ONE JOB DONE, Jack Conan has his eyes on another. With Munster taken care of, and another Pro14 medal added to the collection, Conan and Leinster have turned their eyes to another old rival.
Last time they met Toulon, things were different. Leinster were struggling to emerge from a slump, the French side remained one of Europe’s leading lights. Now, it is Leinster who are hotly tipped to advance to the European Cup quarter-finals when the sides meet at the RDS on Friday.
“Yeah, it is absolutely massive,” said Conan. “It’s great to have Toulon, someone we haven’t played against in over five years, coming to the RDS. That will be an absolutely massive challenge.
“They’ve got a huge pack and their ability to muscle up is one of the best in Europe so we’re under no illusions how hard that’s going to be, especially with the short turnaround, so it’s going to be a big test for the club in the coming days.”
What helps is the fact there are plenty of players there to drive them, not just the greybeards, Devin Toner and Scott Fardy, but also their new stars, Ronan Kelleher and Ryan Baird. “To be fair to Ronan and Ryan, they were fantastic against Munster on Saturday and have been great for the last few weeks for Leinster and Ireland,” said Conan.
“But when you look up and see the likes of Tadhg Furlong and Johnny Sexton coming off the bench on Saturday, it gives you such a boost, such an energy boost, because these lads are top quality players and they’re going to bring their best.
“So when you’re a bit tired and you’re in the depths of it, you’re killing yourself to work around the corner and make those hits and get up off the ground, to know that you’ve got that quality on the bench coming on, it really spurs you on and brings a lot of energy.”
Conan’s energy has been a key factor in recent weeks, as the No8 helped Ireland defeat England and then Leinster get one over Munster at the weekend. “I’m on a bit of an up at the moment and it’s a long time coming, so it’s nice to be back in a decent vein of form.
“So look, I think the standard here and the competition in the back row pushes you to be at your best.
“We want to build on this performance, we want to win everything we can and that doesn’t change.
“The fact is we haven’t been at the level we want to be at in the last two years in Europe, so it’s a massive opportunity in the RDS to put in a good performance against a good French side and hopefully progress.”
