BOTH LEINSTER AND Connacht are coming into this weekend’s game off the back of success in the Heineken Cup and Saturday should be a humdinger.
It will be difficult for Leinster to subdue a confident Connacht as they have come off the back of bruising encounters with Ospreys and Castres. Pat Lam made a mistake, earlier in the season, in resting some players going into the Heineken Cup but I think we will see the strongest possible Connacht team this weekend. By strongest, I also mean biggest.
It is an awful pity that Connacht couldn’t edge out Saracens in Galway but they did well against Zebre. More and more individuals are stepping up, out west, and they are no longer just relying on stalwarts like John Muldoon and Michael Swift.
I was happy to see Fionn Carr go about to Connacht this summer — that’s what lads should do if they are not getting game time — and it is great to see Ulster Bank League players like Matt Healy and Craig Ronaldson making the step up.
It might seem like an a lifetime ago but, when I played, anyone that did not make the matchday squad was released back to their club on the Thursday and played on the Friday or Saturday. I wish that was still the case. Props will only learning from propping and centres will only learn from passing, and making the plays, in a match environment.
Dynamic duo
We are not seeing vintage Leinster yet. There’s no doubt about that. They have been heavy reliant on Jimmy Gopperth at 10, who is playing excellently, and the back row. In the absence of senior players like Shane Jennings and Leo Cullen, Jamie Heaslip and Sean O’Brien, in particular, have really stood up and led the charge. Their ball-carries and tackle counts have been astronomic.
Vintage Leinster would have been out of sight in that first half against Castres. That ability to turn the knife that they have shown in recent years is not there yet. They are traditionally slow starters but it would be great to see some of the old ruthlessness back this weekend.
It is great to see the new scrum rules really taking hold as it allows front rows that may not be the biggest men, but who are technically good, to come through. Martin Moore was thrown in at the deep end [against Castres] but held his own against a fine Castres pack.
There has been a lot of transition between the provinces, including Carr and Mike McCarthy, and all those players will be eager to play. McCarthy is a tenacious operator and, with Donnacha Ryan unfortunately injured, the next few weeks for Leinster and Ireland may be the most important of his life.
*Shane Byrne’s publication, Club Rugby Magazine is available monthly in the Irish Independent. You can also follow Shane on Twitter @shanebyrneoffic
