HAVING DISPOSED OF the Ospreys in Wales last weekend, Leinster’s attention has been on French champions Castres this week, building towards today’s 3.40pm kick-off at the RDS.
The opening months of this season featured many questions about how Leinster would cope without Jonny Sexton and Joe Schmidt, but suddenly those issues have been forgotten. The eastern province are into the thick of their season and the focus is on the present.
With two testing games in the last couple of weeks against Munster and the Ospreys, Leinster coach Matt O’Connor agrees that the side has been able to progress and bond, even if that first game saw a poor performance. The Australian is still keen to point out that there is some way to go.
“I mean it’s going to take time, there’s certain adjustments that need to be made, with new players coming in and new systems and structures that we’re working on all the time. That will get better and better as time progresses.
The intensity of the last couple of weeks has given us the opportunity to fast track that somewhat and there’s a little bit of trust that’s been developed off the back of two really tough games.
“We’ll be better for it on Saturday [against Castres] off the back of Munster, and the lessons we learned there, and the result and performance last weekend against the Ospreys.”
Castres rumble into town with their heaviest and most potent weapons in tow and, after naming their strongest available XV, look likely to challenge the perception that French clubs don’t care about away fixtures in the Heineken Cup.
Even with all their big names in the team, there is still the possibility of Castres throwing in the towel if Leinster take an early lead this afternoon. Such is the particular way of the unique French rugby psyche. O’Connor admits that French sides are hard to predict, but feels that their lack of interest in away games is changing.
“I think that’s the nature of the Top 14, isn’t it? They have a bit of a focus in relation to winning their home games. I think that’s probably more to do with the travel and the refereeing than anything else, but that’s the mindset, that’s the culture, that’s the way they do it.
“But now, the quality sides we’ve seen in Europe over the last number of years, the top French sides, can go anywhere and win. Everybody knows that, they’ve got the squads to do it. It’s just for them to get the mentality right.
©INPHO/Dan Sheridan.
"Again, it's not anything that we can control and it doesn't really interest us how they come. It's about what we deliver on."
Castres' domestic season hasn't been overly impressive, as they find themselves in 11th after nine rounds. Strong wins against Toulon, Racing Metro and Stade Français have been balanced by disappointing losses to the likes of Oyonnax and Brive. Away form has been the main issue, with the Tarn-based side having lost all five of their games on the road.
Indeed, over the last four seasons Castres have won just 11 of their 44 away fixtures in the Top 14. It's not the most intimidating record for Leinster, but O'Connor is certainly not writing off a team who won the Bouclier de Brennus as recently as June.
"[They're] pretty good actually. Everyone knows that they won the league last year in France and to beat Clermont and Toulon back-to-back takes a pretty massive effort. So we're not underestimating them one bit.
They're a quality side, they won the Top 14 and they've got a pretty solid squad and a very deep squad. They will be pretty dangerous if we let them."
Whatever about Castres' strengths, Leinster are without two men who have been cornerstones of the side for years. Brian O'Driscoll and Mike Ross remain in recovery from calf and hamstring injuries respectively, with Brendan Macken and Marty Moore given further opportunities to impress.
The latter was the recipient of great praise in the aftermath of the win against the Ospreys, and O'Connor has been impressed by the 22-year-old Moore in the opening months of the season.
"He's played very well. That's a massive ask for a young man, to come on against two Lions in the front row as well as a couple of others in the forwards. He did a fantastic job for us and I'm sure that he'll do the same job for us again."
So what is O'Connor expecting in terms of approach from Castres at the RDS this afternoon?
"Who knows? You wouldn't want to predict that. It's about controlling what we can control, doing what we need to do to come up with the right result."
