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Irish Times
3 days ago
- General
- Irish Times
Rónan Kelleher parks all thoughts of Lions to focus on winning URC arm-wrestle against Scarlets
Fans can't stand the tedium of multiple collapsed scrums. The grumbling displeasure is audible on the first reset. Those who operate at the coalface of the scrum get fed up too. However, while they may find themselves tut-tutting, they will soon be trying to bend laws and bodies simultaneously. Leinster's Rónan Kelleher not only champions a fair contest but explains the pitfalls in layman's terms. 'To be honest, it's a part of my game I do love, but we need to get to the point where we're able to have that contest. That's the big thing. People are trying to de-power teams by loading up and trying to pre-engage. That's when it becomes messy. 'That is when teams are standing up, that's when you don't have a gap. You need that gap to be able to hit into. To allow both teams to get into a pushing position. Then it just becomes about technique and strength. READ MORE 'Ask any front-rower and they enjoy that. They want to get into a pushing contest and actually compete. They don't want to be making it messy.' The conversation turns to the beleaguered supporters who fidget in frustration. Kelleher said: 'We don't like it either. It's also part of our game that we like, in terms of playing off a stable base, a scrum going forward. If we get a penalty advantage, it allows the backs to throw that extra pass. It's something that we want to do.' On Saturday, the Scarlets will pose a fresh examination for Leinster at the Aviva Stadium on foot of a recent victory in west Wales. A place in the semi-final of the United Rugby Championship is at stake. One of the questions set is whether Leinster have figured out how to ensure a full-on contest at scrum time. Rónan Kelleher scores Leinster's first try in their URC victory against Zebre on May 10th. Photograph: Billy Stickland/Inpho Kelleher explained: 'They're quite good, tricky to manage, to be fair. Someone like Ryan Elias is experienced, he's quite good. Henry Thomas is obviously a very experienced scrummager as well. Alec Hepburn has been around the block. I think the word I'd use is 'tricky', to be honest. 'There has been a bit in the past about how some teams like to load up a lot of weight and you get that load on the neck in the scrum. I think they're a team that probably favours that a bit. It's just about how you manage that with the referee and how you get through that game. 'How you communicate that as well, because it's important that we get clean scrums,' he said in the hope of avoiding a catalogue of collapsed set pieces or frontrows standing up because of the instability. Kelleher has been selected to tour Australia with the Lions . Four years ago, in South Africa, he was called up late but didn't feature. This time he's in from the get-go, an 'original' in Andy Farrell's squad. He had company at the big reveal. 'I finished up training [at Leinster], grabbed the gear bag, ran home,' he said. 'I live with Hugo Keenan, so it was the two of us just watching it together. It was tense. When I left [Leinster training] I was like 'jeez, it's happening in the next half an hour'. But obviously it dragged on a bit. It was pretty nervy, the two of us just on the couch watching it. Rónan Kelleher (right) with Lions teammates James Lowe (left) and Maro Itoje. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho 'I was absolutely delighted once my name was called – thrilled. We had to wait another couple of minutes until Hugo's name was called, so we could both celebrate together.' The squad was called out in order of forwards first, then backs, rather than in alphabetical order. [ Why James Lowe is determined for Cian Healy and Ross Byrne to leave Leinster with a medal this season Opens in new window ] [ Munster's Calvin Nash looking to give standout performance in the Shark Tank Opens in new window ] He continued: 'As soon as my name was announced, my phone started buzzing. I had to throw it away until Hugo's thing. It was pretty surreal to be honest, but it was unbelievable.' For now, it's all about Saturday's game. The elation and excitement associated with all matters Lions has been put to the back of Kelleher's mind. He said: 'It's very much focused on the here and now. We (Leinster) were disappointed with the finish in Europe and now all our eyes are on this competition and trying to win this one (URC).' The next step to beat the Scarlets.
