WITH SO MUCH focus currently on the maul, Leinster lock James Ryan is just the man to talk to.

New law application guidelines around the maul have been in place since June, and those changes have made a notable impact across the opening weeks of the new season.

The shift means that if a defender gets beyond the ball in a maul and/or into a pulling/dragging position, they need to immediately leave the maul and re-join at the back – meaning a player can no longer ‘swim’ through.

“The laws are a bit stricter now around, like, they’re very finicky around guys coming up and swimming up the side of the maul,” Ryan says.

“So you’ve got to be really kind of north-south in terms of defending mauls now, keeping the weight in front of you, just having to be ultra-disciplined and ultra-clean with it, (and it) potentially makes it a little bit harder to defend.”

Leinster are preparing for a Champions Cup trip to play Clermont. Morgan Treacy / INPHO Morgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO

With the attacking team now holding a greater advantage at the maul, some teams have started to launch driving mauls from further out, knowing it’s easier to gain ground – with Glasgow deploying this approach against Connacht last weekend.

It’s something for Leinster to be wary of at the Stade Marcel-Michelin on Saturday, as the province take on Clermont-Auvergne in their Champions Cup opener.

“Yeah, teams are mauling outfield as well, further outfield,” Ryan continues.

“And one thing about Clermont and speaking about the maul is that their lineout maul is very good. It’s very strong, so that’ll be a big one for us this week as a pack in terms of going after that area of the game and trying to negate their strength there. A big pack, obviously, but very strong in set-piece.”

Ryan was asked if there is now a greater onus on the lineout caller.

“Yeah, I guess you could say that. There are more tries coming off the lineout maul, but it makes everyone’s job more important.

“I mean, it makes the lifters’ jobs more important in terms of getting forward. It makes the guys that are coming in behind – ‘wedges’ as we call them – making sure they’re punching in square.

“It probably makes the whole cog, everyone’s role even more important because if it’s getting a little bit easier now with the maul, then it’s the way the game’s going.”

Not all are fully on board with the changes, but Ryan isn’t losing any sleep.

Ryan made his first appearance of the season against Cardiff last weekend. Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO

“It works both sides. I think we’ve done a good job in the past, like Joe (McCarthy), Bairdo (Ryan Baird), Max Deegan have done a good job there the last couple of years around how best to defend mauls.

“And we’ve had some very good plans, some kind of creative plans around you know different things that we go after. So we like that part of the game, so for us, we don’t mind that it’s gone that way.”

As for Leinster, three games into the new season, it’s too early to identify any significant developments but there are signs Leo Cullen’s side are seeking to move back toward a more open, fluid attacking style.

“Yeah, I think so. We’re trying to evolve our attack a little bit,” Ryan says.

“We’ve got some like little new sort of micro shapes and things like that, just so we’re not becoming too predictable.

“I think that’s what the best attacks have. The best attacks are unpredictable. They’re kind of attacking you at all fronts. That’s certainly something we’re trying to do.

“In terms of attack, bring that on a little bit, but defensively, we’re trying to grow that as well, (and) obviously set-piece.”

That will be a welcome development for the supporters who grew increasingly frustrated with the gameplan last season – a frustration which was heightened by Leinster falling short in Europe again.

May’s one-sided defeat to Bordeaux proved Leinster’s most comprehensive final loss under Leo Cullen’s watch.

Conquering Europe remains the primary aim, but Ryan explains how the squad have shifted the internal expectations ahead of the start of a new Champions Cup journey.

“Yeah, maybe we have a little bit. For me, I think this season, I know there’s always a lot of noise around the fifth star and Champions Cup for us. I think the way we’re looking at this season is not as much about outcomes as around, like, let’s judge ourselves on our performance because that’s something we can control.

“We know if we perform well and we’ew at our best, well then we’re going to be in the mix at the end of the season.

“I think we give ourselves a good shot then as opposed to looking too far ahead, if that makes sense?”

At times, Leinster’s Champions Cup hunt has almost felt suffocating, but Ryan is hesitant to say the group have previously put too much pressure on themselves.

“I don’t know. I don’t think so because we’ve been unbelievably close as well. Some of those games, if they go your way, we’re not having this conversation. I think it’s more of just a broader point around putting ourselves really on performance.”