HARLEQUINS FLANKER CHRIS Robshaw has warned Leinster that points will not be easily plundered from Sandy Park.
The European Champions head for the southern English venue on Saturday to face the Exeter Chiefs knowing that anything less than the bonus point win is unlikely to be enough.
At stake is Leinster’s title and their future in this season’s Heineken Cup.
England captain Robshaw knows the peril of Sandy Park. His ‘Quins side travelled south as champions the week before Exeter’s Heineken Cup debut against Leinster and were ungraciously turfed out on a 42-28 scoreline.
“We didn’t have a great day down there this year unfortunately.” He said of the October day when they would leave pointless despite scoring three tries.“They play a lot of running rugby, they’re a good side. It could be quite windy. It’ll be a challenge, it’ll be a massive challenge. They pride themselves on their home record…
“Did we get four tries?” Robshaw quizzes himself to jog a painful memory. “No, we didn’t. We got pumped! No, it wasn’t a good day for Harlequins down there.”
There are bright rays of hope for Leinster in more recent Chiefs results on home turf. A depth-of-winter draw with Bath was followed by a steam-rolling from Northampton. But Robshaw points out that the result was borne out of the Saints’ own style of rugby, something Leinster would have serious difficulty (if the will exists at all) implementing.
“Northampton went there recently and got a win through kind of a driving maul and stuff like that, they had a couple of them going. But (Exeter) are a very fit side, work very hard for each other. Rob Baxter’s done a great job.”
