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Craig Watson/INPHO

Competition enabling Leinster to 'rotate without a dent in performance'

The Champions Cup favourites made wholesale changes in between rounds two and three, but kept their winning streak going.

A HARD-GRAFTED win away to the Top14 leaders cemented Leinster’s status as the Heineken Champions Cup favourites.

Then 17 of the 23-man squad were changed as they issued a statement performance in their Pro14 defence by beating last year’s beaten finalists on their own patch.

For another visit to face a table-topping in-form team – Northampton in the case of the coming weekend – the changes will flow back again for the eastern province. Yet almost every position feels as though there is a strong argument swirling over for any given match. Alternatives are easily found.

The Test-cap count in the European line-ups will reveal an understandable leaning towards the established names. However, the rise of Ronan Kelleher or Caelan Doris are examples of how willing Leo Cullen and Stuart Lancaster are to adhere to the form guide over past deeds.

“Sometimes it is not about names, but who is in better shape and who is performing better to be best able to do the job for the team for a particular game,” said Felipe Contepomi yesterday.

The Argentine does not feel that the style of Leinster’s last two wins were all that different. Instead, he says, they both springboarded off the same fundamentals. One opponent demands an arm-wrestle, the other a little more flair.

“What we try to do with training and the way we train is to make sure it’s not about names who are in there, it’s about Leinster – that’s the big name.

felipe-contepomi Ryan Byrne / INPHO Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO

“It’s Leinster always being represented with the best players we can. It doesn’t matter who plays, Leinster have an identity and the way we want to play, what we want to show.”

As ever, competition for places drives the standards that has run through Leinster’s nine-game winning streak, competition that begins within the walls of the team rooms and training field.

And as long as a team keeps winning, there will be a continuous feed of the willingness to buy in and fill in when the opportunity comes.

We are lucky and wealthy in terms of how tough the competition is within the squad.

“For us it is not a question of just setting up a team; we want to put the best and the strongest team on the pitch every weekend… you select them and they perform and then you have some other guys that didn’t play and they are fresh (and eager).

“That’s how rotation goes. You can make that rotation. We are lucky that we have a lot of competition for every place and we are able to do that rotation without a dent in performance.”

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    Mute Peter Brophy
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    Dec 3rd 2019, 7:10 AM

    Leinster seem to have improved on last season but I feel if Saracens go for it, they are the team to beat still. A lot to be learned this weekend

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    Mute David
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    Dec 3rd 2019, 10:28 AM

    @Peter Brophy:

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    Mute Peter McCarthy
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    Dec 3rd 2019, 11:34 AM

    Leinster are such an impressive organisation at the moment. Serious conveyor belt of talent certainly helps but from the top down they are so well run.

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    Mute Cortiss
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    Dec 3rd 2019, 7:37 AM

    Not long till we have to split them in 2

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    Mute Richard
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    Dec 3rd 2019, 9:49 AM

    @Cortiss: so you’d like to pretend that they as a province and home to the majority of Ireland’s private schools not at an advantage over club sides in England? I’m not trying to pick an argument but let’s recognise the reality for what it is.

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    Mute David
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    Dec 3rd 2019, 10:25 AM

    @Cortiss: I said that for a laugh the other day and the muppets went into attack mode and Alan Quinlan said it on OTB yesterday and made them crawl into the it little boxes.

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    Mute Paul Ennis
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    Dec 3rd 2019, 12:17 PM

    @David: although it is still a daft idea, even if Quinners suggested it. In the same way you could never split the Dubs. Would you just tell the supporters that they have to follow a different team in a different stadium?

    I prefer Ger Gilroys idea for the IRFU to buy London Irish with the CVC money!

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    Mute Rory Craig
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    Dec 3rd 2019, 12:50 PM

    @David: As a Leinster supporter I would support this idea of splitting Leinster in 2. Both new Leinster teams could share the RDS and Donnybrook on rotation. I think you would have to limit the two new teams to 1 Champions Cup place though or it might not be fair.

    It would be great to see Leinster get a game from someone and it is becoming increasingly apparent that it will only happen if they can somehow play themselves.

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    Mute Michael Murray
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    Dec 3rd 2019, 1:10 PM

    @Rory Craig: revive the old province of Meath, …
    Put a few IRFU bob into and already well developed club, Navan to bring it up to spec…..better than buying in London…..an hour from Dublin and not much more than 2 to Belfast , Galway and Limerick.

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    Mute Decko49
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    Dec 3rd 2019, 1:51 PM

    @Rory Craig: Why not just give them the Pro 14 and Champions cup trophies now. No point going through the games. Waste of time and money for the fans. Why not split Leinster into 4 different teams. Then ye can just start the competitions at the semi final stages. I’m thinking Dublin 4 will win it every year

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    Mute David
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    Dec 3rd 2019, 3:31 PM

    @Paul Ennis: ah I know but I only said it after the great performance in Edinburgh and I’m sure Quinny was messing aswell. A certain group that patrol this site waiting to pounce on anything Leinster and argue about anything freaked out and it makes me laugh. They can’t stick to the items related to them and troll everything.

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    Mute Tony O'Sullivan
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    Dec 3rd 2019, 1:08 PM

    Sounds like Leinster training is more compeditive than the Pro14 to me.

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    Mute Philip Stewart
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    Dec 3rd 2019, 7:48 AM

    Northampton played very well at the weekend, though Leicester were pretty crap, so it’ll be a tough game come the weekend.

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