Leinster captain Caelan Doris has looked yet another Champions Cup trophy in the eye, up close and personal. But the two things the No. 8 would win in the San Mames stadium, the toss and the second-half , weren’t enough for him to get to hoist the silver behemoth high into that clearest of blue Basque skies. There was no respite, no escape for Leinster through the half-hour before the half-time break, as was something else sizzling other than the constant sun – Bordeaux. Doris,
to his credit, though, isn’t for blaming the heat: “It was a factor, but there was plenty of things within our control that we could have done a lot better. “I mean, the heat was the same for them. They aren’t far from here. They were going to be pretty more used to it.” Rather, there was a scuffy performance, the Blues collective first-half error count, player by player, was too high. His team hadn’t managed ball retention and, at the same time, failed to
dominate the tackle area, the game didn’t even get to being a breakdown contest. “I think it’s a step before that. I think it’s the contact area, the tackle. We didn’t have that contest in the first half. “We’ve obviously scouted them thoroughly over the last few weeks and seen what they can do with quick ball, the pace they have, the varying skillset they have, their ability to capitalise on any sort of an overlap, and you’ve got to slow their ball down with
a proper contest. Scoring an early try, going seven points ahead, afforded some leeway when things began to go astray but two tries behind, becoming four tries down in the four minutes before half-time was catastrophic. “It’s a bit of a cycle that you can get into. If they get one quick ball, they’re on top again and again and again. “I mentioned the pace, but they’ve also got a very strong carrying forward pack, so we’ve got stuck in a bit of a negative
loop of allowing them quick ball, quick ball, quick ball, and they’re away. “I think we’ve seen what they’ve been able to do over the last number of seasons. “When it’s delivered on properly, a key component of it is the tackle there and the individual responsibility there as players. “I know I had a few which weren’t good enough, but I’m sure a few of us are feeling that way, so it’s probably less of a system thing and more of a tackle/contact area
thing.” Doris will looking to get under the bonnet early next week, get the fix underway. “I think a strength of ours this season has been our ability to leave mistakes in the past, to get on some tasks quickly and turn the page. “There was some good messaging out there, there was some good messaging at halftime. The water breaks as well, which gave us a little bit of a reset there. “The execution is just about doing it on the day. We got
stuck in our half in exit cycles quite a few times. Defended well at times. Got into a little bit of a cycle of three or four compounding things against us. “But we’ve mentioned a couple of times now that they’ve capitalised. I think you do have to credit their ability and having a good number of players.” This is not to say Leinster haven’t the will or the ability to regather, refocus because the Champions Cup is still a major target for the club,
it is not getting further and further away, becoming a receding dream. “I don’t think so. I still believe massively in the structures we have and the people we have in charge and the ability within the group. “I admire the work that everyone has put into getting us back to this point again. “Obviously, we’re on the wrong side again as well, but I do believe that we’ve got the right people in the right places and the right systems in order to get
back there next year.” Before that, though there is next weekend’s URC quarter-final, different campaign, same determination. “There’s a lot of ifs there. We just need to be focused on next week, and that’s the thing, we need to put in a big performance in front of our home support. “Success and failure, I don’t know who judges that, I suppose.” Click here to sign up to our sport newsletter, bringing you the top stories and biggest headlines from Ireland and beyond
Leinster, Caelan Doris, Champions Cup, Bilbao, San Mamames, Bordeaux, URC quarter-final, tackle area