Can Leinster do the double?

Leinster are close to a remarkable achievement, already worthy champions of Europe will they cap the season off by becoming the champions of the Celtic League. It is tribute to their all round excellence and superb coaching of Joe Schmidt and his staff. Leinster play a recognisable brand of entertaining winning rugby that regularly fills their RDS ground with 20,000 fans and makes them welcome and exciting visitors wherever they go. Their efforts have given them a tilt at the chance of being forever recognised as one of rugby’s greatest teams.

To achieve victory in both games will need a combination of pragmatism and flair aligned with bruising and selfless defence. It will require a lot more than all out attack. Here Sexton this season has shown that he has come of age as an outside half. He has developed into a supremely gifted game manager and has learnt to play each situation on its merits and rarely makes a wrong call. Outside he can call upon the two old heads of Darcy and O’Driscoll, who maybe not as deadly as in their pomp; but with sufficient left in the tank to create mayhem in attack and defence. O’Driscoll’s inspirational leadership can be relied upon to steady the ship in stormy seas that will inevitably come their way. Augment this with the excellent, and in form full back, Rob Carney and Leinster can attack with fluidity and deadly accuracy. Any side that plays Leinster knows that they simply cannot give the ball away.

Up front Leinster’s workmanlike Front Five will compete in every facet. Cian Healy will attempt to bring his dynamic running to the loose and he will dovetail with the two heavy hitters of the pack Heaslip and O’brien. With the formidable presence of Brad Thorn to punch holes and keep defences honest Leinster can hold their own with most packs. Defensively they are well organised and knowledgeable, but they will always push the breakdown laws to their limits but they do so with a high level of proficiency and shrewdly. They are top of the RaboPro 12 Fair play league, with only 8 yellow cards, that speaks eloquently about their collective discipline and judgement.

Schmidt has created a team that when the mood takes them can dismantle any side it faces almost by sheer speed. They have the most elegant passing game in Europe but if they need to dog it out, then they will. Eleven of their games have been won by less than 7 points. If they find themselves in a tight game they have the priceless knack of finding a way to win. For opponents there is the quandary of never knowing if Leinster are actually beaten and if you try to take them on in their own game you could find yourself being smashed. Five tries tells its own story

Ulster with its Boer phalanx provided a hard nosed and spirited challenge. They failed to subdue Leinster, sow seeds of doubt by taking the pace out of the game. Their choice of tactics was flawed, and it gave Leinster the chance they wanted. Leinster thrive on momentum. They know that there will be chances and they will take them. Ulster did not have sufficient weapons on the day to fatally wound Leinster. Despite the score it was a physically draining encounter; awaiting the returning triumphant Leinster will be the Ospreys, once again determined to spoil the RDS party.

The Ospreys will not be underestimated. Since the mid season "Night of the long knives" at the Liberty the Ospreys have rediscovered their mojo. They are playing with the purpose and poise so strangely missing from their lacklustre Heineken Cup campaign. As four times Celtic champions they will relish this opportunity to win the title again. They have beaten Leinster twice this season and will not fear the RDS. Ospreys have a well drilled and tough pack of ball playing forwards plus a solid scrum and good lineout. They will win their own ball and have the capacity and astuteness to make it hard for Leinster. Hibbard has been a revelation; in the latter part of the season, seizing his chance to emerge from Bennett’s shadow. Adam Jones will once again give Healy a tuning and keep him immersed in the scrum. Evans and Alan Wynne-Jones are a real handful in the loose and lineout with frightening levels of stamina. Allied to this the back row of the ball carrying Bearman, the tenacity of Tipuric and the unstoppable Ryan Jones this is definitely a pack of forwards that will fancy their chances.

The galacticos might have gone to pastures new but their replacements; Webb, Beck, Dirkson, Fussell and Bishop are no shrinking violets. This is not a backline that is easy to contain and with Shane Williams playing his last game they will have the inclination to run angles that Leinster will not have had to contend with for sometime. Leinster do have the pedigree to win this last difficult game. Winning the Heineken cup was a fantastic effort but the double will beyond them. The massive loss of Fitzgerald has robbed them of the cutting edge they would need to match the power of the Osprey’s backs and the costs of the attritional game that Ulster will have made them play at Twickenham will make this a game a step too far for the men of Leinster.

Gareth Hughes