THE CHAMPIONS CUP only really limped into life for the provinces over the last two weekends. Munster made a winning start against Stade Francais before a deflating loss away to Castres put a dampener on their post-November progress. Ulster kept their frontliners in reserve as they shipped 61 points at Toulouse, and the gamble didn’t play off as a strengthened team went down 40-19 at home to Bordeaux in round two.
Leinster were the only Irish side to go two from two in the Champions Cup but even left plenty to be desired. After overcoming a slow start to win in Bristol on the opening weekend, Leinster failed to kick on in the fashion they would have liked at Aviva Stadium on Saturday. Leinster’s attack struggled to properly trouble Clermont, with the hosts limited to just 15 points courtesy of two first-half tries and a second-half Sam Prendergast penalty.
That blunt attack was only part of the problem, with Leinster’s misfiring lineout causing issues from start to finish. If it wasn’t for Leinter’s determined defensive effort and a rock-solid scrum, it could have unfolded into an even stickier night. In the end Leo Cullen was relieved to see his team walk away with a win while acknowledging things aren’t quite where the coaching team would like them to be at this point in the season.
Some of that, he feels, is down to the logistics of it all. While Leinster had a significant chunk of their squad away on international duty with Ireland during the November window, t.
