Gavan Casey

ROSS MOLONY JOKES that his phone has been off this week.

He got a good laugh out of the Champions Cup draw in the summer when he discovered that he would be returning to Leinster only months after he had left for Bath, but the Dubliner is decidedly businesslike in discussing his former side ahead of Saturday’s Champions Cup pool tie at the Aviva Stadium.

He goes as far as to say it’s “cool” to play against not only former teammates, but some of his best mates since their school days in St Michael’s. It’s “hugely exciting” for his family, Molony says, but he’s keen not to blow it out of proportion on a personal level.

“It always is going to be strange when you’re playing against people you know so well but no, I can’t wait,” he says. “That’s been my overall thought process on it this week: looking forward to the opportunity rather than making it out to be something massive when it’s not.”

Molony’s new head coach Johann van Graan speaks glowingly not only of Molony’s intangible contribution to Bath’s setup but of his technical acumen.

His lineout skills were a massive selling point in Van Graan’s efforts to tempt Molony across the Irish Sea, certainly, but the South African equally recalls admiring from afar Molony’s deft hands — and passes in behind to the likes of Johnny Sexton and Josh van der Flier in particular — during Leinster’s Champions Cup semi-final victory over Toulouse in 2022.

From Molony’s perspective, the potential reduction in meaningful game-time with the arrival of a third elite Test lock in RG Snyman gave him a decision to make. He was approaching 30 at the time and while he acknowledges that Leinster do a better job than pretty much any other European club of maintaining the emotional investment of squad players, Molony was more keen to test himself outside of that relative comfort zone.

“I saw that, over here in Bath, they were building something,” he says. “Leinster have some quality second rows and I guess from my perspective, it was time to start a new journey in my career. It was something that really excited me and I haven’t really looked back since making that decision.”

Leinster, of course, would have preferred to have kept Molony, who took with him a lot of intellectual property to South West England.

The Dubliner’s absence as one of the country’s few true lineout specialists has on occasion this season felt pronounced, albeit Leinster have steadied that particular set-piece during their recent victories away to Munster in the URC and at La Rochelle in the Champions Cup.

Saturday will prove a different sort of challenge as they choose from a lineout menu that was largely curated by one of the opposition players. Molony, though, plays down the extent to which he’ll be able to eavesdrop at the Aviva.

“They’re gonna be aware, obviously, that I have a bit of intel there,” he says. “The way they package whatever lineout plan they come with is gonna be something completely different.

“So, in a way, you’re in the dark and it’s just like prepping against any other team. But I guess I could look to pick up trends: there’s familiarity in terms of the players I played with for so long.”

Ultimately, Molony insists, Bath will be more focused on their own lineout plan, both in and out of possession.

Still, he’s bound to share a few looks with Rónan Kelleher as the Leinster hooker steps up to the oche.

“Yeah,” Molony laughs. “Might be a few words.”

Lineout aficionados are more common in other rugby cultures than they are in the Irish game, where Molony stands out alongside players such as Munster’s Peter O’Mahony and Connacht’s Niall Murray in taking ownership of that particular set-piece.

Those three men began their research into the area in school, with Molony first taking on the responsibility during his Senior Cup cycle at St Michael’s.

He quickly discovered that he enjoyed the decision-making element to it: the risk and reward of a good call on either side of the ball. He describes the lineout as “a chess game within the game”.

“And when I went into the Leinster academy, Leo [Cullen] was there,” Molony adds. “When I was playing [Ireland] 20s, John Fogarty was the forwards coach at the time. And then I had players at Leinster like Dev Toner, Scott Fardy, who paved the way in terms of how things are done and how decisions are made in the lineout.

“Ultimately, it’s just seeing a picture and how you react off that, and how good you can be at the decision you make. That’s either side of the ball. So, even defensively, you’re picking up trends, you’re reacting off that. And then when you have the ball, you’re again calling off defensive pictures that you see opposition doing.

“I enjoy doing it. I enjoy the rewards you get from planning and executing on the day. It’s hopefully something that’s seen as a big part of my game. I’ve tried my best since joining Bath to give as much knowledge as I have to this team. And it’s a team where there’s already a huge amount of knowledge there with the players and coaches we have here.”

Johann van Graan’s Premiership leaders will require that knowledge and more if they are to upset Leinster at the Aviva on Saturday. A losing point might be enough to see Bath through to the last 16.

But Molony’s homecoming will be prove an interesting wrinkle as Leinster chase home advantage in the knockouts.