Leinster's Gearbox

Before Glasgow's game with Leinster on Sunday I was ever so slightly confident that Glasgow could have gotten a result. Based mainly on things I have seen, already in the Rabo Glasgow turned Leinster over, granted Leinster were missing a lot of their international talent but granted so were Glasgow.

On the very enlightening post and pre match thread a lot of Leinster posters (fab bunch BTW ) were saying that in the HC Leinster are a "differant animal" and have "another gear" to coin some of the phrases.

After watching the 1st 40 minutes of the game on Sunday it is obvious to anyone that this "gear" exists since it was fully engaged and the pedal pushed through the floor as Leinster went flat out and steam rolled Glasgow in the first 40 without even breaking stride. To add insult to injury they even had a guy in the bin whilst running in tries for fun!

What I would like to know is where this other gear comes from?

Do the Leinster players hold back in the Rabo? Or are they so pumped up in the HC that the inner beast emerges? Glasgow are regular opponents in the Rabo but I don't think Leinster have ever battered Glasgow in a similar style in the Rabo. I find this article a little hard to write because I think the Rabo is a good league and has some fantastic matches of a differant style when compared to the Jeff or the French leagues. As a result I would hate to think that Leinster are not doing the Rabo justice by holding back and only unleashing the ruthless machine we saw on Sunday for the HC.

Hmmm I wouldnt say we dont actually care about the Pro 12... we are ususally in the final, or have been recently.

Its a sqaud game and so far the squad is doing a good job utilizing its resources to do welll in both comps....

I think it's just that we play our 1st choice players from 1-22 or is it 23 in the Heino? There is nobody rested and every player knows that they have to perform if they want to play in the next game.
If you look at the the number of games BoD has played for Leinster the majority of them should be in the league as there are more league games available.The numbers are 75 to 68 in favor of the Heineken so thats just one obvious example.

Leinster peak in the big games like any top side does.

I don't think you could say they don't perform in the Rabo as they are usually there or thereabouts come the end of the season.

You do rarely see Leinster fire on all cylinders in the league but then they don't have to. The derby with Munster is maybe the exception.

From an Ulster perspective I'd say they're not too shabby in the rabo either!

I suppose you could put it down to the fact that the HC is pretty much knockout rugby from the off. Losing a game in the early stages is a real drain on morale. So maybe the explanation comes down to the fear of losing. At half time we pretty much emptied the bench, and while the subs played well (Jennings, Ruddock, Madigan and Carr in particular) you’re going to lose momentum when you make that many changes.

Also, as reigning champions we’re bound to want to retain the cup more than winning the league.

It's impossible play at your peak performance constantly. In your preparation you have to determine when you're at your optimum. The strongest squad, highest intensity, best set plays etc. Look how in a World Cup year some players are pulled from Trinations matches and teams hold back.

All the top teams have a higher gear. They can win at lower gears. Toulouse often sleepwalk through the Heineken Cup pool and still top it, which is even further than Leinster go. Leinster are able to win Pro 12 games while resting top players in preparation for the HEC. So they do. It's not that they're not trying in the Pro 12. They are. They're just trying to do it while simultaneously trying to optimize their chances across a broad season in all competitions. They're also considering the welfare of players who need to play a certain number of test matches in a year too.

There's been a number of times when Ireland are giving New Zealand a good game. Then New Zealand go up a level, put 20 points on us and it's game over. Then the surge is over. It's pretty annoying that they can effectively beat us in half an hour and then relax. But that's what the best teams can do. I always take some satisfaction when Ireland play New Zealand and Carter and McCaw are still on the pitch at the end. It means they didn't find it to easy at least.