THE POINT HAS been made several times this week that Leinster wouldn’t have had to travel for the URC semi-finals if they had done a better job in the regular season.
A weakened Leinster squad lost to the Lions and Bulls on their tour of South Africa in April, while they were beaten by Ulster in Belfast last month.
Throw in the opening weekend defeat away to Glasgow, as well as a home beating by Ulster on New Year’s Day, and the eastern province were left in the unusual position of not being top seeds heading into the play-offs.
They still had a home quarter-final against Ulster last weekend but just a few days later, they find themselves in Pretoria having travelled to South Africa ahead of their semi-final against the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld.
If Leinster win, their prep for the final will include travelling swiftly back north to face either Munster in Limerick or Glasgow in Dublin. It’s not an ideal scenario when it comes to recovery but Leinster aren’t looking for any sympathy.
In fact, they’ve taken on something of a siege mentality this week despite being six-point favourites against the Bulls and outright favourites to win the URC.
“Listen, we’ve had to do things a little bit differently this season,” said assistant coach Robin McBryde on a call from Pretoria. “We had home [play-off] fixtures the last couple of years but there is a little trick, definitely in my head anyway, where sometimes it’s good to do things the hard way around because when you are written off and nobody gives you an opportunity, you just have to prove all the doubters wrong.
“If you’ve got a chip on your shoulder, that will drive you on a fair bit. So, there’s a part of you that says, ‘Yeah, bring it on, make it harder again then.’ We’ll still embrace it and still give it our best crack. That’s the spirit you want. You’ve got to have that mindset.”
McBryde said there had been no complaints about the long journey south after the Ulster game.
“We are literally a stone’s throw away… I’m looking at the stadium we will be playing in on Saturday across the road here. We’ve got a nice hotel, gym around the corner, everything is within walking distance, and we’re just getting on with it.
“The weather is a bit better than what it was in Dublin, which helps, but it’s going to be a Test-level intensity match on Saturday. Nobody is under any sort of illusion so that grounds you as well. It focuses the mind, it makes you really focus on the job at hand and take ownership.”
Some teams who play in Pretoria opt to spend the early part of the week at sea level somewhere like Cape Town before travelling up to the altitude of the Highveld before the game. It’s the strategy Munster opted for on their successful tour of South Africa.
But Leinster have landed straight into Pretoria to get used to the altitude.
“That’s one of the reasons Jacques Nienaber is with us as well, who has got a bit more experience than I have of the acclimatisation required,” said McBryde.
“But listen, we made the decision to come out here early, just to get used to things and get a feel for the environment. I think it’s a nice way to go about it, really.
“So we’ve got everything out of the way. We’re in control of everything here now and we had a good hit out today, we’re slowly getting the feel for what it’s like.
“Depending on who you talk to with regards to the best way to go about it, some people will say, ‘Listen, a lot of it is mind games and you’ve just got to get on with it and find your second wind a little bit earlier on in the game.’
“In fairness to Benetton last week, they were in the game for long periods and it was a very nip-and-tuck game. They arrived here on the Tuesday or the Wednesday.
“So we don’t want to get too bogged down in that. At the end of the day, it’s going to be a very physical encounter and we’ve just got to get on with it.”
This game has been billed as the perfect precursor to Ireland’s two-Test series against the Springboks in July, with the first game of that series also taking place at Loftus Versfeld.
McBryde certainly believes it will be of that kind of intensity.
“They have what, 20 internationals in their squad? And they would be world champions if that’s the case. So for us to come here and face them in their own backyard, it’s going to be a vociferous and hostile environment with the home supporters.
“We have had the benefit of having home support and they have been great so it will be good for us to face it in another way.
“Hopefully being taken out of our comfort zone we will see a bit of growth again but as a front row, a front five, as a pack of eight forwards, the challenges don’t come much greater than this. It’s one to really embrace and look forward to.”
