Leinster feeling benefit of Stuart Lancaster effect

Stuart Lancaster's influence at Leinster is clearly being felt. The heightened line speed and work-rate in defence are evidence of this and, as is so often the case, the team's match-winning try in Cardiff on Saturday emanated from their execution in defence.

Early in the second half, Cardiff went through six phases after Dan Fish fielded a box-kick by Jamison Gibson-Park as they sought to extend their 13-6 lead. Such was Leinster's line speed and tackle execution that Cardiff endured a net loss of about 15 metres through the half-dozen phases, before Rhys Ruddock brilliantly held up Josh Turnbull and, helped by Ian Nagle and Garry Ringrose, executed a choke tackle for the turnover scrum inside their own 10-metre line.

From there, Noel Reid’s line on to Johnny Sexton’s deftly delayed pass, his footwork and then his offload out of the tackle saw Rory O’Loughlin make a huge incision. Eschewing a penalty from Gibson-Park’s quick tap and another penalty into the corner, Ruddock rumbled over.

Elevating

Leinster’s third win in a row followed, elevating them to third in the table above Cardiff, and one point behind Saturday’s opponents

Munster

. It sets up Lancaster’s first derby nicely. “It will be a huge occasion,” he said yesterday.

“My background over here is limited in terms of club rugby but my perception, having been watching from afar over the last seven, eight, nine years of my coaching career, is this is right up there with any of the games I have just managed. In the UK and Ireland, Leinster and Munster is top table in terms of derbies and so it should be. It will be nice to go back to the Aviva. I’ve not been there for a while and such a big crowd will make a fantastic occasion.”

The season is cranking up by the week, and following on from the Aviva derby, Leinster will return to European Champions Cup action with opening games at home to Castres and away to Montpellier, standing eighth and fourth in the Top 14 after weekend defeats away to Clermont and Toulon. Not that it’s been a doddle so far.

“My first game in charge against Glasgow felt like a big game because of the late start to the season. Then we played the Edinburgh game. We got a good game there. The Ospreys game was when they were top of the table and then Cardiff who were then top of the table. The last two or three games, for me, were right up there in terms of getting a team mentally prepared.

“This will take it up another level. You look at the league table, irrespective of the local derby, and the pressure it will bring. And it leads into two huge European games. Before long, the boys will be heading off to Ireland to play in a big game against the All Blacks.”

Local squabbles

Munster will be his first experience of an Irish derby, although as he pointed out he is not unfamiliar with internecine local squabbles at national level, what with England’s annual Six Nations fixtures against their Celtic rivals.

He also has plenty of experience of English club derbies, albeit in an avid watching capacity, such as Bath-Gloucester and Leicester-Northampton.

“I also know what it feels like from the players’ point of view because there would be times when Leicester and Northampton would have a game and then we would have to meet together in national camp. You have to try to merge the players together again having been involved in this intense derby. But my experience is at international level where the likes of Ireland-England etc is huge.”

“I am just getting into the detail of analysing them,” admits Lancaster of Munster. “They have some hugely influential players and a very effective kicking game. Their defensive system has improved from last season, I can see that already from just the few games I’ve watched. They have a physical, abrasive pack who like to take teams on around the fringes.

"Conor Murray is clearly key in terms of the accuracy of his kicking game. CJ Stander is pretty influential as well obviously. But we are going to be tested all over the park. The key for me is we need to make sure we get ourselves ready. That is why I have focused over the past fortnight on getting our detail right. That is what the majority of my time has been spent on. Because I know that if our team get their details right, with the quality of players that we have, we'll be tough to beat."