Daily Telegraph columnist Brian Moore believes that one "masterful" scrum was enough to break Northampton's spirit in the Heineken Cup Final.
"The Leinster pack shoved Tonga’uiha et al nearly 10 yards and the weapon that had subjugated Leinster was rendered obsolete; the effect on the morale of the whole Northampton team was devastating.
"This reversal of fortunes was caused not by altered front-row tactics, but because Northampton’s back row assumed Leinster would settle for static ball and their flankers stood up to see from where might come the attack. In the first half, all eight of their pack had committed to driving, but with an early score conceded and the tide of momentum threatening to build against them, they assumed wrongly. Whoever called the hold-and-drive at that scrum for Leinster deserves enormous credit because it was a tactical masterstroke.
"From then on, Leinster cut Northampton to shreds and the East Midlands side lacked the experience to halt the tide. After nearly 18 minutes, during which Northampton had almost no possession and Leinster had scored 17 points to take the lead, fly-half Stephen Myler kicked the ball back to Leinster. The rest, as they say, is history."
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