DESPITE BEING ONE of the in-form teams in European club rugby at the moment, Jack Conan has insisted that Leinster aren’t getting ahead of themselves.
In addition to winning 11 consecutive games in the United Rugby Championship, the eastern province have also recorded back-to-back European wins over Racing 92 and Gloucester in recent weeks. This left them at the summit of the URC table and Pool A of the Heineken Champions Cup at the turn of the year and a 41-12 victory against interprovincial rivals Connacht on New Year’s Day ensured it was a bright start to 2023 for Leo Cullen’s men.
However, having found themselves in a similar position 12 months ago – albeit with the odd set-back thrown into the mix – Leinster ultimately ended the 2021/22 season without a major trophy for the first time in five years. Should the business end of their current domestic and European campaigns unfold in the same manner, Conan acknowledged the impressive form displayed thus far by the Blues will count for little.
“We are in the position we wanted to be in a few months ago. We spoke about winning all our provincial games which was great to do, especially in the fashion we did. Munster the other week was closer than we would have liked. It’s an unbelievable achievement to go six from six and then 11 out of 11 games so far. It’s been a really good start to the year,” Conan said.
“I think you can really only truly judge it in its entirety come the business end of the year. Leinster Rugby is all about winning trophies. That’s all that it’s about, getting more silverware and building on a legacy that past players and coaches have built.
“We’re going full steam forward, but this will count for absolutely nothing in six or seven months’ time. If we don’t come back with a trophy no one is going to look back and say, ‘You were great at Christmas, when you hadn’t lost a game’. It won’t matter. It’s great to be here, but it’s not the end destination that we want to get to.”
While the team itself has looked impenetrable in their 13 competitive games to date (registering 10 try bonuses over the course of an outstanding winning sequence of results), Conan has admitted a level of frustration at how the season has gone from a personal point of view.
The Wicklow man appeared off the bench for Ireland in their autumn international encounters with South Africa and Australia – either side of a start against Fiji – and has also been used as an impact player in some of Leinster’s big fixtures of late.
He has started four times in the No 8 position for the Blues this term, but was restricted to cameo roles in a brace of victories over Munster in the URC as well as last month’s Champions Cup showdown with Racing 92 in Le Havre.
Although both players are also capable of slotting in at blindside flanker, Caelan Doris and Max Deegan have been preferred to Conan at different times. Having struggled (by his own admission) to hit the ground running in the early months of this season, he is hopeful that tomorrow night’s away trip to the Ospreys in the URC can put him back on the right path.
“I’m probably a little bit frustrated. Set high standards for myself. I probably feel like I haven’t hit my straps as well as I have had previous times. Probably would have liked to play a lot more, but that is the nature of Leinster Rugby with so many high quality back-rowers in particular,” Conan added.
“Fortunately, we get a shot this weekend against Ospreys and get to put my foot forward for another two weeks in Europe. The body feels good. Mentally I’m hungry, so I’m looking forward to taking my next opportunity. You can train as much as you want, but if you don’t get the opportunity to do it on the pitch, it doesn’t really count for a whole lot.
“Obviously it was great to be involved down in Thomond against Munster on St Stephen’s Day, but I’m always hungry. I always want more. I want to start, I want to be on the team from the get go. Hopefully I’ll get an opportunity this weekend.”