Leo Cullen says Leinster still have work to do despite eight-match winning streak

Leinster 37 Sale Sharks 27

Leinster acquired the victory, not perhaps in an anticipated manner, but they won’t care to quibble unduly based on the patchy nature of the performance. Five tries, four in a much improved 30-minute salvo after the interval, allowed them to unscramble what had previously been a display of fitful quality.

The home side might legitimately point to the fact that had they not messed up some gilt-edged try scoring chances in the first half they might have been able to relax into a playing rhythm. But they didn’t and Sale Sharks brought a tenacious, abrasive physicality that posed problems. There was nothing ‘lite’ about the integrity of the English club’s efforts, in personnel or performance.

Eight successive victories in all competitions since an opening day defeat to the Glasgow Warriors in the URC, European debuts for Thomas Clarkson, Ben Murphy and Sam Prendergast on Saturday evening, nine points in their opening two matches of the Champions Cup and the green shoots of new senior coach Jacques Nienaber’s influence are not to be sniffed at but beneath the bullet points is there in plenty on the “to-do” list.

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Leinster head coach Leo Cullen said: “Just because you’ve won a few games you can’t think you have all the answers. We’ll be the first to put our hands up and say we’re not where we would like to be at the moment and that’s important for us as a group if we want to improve week to week.”

From the opening kickoff, which landed and bounced around the Leinster 22, there was a distracted carelessness to the home side’s play, dogged by handling errors and poor structure at times in attack and defence. Pacy Sale wing Arron Reed was to prove something of a nemesis at various stages.

The visitors led 13-3 at one point but Ciaran Frawley’s second penalty and a try just before the interval from industrious man of the match Josh van der Flier, mitigated some of the damage. If Leinster relied on individual cameos from the forwards in the first half – James Ryan led the way in every sense – they came together as a pack thereafter.

Joe McCarthy, Charlie Ngatai and Michael Ala’alatoa had a pronounced impact off the bench, injecting energy, dynamism and crucially, winning collisions, something that Leinster struggled with against their abrasive opponents in the first half. Coupled with greater accuracy at the breakdown in clearing out, it facilitated quicker possession on the front-foot enabling Leinster to get into a better attacking shape and rhythm.

Ngatai read the Sale defence in real time, identified their desire to press into the Leinster backfield in attempting to shut down the home side’s running and passing game. The former All Black used deception, footwork and strength to break the defensive line, while there was also a delightful, flicked offload and a rigorous clear-out in the build-up to Ryan Baird’s try to tack on to his handsome contribution.

Cullen said: “Joe is clever there, goes through the contact, wins the collision and rumbles on again. Charlie’s footwork then, he has a good strong passing game and carrying game, but he can also boot the ball a mile as well. We’ll see how he is. Not ideal seeing him hobbling off and the cart coming on.

“This is what you need in the modern game now, impact, carries are important and how you are managing some of that contact because Sale were just filling the front line and that’s hard to play against. You need to win collisions. We thought the impact would work.” He was right, it did.

Tries from the excellent Jamison Gibson-Park, Robbie Henshaw, who grew into the game after an inauspicious start, a hard-working Ryan Baird and replacement Cian Healy allowed the home side to escape to 37-13 on the scoreboard. Conceding two tries, initially while down to 14 players – Hugo Keenan in the sin bin – and then 13 as Ngatai was removed on the motorised cart, grated for the coaches; the ramifications will be known when the pools are concluded.

Injuries to Jason Jenkins (back) and Ngatai (calf) are a disappointing legacy. Leinster’s management of the game in that first half was very hit-and-miss; the forwards didn’t make it easy for the halfbacks. Cullen was reasonably upbeat about Frawley’s contribution.

“You could see he is nervous. We looked nervy as a team before the game. That’s the thing about a Sale, they are going to test you with their kicking and their physicality. If you’re not accurate, really accurate, then suddenly life becomes a bit difficult.

“He showed some good composure I thought at times, and he is a constant threat. The forwards were probably better for him in the second half because we were starting to win some of those contact battles, particularly when we had the ball.

“Again, it’s just that relationship between himself and Jamison as well and making sure that the forwards are winning contact for us. It was pleasing because it was a great experience for him to lead the team.”

Injuries aside, the focus now moves to Christmas and New Year battles against Munster and Ulster looking to take some momentum when the pool stages resume in January. There’s plenty on which to work.

Scoring sequence 3 mins: R du Preez penalty, 0-3; 14: Frawley penalty, 3-3; 16: R du Preez penalty, 3-6; 25: Doherty try, du Preez conversion, 3-13; 30: Frawley penalty, 6-13; 39: van der Flier try, 11-13. Half-time: 11-13. 43: Gibson Park try, 16-13; 56: Henshaw try, Frawley conversion, 23-13; 62: Baird try, Frawley conversion, 30-13; 70: Healy try, Prendergast conversion, 37-13; 78: Taylor try, R du Preez conversion, 37-20; 80: Curtis try, R du Preez conversion, 37-27.

Leinster: H Keenan; J Larmour, G Ringrose, R Henshaw, J O’Brien; C Frawley, J Gibson-Park; A Porter, D Sheehan, T Clarkson; J Jenkins, J Ryan; R Baird, J van der Flier, C Doris. Replacements: J McCarthy for Jenkins half-time; M Ala’alatoa for Clarkson 44 mins; C Ngatai for Larmour 55 mins; R Kelleher for Sheehan 59 mins; C Healy for Porter 63 mins; J Conan for Doris 65 mins; S Prendergast for Frawley 65 mins; B Murphy for Gibson-Park 69 mins.

Sale Sharks: T Veainu; T Roebuck, C Doherty, S Bedlow, A Reed; R du Preez, R Quirke; R Harrison, T Taylor, J Harper; B Bamber, J Beaumont; E van Rhyn, S Dugdale, R Birch. Replacements: A Opoku-Fordjour for Harper 46 mins; JL du Preez for Birch 48 mins; J Hill for Beaumont 51 mins; J Carpenter for Veainu 57 mins; T Onasanya for Harrison 57 mins; Beaumont for van Rhyn 57 mins; T Curtis for Doherty 61 mins; N Thomas for Quirke 65 mins; E Caine for Beaumont 66 mins.

Referee: P Brousset (France)

Yellow card: R Henshaw (Leinster) 3 mins. J Harper (Sale) 37 mins. H Keenan (Leinster) 78 mins.

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