The arrival of perennial foes La Rochelle to the Aviva Stadium next Saturday for a Champions Cup pool match will quicken the pulse of the Leinster players as they embrace the week with the momentum of three successive interprovincial wins in the URC, the latest of which was Saturday’s 52-17 win over Connacht.
Dan Sheehan, captain and try-scorer against the western province, provided a sample flavour from the dressingroom. “It’s massive for the club. Lads will be bouncing in on Monday now for a European week, especially where we play La Rochelle at home. Obviously, (there has been) a good rivalry there in the past. They’ve all been close games and come down to one or two-score games.
“There will be a great buzz; there was in the changingroom after that win there [against Connacht] so we just have to keep building on that momentum. We can’t afford an ‘off week’ now.”
Which province is worth paying to watch?
Sheehan was back to his marauding best, not just illustrated in a trademark try out wide – his 48th for the province – but also in his general game, robust in his carrying and hard-hitting in the tackle. “Personally, I feel like now I’m clicking, I’m back match fit and I can focus on my job,” he said.
READ MORE
“It is probably similar with a lot of the lads. People are looking forward to playing. We have to make sure we keep making the right decisions and that we play whatever game is in front of us. There’s good excitement to play good Leinster rugby of old and that we bring a physical edge as well. That’s probably the number one thing.
“It can be tricky at the start of the season where you are only getting a certain number of games and just trying to get match fit again because you can’t replicate time on the pitch. You can train as much as you like. It’s nice, you feel you’re right into the season now.
“That has been a nice block of games to get under the belt going into two big weeks,” he adding, referencing the European games against La Rochelle before facing Bayonne away over the next fortnight.
Leinster have one or two injury concerns arising from the weekend. Harry Byrne withdrew prior to the match with “a niggle,” Rabah Slimani tweaked a calf in the warm-up and didn’t play, while Jack Boyle picked up an arm/shoulder injury and had to be replaced.
As for next weekend, familiarity hasn’t bred contempt when it comes to facing La Rochelle. “We know their pedigree,” said head coach Leo Cullen. “A very dangerous team, and we know that ROG (Ronan O’Gara) will have them well motivated for this one.
“They’re a team we know well, and they know us well. It will be a great battle again because it has been a great rivalry in recent seasons and these are the games you look forward to. It’s not a knockout game but it will certainly have that feel.”
Connacht head coach Stuart Lancaster confirmed he expects his side’s injury outlook to improve ahead of next Sunday’s trip to Montpellier in the Challenge Cup. “One or two (players) will need to be managed but we have an extensive injury list over the last three or four weeks which is going to ease in the next week.
“We will have lads like Jack Aungier, Dave Heffernan and Sean Naughton coming back soon. Caolin Blade won’t be too far away, so there are four or five lads who are waiting to play so you can use that window for that.”
“The priority for me is to qualify in the Challenge Cup to give ourselves a fighting chance come the end of the season,” Lancaster added.
“But the real aim is to finish top eight [in the URC]. You see the league now and there is a top six and then there is going to be a hell of a scrap for seven and eight, and we want to be in that scrap.
“The Leinster and Zebre games are huge games for us now. We play Glasgow (during) the Six Nations, minus their internationals, same with the Scarlets, then various other games towards the end of that period where we don’t lose as many players internationally as others.
“Playing at home has been hard, for 18 months playing in what feels like an empty stadium, a half-full stadium, so to have the stand open for the Leinster game is huge, and then to maintain that momentum for future home games will be massive in the second-half of the season.”
