‘You can’t really see a weakness’ - Leicester heap praise on Leinster ahead of Champions Cup clash

“They are that good that you can’t really see a weakness,” says Leicester coach Richard Wigglesworth. High praise from Welford Road for Leinster as the Premiership side arrives on Friday night for their Champions Cup quarter-final match.

Wigglesworth has found himself leading the coaching team after Steve Borthwick was called up by England after the sacking of Eddie Jones. He will be joining Borthwick at the end of the season before the World Cup.

“You can’t say ‘this is where we will get our advantage’ because they (Leinster) are so well coached and they have such good players,” said Wigglesworth. “The standard of their training must be exceptionally high with all the players.

“I think they have 45 training every day and we are down to three fit secondrows so slightly different situations in terms of prep, but that is why it is such a big challenge.”

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Leicester came up against Leinster last year at the quarterfinals stage, when Leinster ran out 14-23 winners with tries from Robbie Henshaw and Josh van der Flier.

But even over the intervening months the Leicester coach believes that both sides have further evolved. Last year is not this year.

“We are a different team. We have moved on, as have they,” said Wigglesworth. “They go and do what they do to get better and we go and do everything we have been through so we are a different coaching team and a slightly different set of players so not too much in comparison.

“The challenge is that you are coaching against brilliant coaches in an unbelievable set-up. Leo Cullen, Stuart Lancaster and just a brilliant machine. No matter who plays for them they always win so that is a huge challenge for us.

“They have a massive squad packed full of quality so you put all these things into the mix and the fact they are together, all the team.”

In May Leinster came out to win the match largely in the opening quarter, building up an advantage that Leicester were unable to claw back.

The former England scrumhalf, who made 33 appearances for his country, will be hoping to guard his side against a similar Blitzkrieg opening in Aviva Stadium on Friday.

[ Leinster v Leicester: Kick off time, TV channel, team news and more ]

“I remember they came out and were dominant early on and then they kept us at arm’s length,” he said. “We were competitive for the rest of it, but it was a quarter-final and they had complete control after that first 20 minutes. They did a job on us early.”

The Leinster evolution has also involved dealing with sides that have a physical advantage. They have found a way around clubs like Saracens and La Rochelle, who work their game off have huge packs. Any idea that Leinster can be got at by using size alone has vanished.

“I would say they have definitely eradicated it, haven’t they? If you look at that La Rochelle final – I watched that one – and it was as dominant a game that you don’t win as possible,” said Wigglesworth.

“We get all the stats and the figures from that game and it was a game that they, quite rightly, felt aggrieved to lose. If La Rochelle are one of the biggest teams in Europe and they have gone toe to toe with them in a physical battle and should have come out on the right side, then I would say that bit is closed off.”