Everything Harlequins do, Leinster have to do better
Leinster’s narrow win over Quins at the Aviva has put them level on 13 points with Conor O’Shea’s side. The Premiership outfit have come out of the back-to-back ties with a slight advantage, however.
Quins have a superior points difference and scored more tries – two to Leinster’s one – over the two meetings. If the pool were to finish now, Harlequins would take top spot and Leinster would be hoping for a best runners-up placing for the knock-out stages. Wasps can stay in the qualification mix with a home win over Castres at Adams Park.
What’s next?
The two front-runners have home ties. Quins take on Wasps at The Stoop. They have already beaten their English rivals twice this season (once in the league). Leinster welcome Castres, who are effectively eliminated after three opening losses, to the RDS. Their attentions may be on the Top 14 so they may not send a full-strength side.
The final round takes place between January 24-26 and both matches will kick-off simultaneously. Harlequins should be facing a Castres side playing only for pride while Wasps will be hunting a Leinster scalp after pushing them so close in Dublin back in October.
Leinster need…
To pick up at least one point more than Quins from the two games. Finishing with a superior try count or points difference don’t come into play for the Irish province as Quins have the better head-to-head record. Leinster will look to beat Castres with a bonus point and hope Wasps keep it tight against Quins. If O’Shea’s troops can match Leinster in round five they will go into the final round as favourites to top their group, as they did in 2012/13.
What they say…
Leinster’s Matt O’Connor: ‘I wouldn’t say we escaped; no. It was tight, it was an arm wrestle. It was very, very intense, high quality fixture from two very committed sides. Escaped is a very strong word. We probably… if we had’ve executed a little bit better we could have been out of sight at half-time. That was our doing.’
He added, ‘We would have liked to get a little but more out of tonight. We would have liked to be more accurate and get something more in London last weekend but there’s two games to go and we’ve given ourselves a chance. If we’re good enough and we can get maximum points out of those two remaining games, or more points than Quins, we give ourselves a chance. That’s not a bad place to be with bodies coming back into the group.’
Harlequins’ Conor O’Shea: ‘We have had two monstrous games and they have been decided by a score between the two. For us it shows where we have got to and where we have to get to as well. We want to be turning those into wins. You don’t want to be a plucky second.’
