AS HIS OWN game continues to blossom, Luke McGrath is relishing the prospect of going up against ‘one of the best’ scrum-halves in the world in Ruan Pienaar when Montpellier visit the RDS on Saturday.
Since the door opened for him at the start of last season, the 24-year-old has certainly seized his opportunity with both hands and he finished last term by touring USA and Japan with Joe Schmidt’s Ireland, adding to the two caps he won against Canada and England.
McGrath started more games for Leinster last season [21] than in his previous five years years with the eastern province and the development and sharpening of his distribution, support play and kicking game has firmly established him as Leinster’s first-choice nine and advanced his cause for further international recognition.
Having last weekend gone head-to-head with Conor Murray at the Aviva Stadium, McGrath will this week pit his wits against a player he has previously spoken of his admiration for during Pienaar’s seven years in Ireland.
The former St Michael’s College student grew up watching the classy South African pull the strings and dictate the tempo of countless games from the half-back line, and all the while began to study the Springbok’s game to draw inspiration from it.
“He is one of the best scrum-halves I’ve played against,” McGrath says ahead of Saturday’s Champions Cup clash. “Every single time I play against him, I look forward to the challenge. You are only going to better yourself against this calibre of player.”
McGrath is full of praise for his opposite number in Montpellier’s all-star side, although he admits his focus will be on what he does and what ways he can control the contest for Leinster.
“You focus on your own game because you don’t come into contact too many times,” he continued.
“What Ruan does so well is every time he is running to the ruck, he is scanning the backfield because he is such a good kicking option.
“You could be on your halfway line defending him, the next thing you know you are five metres from your own line. It is those kinds of things he does so well. He is such a world-class player and they have world-class players all over the place.
“He is just so smart and he has played at ten as well. He’s got that natural ability. His length of pass is good. He always seems to choose the right option – when to run, when not to run.
“Even you see him often now, whenever they get a penalty, he takes a quick one. He doesn’t even let the wingers get set. He just keeps the momentum rolling. It is just those smart little details he does which make him one of the best.”
And McGrath has been fortunate not just to learn from the best in opposition changing rooms over the last 12 months but also work alongside Murray over an extended period during last year’s November internationals as well as the Six Nations.
McGrath has appeared to jumped ahead of Kieran Marmion in the pecking order but the competition for places at both Ireland and Leinster is fierce, with Jamison Gibson-Park and Nick McCarthy both pushing their own case for inclusion at the province.
Anybody who watches McGrath will appreciate his tireless work-rate as well as the improvements he has made in several facets of his game, including more match awareness and he knows he needs to continually fine-tune his skills in order to stay on this upward curve.
“I know from our squad, training every day, it is very competitive,” he adds. “In Ireland, at the moment, Murray has been incredible, even on the Lions tour.
“It was great to see him do so well, especially when I get to know him a bit more last year. It is going the right way.”
The return of Pienaar to Ireland for the first time since his contentious departure from Ulster during the summer is just one of the fascinating subplots surrounding Saturday’s European clash in Dublin.
McGrath and Leinster are under no illusions of the size of the task which faces them, as Vern Cotter’s Top 14 heavyweights arrive seeking revenge for their humbling defeat at the RDS last January.
“They have threats all around the park,” he says. “One way to beat them is not to have many mistakes, if any. Their back three is so impressive. The nine and ten run the game.
“They crowd you well and can put you under pressure with any type of game. Their maul is very strong as well. It is a massive, massive challenge and if we want to win, we have to be right on our game.”
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