It was a disappointing weekend of European action for Irish provinces before Leinster turned things around at the Stade Marcel Deflandre with a brilliant win over La Rochelle.
Ronan O'Gara may have been banished to the stands, but his side didn’t lack intensity in his touchline absence.
The reigning champions threw ferocious physicality at Leinster, but the four-time European champions proved to be more than a match for their bogey team.
It was a great week for Leinster to be supplemented by the services of World Cup-winning head coach, Jacques Nienaber.
Leinster have always been a physical side in terms of winning collisions and moving teams around to play to their strengths. However, Nienaber’s influence will, and has already, given the team another step forward in terms of how they deal with opposition's size in the contact area.
Will Connors was given the nod ahead of Josh van der Flier for his contact skills and his 50-minute effort more than justified his vote of confidence. However, it’s the maturity of Joe McCarthy in the pack that really stood out.
Since returning from the World Cup, it feels like now is the time for the 22-year-old to step into his long-touted role as Ireland’s tighthead lock.
It’s easy to forget that it’s not long since Jason Jenkins joined from Munster because of the uncertainty as to how quickly McCarthy would fill that role.
Discipline and decision-making around the contact area would have been two areas I would have had questions over McCarthy. He could always be relied on for a penalty or two that were avoidable.
He nearly brought that back into his game last weekend with an early penalty concession and a yellow card.
However, the sinbin was a very harsh call. There was no doubt that La Rochelle were the instigators in the altercation on their own line after giving away a series of penalties.
Some of Will Skelton's antics led to tempers flaring and McCarthy was the fall guy for standing up for his team-mates.
Yes, it’s a warranted yellow card. Yet, if nobody stood up to the bullyboy tactics, Leinster could have fallen into the same trap as previous encounters where they came out second best in the physical stakes.
McCarthy had a huge physical impact for Leinster on either side of his 10-minute break and has to be a serious starting prospect for Andy Farrell with the Six Nations looming.
The difficulty is that James Ryan and Tadgh Beirne are playing in leadership roles for their provinces, and both are doing so very effectively. Add Iain Henderson into the mix and you’ve got a serious selection issue in the second row.
Arguments for Beirne to be sacrificed to the backrow are merited, but you’d encounter another selection conundrum there.
While Peter O’Mahony plays a more leadership and grunt style of game than that of the other back row options, Ryan Baird is seriously putting himself forward in that hybrid role of lock/blindside that Beirne has mastered. His athleticism and defensive lineout ability could see him feature there more often in green.
Farrell will be looking on at the provincial efforts in European games happy in the knowledge that he’s got serious options within his squad.
Two others looking to showcase their credentials ahead of the new international season are Leinster pair Harry Byrne and Ciaran Frawley.
Frawley will get the plaudits and rightly so for his performance in France, but you must remember the position that Byrne led the team to before his removal for a HIA.
While Leinster were battering towards the La Rochelle line, it was Byrne’s vital role within the backs play that freed up Jimmy O’Brien to throw a big pass to Jordan Larmour for Leinster to take the lead.
His ability to threaten the tackle line and turn the opposition defenders hips in is what gave O’Brien a bit more time and less attention to put the finishing touches on a well-rehearsed try.
When they couldn’t get through on the tap-and-go penalty that might work in the URC, the backs had the composure against one of the European powerhouses to play to width and get themselves ahead in a low scoring and physical affair.
Byrne converted to remind everyone why Leo Cullen is backing him before his enforced exit from the contest.
Frawley is impressive in the way that he carries himself.
Coming on to the pitch just before half-time, and stepping up to nonchalantly kick a penalty to extend the Leinster lead to four points, it shows his mentality and comfort on the pitch.
It will be difficult to forget his last minute, 60-metre, monster penalty to seal the seven-point victory, but right up there also was his huge clearing kick from inside his own goal line that went all the way to the La Rochelle half.
He’s got a powerful right boot, as well as an even but competitive temperament, and can mix it in both attack and defence at the tackle line too.
It will be a great predicament for Cullen to have both Byrne brothers, Frawley and the up-and-coming Sam Prendergast fit and competing together.
Frawley has the best balance of composure and attacking ability on current form, and hopefully he will get a shot against Sale at the RDS to continue his pursuit of the number 10 jersey.
While Leinster and La Rochelle are unlikely to face each other in similar weather conditions again this season, there is still hope that they will come back together at the business end of the competition.
Despite the game being played between errors from both sides, Leinster have taken a serious step forward in their frustratingly long wait to reclaim the European Cup.
Their defensive breakdown has been a huge part of that step forward and has no doubt been influenced by their South African coach.
It looked as though Leinster revelled in their defensive duties, which will go a long way to putting a marker on this tournament.
We’re used to the men in blue trouncing their way through teams in the group stages of this tournament. However, such a challenging and psychological opposition brought out the grittiest performance that we’ve seen from them in some time.
It will rid the team of some lingering doubts and provide sturdy foundations for their belief in the European Cup this season.
Follow a live blog on Exeter v Munster in the Champions Cup on Saturday from 1pm on RTÉ.ie/Sport and the RTÉ News app or listen to radio commentary on Saturday on RTÉ Radio 1 Extra (first half) and RTÉ Radio 1 (second half).
Watch Leinster v Sale Sharks in the Champions Cup on Saturday from 4.45pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on www.rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app.
