two matches how best to blunt Leinster, but they’ll also have learned in doing so you subdue yourself.
The positive for Scarlets is that they’ve had three wins in a row since the reverse to Leinster, but they haven’t really been tested in any of those matches. Even their Pro14 semi-final away to Glasgow felt like the Scots just didn’t turn up. Scarlets maybe needed to be pushed harder in that one to find the extra gear that will allow them to compete with Leinster. Don’t get me wrong, Scarlets aren’t a team with obvious weakness. They just don’t have Leinster’s strength from one to twenty-three.
As a player I always loved the big occasion -the bigger the platform the better I played. And Leinster seem to have no shortage of players prepared to step up and be match winners. Over time the biggest risk to Leinster will be complacency -and it’s virtually impossible to completely guard against it.
Their defence against it will be player turnover -always looking to identify the next hungry ambitious guy to move up to the first team -looking to promote a few every season. And that can be tough, especially if you have continuity in the coaching and backroom setup. You’re asking people to damage and even sacrifice personal relationships for the good of the Club and the team. That requires a culture maybe a little more rare in club rugby, but common in really successful sports teams.
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The good news for others? Chances to pick up the odd quality Leinster player being moved on who still has a lot to offer -if you can match English and French chequebooks.
An object in possession seldom retains the same charm that it had in pursuit
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