Irish Times
12-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Owen Doyle: On the knockout stage, referees need to deliver their best performance
Why would anybody reward a substandard performance? In any walk of life, the answer surely is they wouldn't. The scrum is not an easy phase to referee, but I watched two matches, with growing trepidation: Leinster v Zebre and the Bulls against Cardiff. Both these matches were very easy home wins, the level of intensity was exceptionally low, the only challenge for the referees was the scrum. If any referee goes into any match without a solid scrum plan which he can deliver – and that's the important bit – then he is asking for trouble. The match in the Aviva saw Scotland's Sam Grove-White with the whistle. He has been on the circuit for a long time now, much longer than his youthful appearance would suggest. He refereed the URC semi-final last year, and this column reported on a below-standard performance then. Here we are again, with his recent performance in Stormers v Connacht also falling short of requirements. READ MORE The URC is, ball and chain, wedded to the concept of neutrality, shying away at all costs from merit-based appointments. I believe that this policy has led to a serious drop in performance levels, too often simply not acceptable. With just two teams in the competition Scotland (and Italy) have more opportunities to referee under the flag of neutrality than Ireland, Wales and South Africa. Grove-White was at a loss as to what to do at the set-piece, reduced to near-pleading as the match reached its conclusion. 'This is the last scrum, let's have the ball in, and out, come on.' His prophetic words were also incorrect – it was not the last scrum. There was time for another, at which he seemed to give a definite free-kick signal, but in the heel of the hunt he reset it. Then the bizarre moment. Leinster took a quick penalty which went nowhere, with the referee heading back to the mark as there had been no advantage. Fortunately, he realised that the penalty had already been taken and corrected the matter before any damage was done. There is little point in repeating that Hollie Davidson is the best referee in Scotland; it's a little insulting considering she has no competition. Davidson is very good in her own right, and deserves a knockout match. Grove-White does not. Irish referee Eoghan Cross was in the middle for Cardiff's heavy loss to the Bulls. The visitors got three late tries as the home team took their foot off the accelerator. Cross probably doesn't need me to tell him that the scrums were problematic. He also made matters tough on himself by calling penalty advantage just as the ball emerged on several occasions; he would have been better advised to play on. Referee Eoghan Cross and Josh McNally of Cardiff at the Bulls vs Cardiff game in Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria on Saturday. Photograph: Steve Haag Sports/Christiaan Kotze/Inpho In general, there is huge inconsistency in when advantage is played to scrum infringements and when the referee plays on without signalling advantage. This is completely undesirable and can have a huge effect on scorelines. It needs urgent attention. Cross was politeness itself in asking the frontrows to obey a few simple instructions, to toe the line, but it was obvious they weren't paying any heed whatsoever. These moments require a real change in attitude by any referee. There is nothing wrong with displaying firmness, dropping the chat and sanctioning hard. In fact, it is imperative. Cross, who debuted in the URC just a few years ago, has had nothing like the same number of opportunities as Grove-White, who has been around for about eight years, over 50 matches. The former is definitely worth further development, though he's not yet knockout material. If these two performances occurred in very tight matches there would be hell to pay and it would be impossible to defend the referees. Thomond Park saw Munster eventually getting into gear against Ulster, having stalled the engine quite a bit in the early stages. Their lineout malfunctioned, but, on at least one occasion, they found a solution by throwing in crooked directly to the front man. It's a growing trend that is rarely picked up by the match officials, whereas it's really a simple decision. Adam Jones of Wales was in charge, and overall showed good game understanding. Importantly, he clearly had a plan. We saw the most obvious yellow card for Stuart McCloskey, undoubtedly the most foolish breakdown infringement of the season. He appeared to be clearly annoyed. I trust it was with himself, not with the decision. Munster's Josh Wycherley receives a yellow card from referee Adam Jones during the Munster vs Ulster game at Thomond Park last Friday. Photograph: Laszlo Geczo/Inpho Jones was kind to Ulster's Scott Wilson for his shoulder directly into the face of Gavin Coombes. The latter's painful grimace told the story, but the referee applied mitigation for a near-invisible drop in height by the Munster man. 'Sudden,' Jones opined. Sorry, not for me, it wasn't. It was a unique evening. The always-knowledgeable crowd gave a rousing Limerick send-off to the retiring Stephen Archer, Conor Murray and Peter O'Mahony. Three quite phenomenal careers which will never be forgotten throughout the world of rugby. Their achievements will be talked about as long as the game is played. Pints will be poured and stories told which will never need to be exaggerated. These men have given everything, never a backward step. We are very fortunate to have seen them play so many times. And those who didn't see them play will tell those stories. It is the stuff of legend.
