'It might sound really harsh' - Jackman on Leinster's Achilles' heel

Former rugby Ireland hooker Bernard Jackman has raised concerns about Leinster’s depth ahead of the Investec Champions Cup final. Reflecting on Leinster’s narrow victory against Northampton, Jackman highlighted a recurring pattern of Leinster’s struggles to maintain leads in crucial matches.

Despite establishing a comfortable 17-point lead, Leinster faced a late onslaught from Northampton, reminiscent of previous encounters where sizable leads evaporated.

In the end, Leinster squeezed by 20-17 in a match that they appeared to dominate for much of the 80 minutes.

Sharks coach John Plumtree gives his view of a nailbiting one-point win over Clermont Auvergne in a Challenge Cup semifinal

Video Player is loading.

Play Video

PauseSkip BackwardSkip Forward

Unmute

Current Time 0:00

/

Duration 2:23

Loaded: 0%

0:00

Stream Type LIVE

Seek to live, currently behind liveLIVE

Remaining Time -2:23

 

1x

Playback Rate

Chapters

• Chapters

Descriptions

• descriptions off, selected

Captions

• captions settings, opens captions settings dialog
• captions off, selected

Audio Track

• en (Main), selected

Fullscreen

This is a modal window.

Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.

Text

ColorWhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanOpacityOpaqueSemi-Transparent

Text Background

ColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanOpacityOpaqueSemi-TransparentTransparent

Caption Area Background

ColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanOpacityTransparentSemi-TransparentOpaque

Font Size

50%75%100%125%150%175%200%300%400%

Text Edge Style

NoneRaisedDepressedUniformDrop shadow

Font Family

Proportional Sans-SerifMonospace Sans-SerifProportional SerifMonospace SerifCasualScriptSmall Caps

ResetDone

Close Modal Dialog

End of dialog window.

Close Modal Dialog

This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button.

Sharks coach John Plumtree gives his view of a nailbiting one-point win over Clermont Auvergne in a Challenge Cup semifinal

Speaking on RTE, Jackman emphasized the importance of a strong bench, noting a significant drop-off in performance once substitutions are made.

While Leinster boasts a formidable starting XV, Jackman believes their lack of depth could be a vulnerability, particularly as Leinster prepares to face either Toulouse or Harlequins in the final in London.

With the likes of second row James Ryan injured and Garry Ringrose only just getting back to fitness, Leinster’s bench is starting to look a little threadbare, argued the former Dragons and Grenoble coach.

“It may sound really harsh,” said Jackman, “but you look at that bench, and there’s only two players on it that are international standard: that’s Kelleher and Jack Conan.

“Healy coming off the bench, he’s got loads of experience but it’s a big ask of him to come off the bench and give you impact. The others: Jimmy O’Brien’s only coming back from injury, Jason Jenkins, Michael Ala’alatoa, that’s the scary thing for Leinster. When you look at this Toulouse squad, who’ll play tomorrow – the starting fifteen and bench.

“Garry Ringrose, James Ryan, maybe they can come back in, Hugo Keenan…Maybe you go 6-2 and you bring a Will Connors in as well.

With a number of injuries to contend with, @bernardjackman thinks Leinster will hope to strengthen his bench options when they face either Toulouse or Harlequins in the Champions Cup final #rterugby #LEIvNOR pic.twitter.com/GdfYqf4oQt

— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) May 4, 2024

“I think for Leo, there’s three weeks to get some of those players back fit so you get a 23-man squad who can help you get over the line.”