Loved by Leinster fans, not so much by Munster fans, Felipe Contepomi lit up the Heineken Cup for the Blues from his arrival until their maiden success in 2009.
He wasn’t always the most popular figure down Munster way, but even those with an allegiance to red rather than blue will admit a grudging admiration for what Contepomi brought to Leinster during his six years with the province in the mid 00s.
Once described as being a better out-half than Dan Carter, the Argentine was an outrageously talented performer and the perfect man to harness the talented backline that Leinster possessed during his time with the province.
Contepomi arrived in Dublin in 2003 but didn’t play in the Heineken Cup until the following year, when Leinster’s participation, like many of their early campaigns in the competition, ended at the group stage.
It was the 2005/06 campaign where Contepomi really started to make his mark, scoring six tries in eight games and putting in a vintage performance away to Toulouse in the quarter-finals.
Unfortunately for Contepomi, Munster targeted him in their comprehensive semi-final win at Lansdowne Road and it seemed to have the desired effect for the men in red. Contepomi suffered and played second fiddle on the day to Ronan O’Gara, with whom he had an ongoing battle over the years.
Contepomi tasted Magners League success in 2008 and managed to score a few tries in the Heineken Cup in 2007 and 2008 – including the slightly fortuitous effort against Gloucester below – but he had to wait until his last season with the Blues until they went the whole way.
When it did come, the success must have brought out mixed emotions in Contepomi as he had to miss out on the big day because of a serious knee injury sustained against Munster in the semi-final in Croker.
Jonathan Sexton took his place after 15 minutes and showed glimpses of the authoritative out-half he has turned into today and with Contepomi out of the picture, he took it upon himself to immerse himself in the verbal battle with O’Gara – the pair of them get on fine now, of course.
Leinster went onto win the final against Leicester in Murrayfield, of course, and while Contepomi was unable to play his part, chances are they wouldn’t have been there at all without his contribution prior to the semi-final.
Contepomi scored two tries in the pool stages and was responsible for all of their points in clashes with Wasps and Edinburgh as Leinster ended up qualifying as the pool winners with the least amount of points, which earned them a tricky away clash with Harlequins in the semi-finals.
The game is remembered now because of ‘Bloodgate’ and the subsequent fall-out but there were only 11 points scored and Contepomi scored six of them as the Blues ground out a win that might have been beyond them in years gone by.
Contepomi bade farewell to Leinster at the end of that season, but he is still fondly remembered by fans of the province, not just for his skills but for the way he immersed himself into life in Ireland while he was here.
He earned a degree at the Royal College of Surgeons and actually worked at Beaumont Hospital, while even today players like Gordon D’Arcy and Brian O’Driscoll speak incredibly highly of their former colleague.
Leinster have had some special imports over the years and Doctor Phil is up there with Isa Nacewa and Rocky Elsom as the best of them. If pressed, even ROG himself will admit that.
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