LEINSTER’S INSTINCT all season has been to avoid dwelling too indulgently on a well-received body of work from the previous weekend. Cardiff and the Heineken Cup seem now cobwebbed with the imperatives of Clermont pressing in less than three weeks, while Edinburgh arrive on Friday having just broken new ground in Europe.
New-found Scottish muscle against well-developed Irish strength? It should make for an interesting league meeting.
But at this stage of the season where the endgames are playing out, the real currency is looking forward, or at least, seeking to calibrate the team rather than idly lean on eye-catching routines.
Leinster’s first half hour against Cardiff breathlessly flashed and hummed, but any coach worth his salt could also see the flaws of the latter stages.
Assistant coach Richie Murphy is not about to deconstruct the performance. But nor is his role to place votives around his players’ necks.
The Clermont challenge in Bordeaux, the scene of the 1997 World Cup disappointments, isn’t far from thoughts around the Leinster training ground in UCD.
“It’s going to be a massive challenge for us,” says Murphy. “In the second half the other day we let Cardiff have 70 per cent of the possession and I think 60 per cent of the territory. If we do that in Bordeaux we’d be in serious trouble. There’s no way you’d get out of there with a win.
“Rugby is a game where you never play a perfect game anyway. I think it a case that, although some things went reasonably well for us at the weekend there are still things we can pick out of that game that we need to improve in order to move forward again.
“But you have to be realistic. You can’t execute every single time. Our defence was very good in the second half. Not conceding a try was something that against them or Munster the week before, we’d be quite happy with.”
Thoughts also shift to player management. Fergus McFadden, Ian Madigan and Seán Cronin are still caught up in the bear pit of the Leinster training ground and will press to secure starts or at least match-day involvement. Established players with games behind them need balance while others like Brian O’Driscoll seek a bit of both. O’Driscoll is caught between gaining game time and avoiding routine injuries he can ill afford.
“He’s only played three games and has done very well in all them,” says Murphy.
“It’s making sure from here on in he’s got a run of games under his belt. It’s a case of managing that and seeing what’s best for him. He needs to be on the pitch but also as a player needs to get through a few games. They do start picking up little knocks here and there. It’s a case of making sure he’s ready for the games when they come along and that he’s fresh in order to go in and play them.
“You can’t really wrap them all up. There were close calls at the weekend. If you look at the backrow, look at the frontrow. Look all over the park. There are tight calls in every position. Players are monitored each day, never mind each match.
“Have you got all your bits and pieces right? Are you performing in training as well as on the pitch? We won’t be wrapping people on cotton wool.”
It could be O’Driscoll is in better condition now than at any time in the past few years. Peeling away to the wing during a match for down time to nurse his hurting shoulder after a tackle, is no longer part of his Leinster act.
“He’s in good shape now,” says Murphy.
“He’s moving well and he’s come through the games he’s played in with no problems. In the few games he’s taken some big collisions and it hasn’t troubled him.”
Neither Leinster nor Ulster, who play Connacht at the weekend, report any major injury concerns.
Following Ulster’s energy-sapping victory over Munster in Thomond Park, flanker Stephen Ferris had been the main source of concern as he played with a heavily bandaged knee and an injured ankle.
But Ulster officials report that Ferris came through the match well.
In Leinster it is hoped Eoin O’Malley will have recovered from the calf strain which ruled him out of selection at the weekend.
Leinster’s game in Edinburgh in October 2011 at Murrayfield was a high-scoring affair which Leinster won 36-28 with Jonathan Sexton chipping in with 23 points.
With Friday’s clash imminent, Isa Nacewa, a try-scorer at the weekend, is just three appearances short of becoming the second overseas player after Felipe Contepomi to make 100 appearances for Leinster.
SEMI-FINAL TICKETS
ULSTER have ringfenced an allocation of 20,000 tickets for their Heineken Cup semi-final against Edinburgh on April 28th at the Aviva Stadium.
The tickets were made available via Ticketmaster to current season-ticket holders from yesterday.
Season-ticket holders have an opportunity to purchase up to eight tickets. There will also be a number of tickets available to buy at Ravenhill from 10am to 5pm tomorrow.
It is understood that Edinburgh Rugby have taken a relatively small allocation of tickets for the semi-final.
Tournament organisers ERC will put all unallocated tickets on general sale via Ticketmaster from 12pm today.
For Leinster's large number of season-ticket holders, tickets will be available online from 10am today.
Tickets for public sale will be available from tomorrow at 9am.
Johnny Watterson
