Sean O'Brien crashes over for Leinster
© Getty Images
|
After the latest European battles, Gerry Thornley believes that Leinster are the best placed of the Irish sides heading forward in The Irish Times.
"Crucially, the integrity of the tournament has been maintained, with no match, as things stand, set to be deferred beyond rounds five and six in this arctic winter. It still seems more fiendishly difficult than ever to pick the eight quarter-finalists at this juncture, but Leinster are both best placed of the Irish trio going into the final two rounds, and look best equipped to ultimately win the trophy after two outstanding performances in a row against Clermont.
"Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised. Leinster did, after all, reach the semi-finals last season, only to be without Jonathan Sexton when also having the distinct misfortune to be drawn away in the semi-finals. You need a bit of luck in these things too, and as an aside it was interesting to contrast the way Sexton hurriedly had a plate inserted in his jaw the day after last season’s quarter-final in a failed attempt to have him fit for the semi-final three weeks later whereas without an operation and returning to the care of his specialist, Brian O’Driscoll was able to play again 20 days after suffering a cracked jaw against Argentina."
RSS feed
