THREE GAMES IN, the picture could hardly look better for Leinster in the Champions Cup.
Successive bonus-point wins against Racing and Gloucester (twice) have placed the province in pole position in Pool A, the aggregate score from those three games reading 148-24 in Leinster’s favour.
Yesterday’s impressive 49-14 success at Gloucester highlighted everything that is good about Leinster’s game. Even without the likes of Johnny Sexton, Tadhg Furlong, Robbie Henshaw and James Lowe, at times their play was outstanding – Gloucester unable to live with the speed and accuracy of Leinster’s varied attacking threat.
It all leaves Leinster in the best possible position ahead of next weekend’s visit of Racing to the Aviva Stadium.
With 15 points from a possible 15 to their name, Leo Cullen’s side are primed to secure home advantage as the competition heads into the knockout stages – where Leinster could play in Dublin all the way up the final, should they make it that far.
With that in mind, Cullen will reinforce the need for his players to finish their pool campaign on a high.
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“We’ve got Racing in the Aviva next week. It’s exciting for our players to be in front of friends and family.
“We’ve a number of players who hit milestones there (against Gloucester), I see Mikey Milne with his Dad out there, European debut, Brian Deeny and Liam Turner the same.
Cian (Healy) making his 100th appearance in the competition is an amazing achievement. I remember Cian when I first met him, you were never too sure what to make of him, how could this guy survive as a professional? How he’s progressed in terms of his own diligence and professionalism, he’s phenomenal.
“Racing are tricky opponents for us, they’ve plenty of quality in their squad, in front of close to a full house.”
Cullen also acknowledged that it wasn’t all perfect in Kingsholm. For the second week running, Leinster had some issues at the scrum while Gloucester also tested them around the setpiece – Andrew Porter and Caelan Doris both yellow-carded for collapsing the maul in incidents that resulted in two penalty tries.
Given how Leinster have struggled against power teams in the past, it’s an area they’ll continue to pay close attention to in the coming weeks and months. The absence of Furlong and powerful second row Jason Jenkins has been keenly felt, and their return will bolster Leinster strength in those departments further down the line.
Yesterday’s trip to Gloucester also afforded Cullen an opportunity to catch up with some familiar faces. Felipe Contepomi, who departed as Leinster attack coach last summer, was in attendance alongside Argentina boss Michael Cheika, the pair keeping a close eye on Gloucester’s Argentinian out-half Santiago Carreras.
Contepomi, who now works alongside Cheika with his native Pumas, even paid a visit to Leinster’s team hotel on Friday night.
“Felipe was in our hotel last night, milling around then catching up with him individually. He’s doing a good job with the Argies, talking about their World Cup success, football that is.
“Dan Tobin (Gloucester’s head of performance who previously spent 10 years with Leinster) and Tommy Turner (former Leinster S&C coach) with Gloucester, it’s great some of the connections you have in the game.
“It was a really good atmosphere here today. It’s a great rugby ground here, I’m pleased with how our guys approached the week and delivered on some of the preparation they put in. That comes down to picking the right play at the right time, generally that went pretty well.”
It’s also worth remembering Leinster are still getting familiar with attack coach Andrew Goodman, who joined last summer. His imprint should continue to come to the fore as the province step towards the business end of the season.
All in all, it’s a nice place to be. With 15 wins from their opening 15 games, and areas for improvement, it’s all shaping up nicely for a province determined to land Europe’s top prize in Dublin later this year.
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Leinster setting the pace in Champions Cup but province can still hit another level
THREE GAMES IN, the picture could hardly look better for Leinster in the Champions Cup.
Successive bonus-point wins against Racing and Gloucester (twice) have placed the province in pole position in Pool A, the aggregate score from those three games reading 148-24 in Leinster’s favour.
Yesterday’s impressive 49-14 success at Gloucester highlighted everything that is good about Leinster’s game. Even without the likes of Johnny Sexton, Tadhg Furlong, Robbie Henshaw and James Lowe, at times their play was outstanding – Gloucester unable to live with the speed and accuracy of Leinster’s varied attacking threat.
It all leaves Leinster in the best possible position ahead of next weekend’s visit of Racing to the Aviva Stadium.
With 15 points from a possible 15 to their name, Leo Cullen’s side are primed to secure home advantage as the competition heads into the knockout stages – where Leinster could play in Dublin all the way up the final, should they make it that far.
With that in mind, Cullen will reinforce the need for his players to finish their pool campaign on a high.
“We’ve got Racing in the Aviva next week. It’s exciting for our players to be in front of friends and family.
“We’ve a number of players who hit milestones there (against Gloucester), I see Mikey Milne with his Dad out there, European debut, Brian Deeny and Liam Turner the same.
“Racing are tricky opponents for us, they’ve plenty of quality in their squad, in front of close to a full house.”
Cullen also acknowledged that it wasn’t all perfect in Kingsholm. For the second week running, Leinster had some issues at the scrum while Gloucester also tested them around the setpiece – Andrew Porter and Caelan Doris both yellow-carded for collapsing the maul in incidents that resulted in two penalty tries.
Given how Leinster have struggled against power teams in the past, it’s an area they’ll continue to pay close attention to in the coming weeks and months. The absence of Furlong and powerful second row Jason Jenkins has been keenly felt, and their return will bolster Leinster strength in those departments further down the line.
Yesterday’s trip to Gloucester also afforded Cullen an opportunity to catch up with some familiar faces. Felipe Contepomi, who departed as Leinster attack coach last summer, was in attendance alongside Argentina boss Michael Cheika, the pair keeping a close eye on Gloucester’s Argentinian out-half Santiago Carreras.
Contepomi, who now works alongside Cheika with his native Pumas, even paid a visit to Leinster’s team hotel on Friday night.
“Felipe was in our hotel last night, milling around then catching up with him individually. He’s doing a good job with the Argies, talking about their World Cup success, football that is.
“Dan Tobin (Gloucester’s head of performance who previously spent 10 years with Leinster) and Tommy Turner (former Leinster S&C coach) with Gloucester, it’s great some of the connections you have in the game.
“It was a really good atmosphere here today. It’s a great rugby ground here, I’m pleased with how our guys approached the week and delivered on some of the preparation they put in. That comes down to picking the right play at the right time, generally that went pretty well.”
It’s also worth remembering Leinster are still getting familiar with attack coach Andrew Goodman, who joined last summer. His imprint should continue to come to the fore as the province step towards the business end of the season.
All in all, it’s a nice place to be. With 15 wins from their opening 15 games, and areas for improvement, it’s all shaping up nicely for a province determined to land Europe’s top prize in Dublin later this year.
Get instant updates on your province on The42 app. With Laya Healthcare, official health and wellbeing partner to Leinster, Munster and Connacht Rugby.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Champions Cup Leinster Leo Cullen Room to improve