LAST SUNDAY’S 16-14 defeat to the Dragons at the RDS certainly wasn’t part of the script for Matt O’Connor’s Leinster.
Not only did the defeat bring to an end a proud record at the Dublin venue, but it also saw their Six Nations period of games off to a worrying start.
Last year, O’Connor’s squad made light work of this potentially tricky stage of the season, racking up five straight wins between early February and mid March, also managing to score a raft of tries in the process.
In that light, a loss to the 10th-placed Dragons last weekend was as frustrating a result as O’Connor has had to front up to, particularly given the presence of a raft of international players in his match day 23.
Tonight’s meeting with Zebre at the RDS [KO 19.35] provides Leinster with an ideal opportunity to take out some of their anger and compensate the fans left short-changed last weekend with a commanding victory.
We haven’t had a lot of time this week, it’s a short week,” says O’Connor of his side’s preparation. “We’ve had a couple of blokes back into the environment, which is positive out of Irish camp.
“But we thought we let ourselves down mentally [against the Dragons], whether it was preparation or post-setbacks, I think it wasn’t good enough in those aspects. That’s been the focus. We haven’t had much opportunity to do too much training, so it’s trying to get the guys in the right mindset to deliver a performance.”
A home tie against the worst team in the league may not look like the easiest fixture to get motivated for, but many Leinster players will feel they have to deliver if they are to stand any chance of involvement for Ireland in the remainder of the Six Nations.
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Luke Fitzgerald, Fergus McFadden, Gordon D’Arcy, Eoin Reddan, Marty Moore, Mike McCarthy and Dominic Ryan are all starters this evening, while Sean Cronin, Dave Kearney, Isaac Boss and Cian Healy are replacements.
O'Brien will not return for Leinster tonight, but O'Connor is happy to see him back for Ireland. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
O’Connor admits he’s excited to have Healy back in a Leinster jersey for the first time since last September.
“Definitely, Cian is a special athlete,” says the Australian head coach. “He’s a little bit short of a gallop obviously but it’s great to have him back on the field. Hopefully he remains fit for the future and has a very big back end of the season for us.”
O’Connor insists his only conversation with Schmidt this week was around which players the Ireland coach would be releasing back to Leinster; there were few instructions around game time or positioning.
Schmidt resisted any temptation to allow Sean O’Brien another run out after his long stint on the sidelines, but O’Connor was just pleased to see the openside flanker come through a full game against France unscathed.
I think Seanie demonstrated the mental toughness that he has,” says O’Connor. “That’s a pretty big ask to go into a game of that intensity off the back of the [lack of] rugby he has played in and perform at the level he did.
“There’s not many blokes around who can deliver that sort of performance, so for him to get through that was incredibly positive.
“I’d imagine he will do the same against England and hopefully those blokes come back from the Six Nations period and have a really big finish to the season.”
Leinster
15. Zane Kirchner
14. Fergus McFadden
13. Ben Te’o
12. Gordon D’Arcy
11. Luke Fitzgerald
10. Jimmy Gopperth
9. Eoin Reddan
1. Michael Bent
2. Aaron Dundon
3. Marty Moore
4. Mike McCarthy
5. Kane Douglas
6. Dominic Ryan
7. Shane Jennings (c)
8. Jack Conan
Replacements:
16. Sean Cronin
17. Cian Healy
18. Tadhg Furlong
19. Ben Marshall
20. Dan Leavy
21. Isaac Boss
22. Cathal Marsh
23. Dave Kearney
Zebre
15. Hendrik Daniller
14. Dion Berryman
13. Mirco Bergamasco
12. Matteo Pratichetti
11. Michele Visentin
10. Luciano Orquera
9. Brendon Leonard
'Cian is a special athlete' - Leinster boosted by Healy return for Zebre clash
LAST SUNDAY’S 16-14 defeat to the Dragons at the RDS certainly wasn’t part of the script for Matt O’Connor’s Leinster.
Not only did the defeat bring to an end a proud record at the Dublin venue, but it also saw their Six Nations period of games off to a worrying start.
Last year, O’Connor’s squad made light work of this potentially tricky stage of the season, racking up five straight wins between early February and mid March, also managing to score a raft of tries in the process.
In that light, a loss to the 10th-placed Dragons last weekend was as frustrating a result as O’Connor has had to front up to, particularly given the presence of a raft of international players in his match day 23.
Tonight’s meeting with Zebre at the RDS [KO 19.35] provides Leinster with an ideal opportunity to take out some of their anger and compensate the fans left short-changed last weekend with a commanding victory.
“But we thought we let ourselves down mentally [against the Dragons], whether it was preparation or post-setbacks, I think it wasn’t good enough in those aspects. That’s been the focus. We haven’t had much opportunity to do too much training, so it’s trying to get the guys in the right mindset to deliver a performance.”
A home tie against the worst team in the league may not look like the easiest fixture to get motivated for, but many Leinster players will feel they have to deliver if they are to stand any chance of involvement for Ireland in the remainder of the Six Nations.
Luke Fitzgerald, Fergus McFadden, Gordon D’Arcy, Eoin Reddan, Marty Moore, Mike McCarthy and Dominic Ryan are all starters this evening, while Sean Cronin, Dave Kearney, Isaac Boss and Cian Healy are replacements.
O’Connor admits he’s excited to have Healy back in a Leinster jersey for the first time since last September.
“Definitely, Cian is a special athlete,” says the Australian head coach. “He’s a little bit short of a gallop obviously but it’s great to have him back on the field. Hopefully he remains fit for the future and has a very big back end of the season for us.”
O’Connor insists his only conversation with Schmidt this week was around which players the Ireland coach would be releasing back to Leinster; there were few instructions around game time or positioning.
Schmidt resisted any temptation to allow Sean O’Brien another run out after his long stint on the sidelines, but O’Connor was just pleased to see the openside flanker come through a full game against France unscathed.
“There’s not many blokes around who can deliver that sort of performance, so for him to get through that was incredibly positive.
“I’d imagine he will do the same against England and hopefully those blokes come back from the Six Nations period and have a really big finish to the season.”
Leinster
15. Zane Kirchner
14. Fergus McFadden
13. Ben Te’o
12. Gordon D’Arcy
11. Luke Fitzgerald
10. Jimmy Gopperth
9. Eoin Reddan
1. Michael Bent
2. Aaron Dundon
3. Marty Moore
4. Mike McCarthy
5. Kane Douglas
6. Dominic Ryan
7. Shane Jennings (c)
8. Jack Conan
Replacements:
16. Sean Cronin
17. Cian Healy
18. Tadhg Furlong
19. Ben Marshall
20. Dan Leavy
21. Isaac Boss
22. Cathal Marsh
23. Dave Kearney
Zebre
15. Hendrik Daniller
14. Dion Berryman
13. Mirco Bergamasco
12. Matteo Pratichetti
11. Michele Visentin
10. Luciano Orquera
9. Brendon Leonard
1. Andrea De Marchi
2. Oliviero Fabiani
3. Luciano Leibson
4. Valerio Bernabo
5. Michele Sutto
6. Jacopo Sarto
7. Mauro Bergamasco (c)
8. Samuela Vunisa
Replacements:
16. Lorenzo Giovanchelli
17. Laert Naka
18. Luke Redolfini
19. Giacomo Bernini
20. Ruben Curls
21. Alberto Chillon
22. Edoardo Padovani
23. David Odiete
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