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Stuart Lancaster's very good reason to ignore hype about Leinster going entire 32-game season unbeaten

Stuart Lancaster has flourished since taking his coaching role with Leinster. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Stuart Lancaster was spot on jinking his way clear of the hype. There was the former England boss on the first Monday of 2020 being quizzed if Leinster can sweep all before them and remain unbeaten this season. Madness.

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Fourteen matches might have been already won on the bounce since the curtain was raised on September 28, but there is a heck of a long road still to travel before trophies are handed out.

A possible 13 matches remain in the Guinness PRO14. Another five in the Heineken Champions Cup, starting Sunday when Lyon pitch up at the Dublin RDS. No wonder Lancaster wasn’t losing any sleep about the notion of them finishing it out as invincibles. There is way too much rugby to be played yet.  

“No, no. It’s not something that I think any team would ever go and be that arrogant that you say we are going to go through the season unbeaten when you know the games that you have got to come around the corner,” he deflected the other day to Irish media.

Rightly so. As much as people are salivating over the momentum Leo Cullen’s squad have generated in registering ten wins in succession in the league and clinching their European pool with four straight triumphs in that tournament, their express train-like start to the season isn’t even the best in their club’s history.

(Continue reading below…)

RugbyPass went behind the scenes when Leinster won the 2018 Guinness PRO14 final in Dublin 

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Way back in 2001/02, when the Celtic League first came into being, a Leinster side under Matt Williams galloped all the way through to 15 successive victories. 

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At a time when the league only required a half-season to complete, they had become the inaugural winners of that tournament, defeating Munster in a rip-roaring December showpiece at the old Lansdowne Road. But the hype that they would go on and seamlessly double up was crushed at precisely this same juncture of the European season the class of 2019/20 are now ready to embrace.

Logistics did for them back in the day. Inclement weather twice cancelled their round five match at Newcastle, a fixture that eventually went ahead at a deserted Headingley in Leeds on a Tuesday night. A fraught 17-15 win was secured in front of a paltry 1,146 attendance and rather than head back to Dublin, with preparation time now in short supply they instead went direct from England to France where they dramatically imploded.

 

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Leinster is already up 26-0 here but after the Munster-Leinster clash was also starved of stars, have to think something is going on here. Is Irish Rugby sandbagging for the 2020 Six Nations after their disappointing World Cup? ??#irishrugby #leinster #connacht #sixnations #6nations #ireland #ulsterrugby #munsterrugby

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Toulouse trounced them 43-7, leaving them with an away quarter-final at Leicester a fortnight later and not a home game in Dublin. They were duly eliminated and while 18 years have since passed, the abrupt way that 15-match winning streak was shattered remains a sharp reminder that things don’t always run smoothly in rugby, even when it looks like you are at the top of your game.

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Leinster have clearly been ahead of the curve so far this term in so many ways. Whereas the league leaders in England and France – Exeter and Bordeaux – have each lost twice in the respective Gallagher Premiership and Top 14 competitions, Leinster have been supreme in marrying the demands of the PRO14 with their European ambitions in a World Cup season. 

Fifty players have been utilised in negotiating their schedule, 43 as match starters, but they know well there is still work to be done even though they are way ahead of so many past campaigns. 

Starting brightly has traditionally been a fraught Leinster problem. In ten of the 18 seasons since that 2001/02 benchmark, they were beaten in the first match of the season so there was never much of a chance to reprise that type of an all-conquering run. 

Even in their majestic double-winning season of 2017/18, they were picked off in just their fourth outing that term, losing down at Cheetahs in the league, and while they can now take great pride in already being qualified for this season’s European quarter-finals, they can’t really take their eye off the wheel either.

It was during the Williams era that Leinster memorably came up with DNFUJ, a ‘Do Not F*** Up January’ acronym that used to adorn their dressing room walls. 

Its importance hasn’t lessened in any way in the interim, Lancaster posting a reminder the other day about how an unexpected round six draw at Castres in 2017 saw them tumble from No1 to No4 in the knockout stage rankings. 

That failing cost them home semi-final advantage and resulted in them being beaten by Clermont in Lyon, the city whose team are now ironically Dublin-bound this weekend.

That was the type of harsh lesson which is keeping soarway Leinster honest, ensuring talk about an unbeaten season just doesn’t merit being entertained in any way just yet.  

WATCH: RugbyPass have made something truly special with the Barbarians rugby team – the release date is Sunday, January 12

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J
JPM 1 hour ago
Forget Ireland, the All Blacks face the real alpha of Europe next

Unfortunately you don't know anything about French rugby, coaches and players but still making a lot of assumptions and judgements to push your prefabricated and simplistic point of view that Dupont is manipulating everything and is a bad guy. I am not a NZ rugby specialist and wouldn't dare make such theories about what is going on within the ABs team. Therefore my advice to you is to do like Dupont and stay humble when you don't know all the background of the issues !!!


