Leinster have moved from fourth to second on the Vodacom United Rugby Championship log and on a weekend where they emphatically underlined their depth they also moved into a position that they can consider a commanding one in the race for top spot.
Although there is one point separating Leinster from first placed Ulster, the log leaders have played 10 games, one more than Leinster. So Leinster’s fate is very much in their own hands after their convincing bonus-point win over Edinburgh at the RDS Arena at the start of the weekend.
With the two games played on Friday night both rescheduled because of Covid, there was an unplanned clash with the Six Nations, which meant both teams went into the game significantly under-strength. The visitors were particularly hard hit with as many as 22 players missing through either international duty or injury.
But it has been their depth that has often separated Leinster from the rest in the URC’s previous incarnation as the PRO14, and against Edinburgh, they underlined the strength of their structures once more. They weren’t anywhere near their best, but coach Leo Cullen was left well pleased afterwards with the performance of a team that has the kind of players - Michael Ala'alatoa, Ross Molony and Ross Byrne being examples - available to them when under-strength that the other teams don’t.
Leinster have in the past viewed international windows as an opportunity to see what is coming through on their conveyor belt, and in that regard, Cullen would have been pleased with the contribution made by flanker Martin Moloney in his first senior start. Moloney was only in the Leinster team because of a late injury that forced Rhys Ruddock out before kickoff but he made an immense contribution to his team’s positive result.
The win catapulted Leinster above their opponents on the table, with Edinburgh dropping to fourth. Later on, in Friday’s doubleheader of overseas URC matches, the Glasgow Warriors inflicted another setback on Johan van Graan’s Munster, with a narrow two-point win enough to ensure the Warriors, like Leinster, are just one point off the pace. Leinster go second by virtue of their superior points difference on Glasgow, while another significant fact is in the number of games played - the Warriors, like Ulster, have played 10, and Leinster one game less.
While Leinster and Glasgow were making movements up the log at the top, there was also movement in the bottom half, with the DHL Stormers achieving an important moment for the South African challenge by breaking into the top eight for the first time. The Cape team’s good 32-10 bonus-point win over the Emirates Lions in Johannesburg enabled them to leapfrog several teams as they went from 10th to seventh.
We discuss the past weekend URC matches - 12/02/2022
That is a significant moment for the local challenge in that a top-eight spot would be enough to secure a place in next year’s European Champions Cup regardless of whether they win the South African Shield, which is the goal for those seeking automatic qualification. The way it works is that the winners of the four Shield competitions (pools), made up of Ireland, South Africa, Wales and Scotland/Italy, qualify automatically, with the four next-best teams on the log then getting into Europe for the 2022/23 season as qualifiers.
As it stands currently, if the Champions Cup places were determined now, the four automatic entrants would be overall log leaders Ulster, who top the Irish confidence ahead of Leinster, who are one point behind them with a game in hand, Glasgow Warriors, Ospreys and the Stormers.
With Leinster and Munster in overall second and fifth respectively, Ireland would have three entrants in the Champions Cup, Scotland two as Glasgow would be joined by fourth-placed Edinburgh, and Italy one due to Benetton currently being eighth.
However, and this is what makes the next phase of the URC really interesting, the Sharks are only two points behind Benetton, who they visit when they travel to Italy in two weeks time. On the same weekend, the Stormers have a tough away meeting with Connacht in Galway, which means if the Sharks win in Treviso they could usurp the Stormers at the top of the South African pool.
However, if the Stormers win and the Sharks win, South Africa will have two teams in the placings for Champions Cup places, with the Stormers being there as Shield leaders and the Sharks there as one of the qualifiers as a win in Treviso will enable them to leapfrog Benetton and join the Stormers in the top eight.
Weekend Vodacom United Rugby Championship results
Leinster 26 Edinburgh 7
Glasgow Warriors 13 Munster 11
Emirates Lions 10 DHL Stormers 32
Vodacom Bulls 22 Cell C Sharks 29