Leinster v Clermont: Five takeaways including the ‘signing of the season’ Jordie Barrett who could transform the Champions Cup’s ‘nearly men’
Leinster star Jordie Barrett.
Following Leinster’s hard-fought 15-7 win over Clermont Auvergne, here are our five takeaways from Dublin.
The top line
A flat and error-strewn match at the Aviva Stadium saw Leinster grind out a lumpy victory against ASM Clermont to take them two from two in the 2024/5 EPCR Champions Cup.
When Leinster fire they’re a joyous side to watch, but this wasn’t a day where they got anywhere near their best, as their lineout failed abysmally under pressure and they never quite found their usual fluency in the backline, despite a Player of the Match performance from Sam Prendergast at 10.
Two tries from Garry Ringrose and Jordie Barrett played one from Clermont, courtesy of Alivereti Raka in the fifth minute, but whilst Leinster were clearly on top, their own inefficiencies cost them so many more points. This was the most un-Leinster-like performance imaginable: inaccurate, clumsy and fumbling.
The second half saw the weather close in and soak the players with a biblical downfall, turning an unconvincing match into a downright scrappy one, but there’s no doubt that Leinster were the better side by some distance, despite their own failings.
For Clermont to have gotten within eight points but leave with nothing will be a devastating blow for them, but with players like the outstanding Baptiste Jauneau in their ranks, and with some high-quality Test performers on their way back from injury, their future is bright.
The game in numbers
Last weekend Clermont made only 82 carries all match so to see them clock up only 90 this time around was no great surprise. Making 297m in 80 minutes won’t win you many games and if you contrast that with Leinster’s efforts – 156 carries for 487m, with Jordie Barret making 104m on his own – the difference in efficiency with ball in hand couldn’t be more obvious.
However, the match featured some 39 unforced handling errors, 18 to Leinster and 23 to Clermont, demonstrating just how poor some of the ball-in-hand accuracy was. Some of that was down to the weather, some down to phase fatigue, but it was an inordinate amount of fumbles from two professional teams.
The final telling statistic was the difference in discipline; Leinster conceded only six penalties all evening, whilst Clermont bled 15 in a really poor display around the gainline and set-piece, something they’ll need to work on if they’re to turn around their Champions Cup season.
Leinster wobbles
This wasn’t the perfect performance from Leinster, far from it. Their lineout faltered – not for the first time this season – as Clermont pressured the hosts’ throw, nicking seven from the blue hands, three of them when Leinster had attacking lineouts in their opponents’ 22. Given they were fielding the Irish Test unit, it was hard to understand quite what was going wrong, but their misfires took a lot of momentum out of their performance.
But the good news is that new faces are starting to become the talking points over and above the established stars. Sam Prendergast is finding his feet with aplomb at this level, and his pass and loop around to set up Garry Ringrose’s score was something that would have made Johnny Sexton smile into his customary Guinness, way up in the stands, as would have some of his corner kicking from penalty opportunities, although he won’t be happy with a couple of them towards the end of the match.
Max Deegan had his moments too, demonstrating he’s a real athlete and workhorse in the best traditions of scrapping Irish loose forwards, whilst on the wing, Liam Turner showed some impressive speed with ball in hand.
With the bench featuring Test players of the quality of RG Snyman, Rabah Slimani and Jack Conan, there was always going to be something of an impact when Leo Cullen chose to unleash his hunting pack, and the power of the bench, especially at scrum-time, proved to be the final nail in the Clermont coffin.
However, Leinster were far from the finished article despite visibly introducing some new building blocks; they’re on a new journey now, regenerating their side, and toughing out wins like this will do them no harm whatsoever.
Clermont errors
On the 25th-minute mark, Clermont had the chance to go two scores up but as Alex Newsome failed to take a simple pass, so Leinster turned over and went the length of the pitch to score. It summed up Clermont’s spirited yet error-strewn display, one where they, on a different day, might have seen greater rewards for their efforts.
They weren’t helped by the sheer inconsistency of Luke Pearce’s scrum interpretation either; in one perplexing moment Leinster tighthead Tom Clarkson had both knees on the ground under pressure and going backwards – a clear and obvious penalty. But astonishingly Pearce didn’t reward Clermont and two phases later, Peceli Yato saw yellow for an infringement that simply wouldn’t have happened had Pearce not got a basic call correct.
There were another three occasions where Clermont could claim that they had been short changed, but in some respects, Leinster had shown dominance in the scrum for long periods so potentially it was ‘shape in the bank’, as coaches say, that persuaded the officials from making the correct calls. Once Clarkson went off and Slimani came on, that was that in terms of the ASM set-piece as their former star tighthead schooled the men who now wear the shirt he wore so proudly.
It was a frustrating performance, one where ASM had every advantage in the lineout, defended with an 86% success rate, but yet fell apart with self-enforced handling errors and a litany of penalties around the breakdown and at scrum time.
Signing of the season
When you sign a player with a Test pedigree of the magnitude of Jordie Barrett’s, you expect something pretty special. Able to play to world-class levels at 12 or 15, 67 Tests over eight seasons from the 27-year-old has amplified not only his versatility, but if there’s one man in the backline you don’t kick to, it’s the great All Black.
For some reason, possibly due to an unsettled and inexperienced starting 10 in Irae Simone, Clermont spent a lot of the game simply inviting Barrett to return their kicking game, something the Kiwi took as a personal challenge. It might be some two years since Barrett has played at 15 but, like someone who once rode a bike, his ability to recall his basic skillset was impressive.
Leinster have, over the last two or three seasons, been nearly men; one per cent short when it matters, a score light of getting over the line. With signings like Barrett, even though, by mutual agreement, his stay will be a short one, the brilliant All Black is set to address those one per cent moments as Leinster strive to change their fortunes in close games and become the side they’ve shown they can be by winning silverware when it matters.
