LEINSTER SECOND ROW Ross Molony has insisted the Irish province will need to fight fire with fire in order to come out on the right side of their Heineken Champions Cup quarter-final duel against Leicester Tigers at Welford Road tomorrow (kick-off 5.30pm).
Unbeaten in Europe so far this season, Leicester are also the current pace-setters in the Gallagher Premiership. Across both competitions, they have played 13 games on home soil and come away with a win in each and every one of them.
Since Steve Borthwick assumed the head-coach reins in July 2020 from former Ireland international Geordan Murphy (who moved to a Director of Rugby role before leaving the club four months later), the Tigers have become known for their abrasive approach. This is something the Leinster squad are fully aware of and Molony stressed they can’t allow their cross-channel rivals to dictate the terms of engagement.
“In terms of physicality, they’re right up there. As well as having the physical players in there, they have a system that everyone buys into. They’ve proven this season that the system is working for them. It’s an opportunity there, we don’t want to just sit down and let them be comfortable with what they are doing. We need to stand up and fight that fire with fire,” Molony said.
“It’s going to be a really tough place to go and play rugby, especially knockout rugby. Their success hasn’t happened by accident this year. Some of the work they have done up front and in the set piece has been incredibly good.
“Their line-out has worked incredibly well for them this year. Steve Borthwick drives a really good system there and they have the players who understand it very well.”
While Molony is still waiting on his first senior cap with Ireland – he picked up 10 at U20s level – he has sampled life within Andy Farrell’s international environment. In addition to earning a call-up for last summer’s tests against Japan and the USA, he also trained with the Ireland squad in advance of their Six Nations Championship clashes with Italy and Scotland earlier this year.
Even though he ultimately missed out on selection, spending time in the international set-up in 2021 was the spark Molony needed in his career. This season has seen him producing some of his best form for Leinster and he has started 15 games to date in their second row – the most he has managed in a single term since making his provincial debut against Zebre on 20 February, 2015.
I’m just loving my rugby at the moment. I got that exposure in the summer. Arguably late in the career, let’s call it that. I went into a different environment, into the international set-up. It’s nearly a bit of a kick, a bit of a motivational thing; that this is the level that I want to get to and I feel like I can get to.
“I’ve been able to string a run of games together and just keep working on top of the small bits I’ve picked up along the way. There are a lot of individual skill sets in terms of line-out calling, kick-off receipts, catch and pass stuff [that I’ve worked on].
“Not that I wouldn’t have done that before, but it was definitely a little bit of a kick that I needed. I had to constantly work at this, because this is my game and this is what is going to get me selected to play in these games.”
After finding himself on the brink of international recognition, it is little surprise that Molony is targeting a spot in the Ireland squad for this summer’s tour of New Zealand. Before then, there is the small matter of Leinster’s latest hunt for silverware with tomorrow’s game representing a pivotal step in their quest for a fifth European star.
“At the moment, my mindset is that there are two trophies to win with Leinster. Summer is obviously one of my goals, but it is not at the front of my mind at the moment. I’ve said I am putting everything I can into this team and into my performances with this team. If that goes well, hopefully that ends up happening at the end of the season,” Molony added.