Firstly if you knew a bit of Galthié, he is not the type of coach who is going to ask advice to his players and even his captain about team selection. He is as stubborn as you...


Second Ramos has played a lot of times as 10 with Toulouse and therefore Dupont (in particular when Ntamack is injured and unfortunately it has often happened recently and for long periods). He even played 10 during the last 3 games of the 2024 6N and this was far better performance than the first two games with Jalibert as 10.


Thirdly Jalibert lacked of respect to a La Rochelle player so your theory is once again out.


Fourth as I explained to you Galthié went for a 6-2 bench and Jalibert can only play 10 which doesn't fit that plan. Furthermore as 15 Buros is better under high balls than Ramos and everybody is prepared for a tactical kicking game.


So you can blame Galthié for a lot of things (as you clearly enjoy doing at the end of your post and you should be very happy as an AB fan) but certainly not Dupont. Sorry once more for your conspiracy theory.


And don't worry about potential disharmony in the French team; they are excellent mates around their captain. Jalibert is well known in the French rugby circles to have not a strong character (and we saw that in the WC quarter finals as he is very nervous in any decisive international game unlike Ntamack and Ramos as for his late penalty kick vs England this year).


In conclusion enjoy the game tmrw night. It is good that the ABs are very upset; we should watch a great game of rugby. I hope for running rugby and not too much kicking. With 5 key players injured on our side (Ntamack, Baille, Atonio, Cros and Penaud) and 2 on your side I and various French fans see you as favourites. I obviously hope for another result.


If you are interested you can read a good article in the Guardian on the subject of France-NZ games.

92 Go to comments
K
KB 1 hour ago
The 'one difference' between Boks and the back-to-back All Blacks

Consistency hasnt been there they have many great players SA were also not unbeaten in the 2023 WC - NZ were in 2015 WC McCaw and Carter Nonu and Smith - SA did not have those Marque players in those postions in 2019 or 2023 - I wouldnt rank them ahead of the 20I5 ABs - They clocked up 60 points against France in the QF - Furthermore I do not believe for one moment SA won 2023 fairly no way - they were so favoured it became obvious that behind the scenes SA the nation bought the title - Their last 3 matches were won by a solitary point there were many contentious decisions that went their way that it became obvious it wasnt coincidence - Sport has been hijacked by a satanic cult just as is Politics

Some players coaches officials and sponsors are involved - they know who they are - its called Freemasonry - any sport that allows betting is corrupt - its not all about money either for these parasites its also about control - Lots of American NFL players have spoken openly about games being scripted - Football is also rigged Referees have been caught on film showing freemason hand signs - The 95 RWC final ranks as the highest and most obvious attempt at cheating There was no way SA were going to allow NZ to gate crash Nelson Mandelas reunification party - NZ were so good they had to posion almost the entire team to get a 3 point win - a Hollywood Movie ( theres your Red Flag ) was made about SAs triumph called Invictus


William Henley wrote a poem called Invictus


It starts


Out of the night that covers me BLACK ( All Blacks ) as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever GODS maybe for my unconquerable Soul ...( Olan says INVICTUS is an evil Malevolent entity who corrupted the Titans ... this is Mandelas double meaning speech ( hes a fraud ) - of thanks for helping overcome SA's adversary NZ - There is only ONE true God Yahuah - Only a false god would be complicit in Cheating Corruption and Harming others to win a RWC for a sick and sinful Nation ) the poem ends with


I am the CAPTAIN of my soul


SA will forever bear the stain of guilt and disgrace over their involvement in poisoning the ABs a day before the 95 RWC Final

13 Go to comments
C
CO 2 hours ago
Forget Ireland, the All Blacks face the real alpha of Europe next

I cannot believe that you don't think the French rugby team coach and captain are not discussing putting Jalibert on the bench in favour of Duponts club teammate that doesn't even play at 10.


This is a terrible, massive insult to a 10 and I'm sure Dupont would also be very enraged if benched for a player that doesn't even play halfback.


A good captain would've insisted to the coach that it was an idea of madness and either select Jalibert or replace him with another 10 if you want him to be reserve.


Jalibert may not be the world's finest tacklers but that's often not a tens main strength that the loose forwards and second five cover. An intercept pass is never great but they happen.


When any player is playing for his club then it's club first, respect doesn't need to be shown to opposition players simply because they're internationals.


Who exactly are you claiming Jalibert hasn't respected? If it's Toulouse international players then it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this bench demotion out.


The outcome of selecting Jalibert to the bench and he then throwing his croissants out the window of the team bus immediately prior to playing the Allblacks is a disaster that will be team disharmony as any team mates of Jalibert are in a state of anger and revolt so a performance that will be sub optimal against a team that is thirsting for revenge against France.


I don't know about you but the Allblacks are very upset they've lost twice in a row to France and want to put out a statement performance so this preparation by Galthie of creating havoc looks to me like a coach that is clueless.

92 Go to comments
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