RUGBY: There will have been a palpable sense of relief yesterday when word filtered through the Leinster camp that Gordon D'Arcy, despite initial fears, had not sustained any fractures to his lower back. Gerry Thornley on a great day's work in France.
The sight of the ashen-faced Leinster winger in a wheelchair for the journey home from Montferrand on Saturday evening was the one blight on an otherwise euphoric day.
Leinster had just recorded their first win on French soil in seven attempts, and at the seemingly impregnable fortress of Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin, where Montferrand had scored almost 1,000 points in 20 successive European wins. But D'Arcy had been the victim of a cheap and nasty bit of foul play by his opposite winger, David Bory.
As it transpired, X-rays revealed no more than severe bruising, and though he was being detained for a second night and will obviously not play again before the New Year, that constituted good news.
Taking cheap shots at try scorers just after they've touched down the ball down and with their backs exposed has become an increasingly common and poorly policed aspect of the game. To compound Bory's thuggery, as D'Arcy slid over the line to score a 54th-minute try the French winger led with his knees as he landed on D'Arcy's lower back.
You could tell from the incensed reaction from Girvan Dempsey, normally the most mild mannered of players, and Brian O'Meara that Bory's late "tackle" was unacceptable. It also incensed the knot of Leinster supporters in that corner of the ground.
Alas, all three officials seemingly failed to see it. Welsh referee Paul Adams, who needed a security escort from the pitch and incurred the wrath of supporters and both camps alike for his performance, did speak to Bory but failed to award a penalty from the kick-off or brandish even a yellow card, never mind the red card it deserved.
When word was sought from Adams as to what he made of the incident, he reputedly told one Leinster official that Bory had "stumbled", while he apparently told Reggie Corrigan he hadn't seen anything, even though one Leinster player maintains he heard a touchjudge say "two knees".
All of which raises the question of what Adams spoke to Bory about. To be careful about his stumbling? Though Bory was spoken to, that there was no penalty might mean the French winger will be punished properly pending a decision by Leinster as to whether they will cite him. They have until 4.0 p.m. Irish time today (50 hours after the kick-off) to notify ERC in writing, and it is inconceivable that Leinster wouldn't cite him.
Whether an independent disciplinary hearing is conducted this week depends on the ERC's bureaucratic machinery, though either way it will add further spice to next Friday's Pool 4 rematch at Donnybrook.
Brett Igoe, the Leinster technical analyst who also has a video of the match and the incident, had prepared a three-minute video for the players' benefit on the morning of the match, which encompassed several Leinster tries in Europe, plenty more conceded by Montferrand and a reminder of Richard Cockerill's chiding of Leinster players during their quarter-final defeat at Welford Road last season when the hooker, still with Leicester then, indulged in some "paddy whacking" of his opponents.
Which made Denis Hickie burning him on the outside for the 80th minute match-winning try on Saturday all the better.
DJ Carey had also proved an inspired choice to conduct the traditional jersey presentation in the team hotel before leaving for the ground. The hurling great is a fairly regular spectator at Donnybrook on Friday nights and is "a legend" in the eyes of Brian O'Driscoll, all of which prompted Matt Williams to invite him along on this trip.
While acknowledging his relative lack of knowledge about the game, he drew on his own considerable experience of what makes "championship winning teams" to observe that they only come together occasionally. What's more, even then the "windows of opportunity" can be quite slight. You have to make the most of them.
With a clinical, cold-eyed resolve about them, Leinster duly did. Appropriately, given the Australian influence now running through the Leinster set-up, there was something almost Wallaby-like in the way Leinster kept their heads and maximised their opportunities.
Indeed, Williams' influence is such that even the Montferrand assistant coach, Scott Wisemantle, is another former protégé at New South Wales.
"I don't want to take anything away from Leinster," he said after walking down the long, plush corridors to congratulate Williams. "They were superb. They hung in there, their defence was good, very gutsy. I thought they were fantastic."
Though he thought Montferrand were guilty of trying to "protect a lead", he aimed his main broadside at Adams. "I thought the referee was inconsistent and incompetent for both sides. I thought he was just an overweight little man who has no idea about the scrum. At this level, two really good teams and, I thought, a crap referee.
"Having said all that, a massive effort from Leinster. Gutsy, away from home, two tries, they're behind with five minutes to go, so you've got to take your hat off to them. Good on 'em."
