My arrival in Leinster as a player coincided with that of Jason Cowman, the current strength and conditioning coach with Ireland. He got to see the good, the bad and the ugly when it came to player fitness. I fitted into all three of those categories at various stages of my career.
It was towards the end of my time as a player that Jason pushed the importance of a preferred mindset in embracing hard work and, specifically, having a more communal approach in sharing the workload for the betterment of the team.
Success demands that everyone knuckles down but Jason was trying to encourage the players to enjoy the effort while simultaneously sharing a little bit of the burden, to find that balance between being selfish and selfless. In tough times you find out a great deal about yourself and your team-mates.
In the best teams I played for there was a general acceptance that winning and losing were the two sides of the coin tossed in the air before each match, but that we could influence on what side it landed because of the belief we had in one another and the commitment to work that bit harder than the opposition.
The trials and tribulations governing Leinster’s journey to Pretoria dominated some of the post-match headlines following their victory over Ulster. It’s not the first time that travel has become a topic for discussion in rugby.
Leinster’s opponents on Saturday, the Bulls, opted to send a “reserve” team for the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup, ostensibly prioritising the United Rugby Championship (URC). A home semi-final will feel like vindication for head coach Jake White’s decision, although it does come with the inherent pressure of having to deliver a trophy off the back of it.
This is the first time in recent memory that Leinster have to “travel” for a URC knock-out match and try to get back in one piece for the final should they be successful. They are at the mercy of scheduled flights.
It’s a long way to go. Counter-intuitively, most of the frontline players involved haven’t toured South Africa yet. From the outside we will look back in a couple of weeks and judge how much that played a part.
Inside the group, I hope Leinster embrace the challenge and use it to their advantage. The art of good leadership is to accept the situation and find a way to spin it into a challenge that everyone accepts and buys into: it relies on individuals relishing the work, nobody taking easy options.
The competition for places within the Leinster squad should feed into this as well. The obvious example is Sam Prendergast, who made a highlight-reel moment on his introduction to the match at the weekend against Ulster. I have written before that it is hard to judge him accurately at this level given the limited quality game time he has been afforded in his fledgling provincial career.
His contribution in a match that was already won will be remembered for a superb bit of skill that made his own team-mates sit up and marvel. In any club with a strong culture, players compete against each other for positions without fear or favour and Ross Byrne would have been acutely aware of the focus on his form through the prism of recent performances.
Once Leo Cullen had decided to include Prendergast in the matchday 23 for the Ulster game, Ross Byrne knew what the narrative was likely to be outside the Leinster environment. He responded positively, aware that there was a bit of pressure on him to perform, and he did so to good effect, particularly in engaging Ulster’s defensive line.
For me, Prendergast still has a bit to learn at this level, and working and training with Ross Byrne might just be a short-term solution to Leinster’s ongoing dilemma in providing a more definite selection framework at outhalf. It’s impossible to keep four players (plus) happy while giving each meaningful game time in accordance with development requirements.
There is no substitute for playing matches, especially when you’re looking to bag experience. I’ve only seen a couple of players that were fully formed at a young age, Brian O’Driscoll and Paul O’Connell.
Most, including some that would go on to have stellar careers such as Rob Kearney, Peter O’Mahony or Tommy Bowe, needed an internship, for want of a better word. Their talent was obvious even to an untutored eye, but it needed refinement, and that process was provided not alone by coaches but also their team-mates, who helped with the moulding process.
I believe Prendergast pushing Ross Byrne will bring the best out of both players in the coming weeks. Competition either pushes you out of your comfort zone or out of the picture.
The debate about the order of the outhalves available to Ireland has, I believe, become more nuanced of late while acknowledging that Jack Crowley is still out in front following a series of composed displays in the Munster jersey. He’s managed games extremely well for the most part and did so again at the weekend, with only Simon Zebo managing to eclipse Crowley’s contribution.
A highlight was when Munster’s attacking shape provided Zebo with a one-on-one opportunity near the Ospreys line. He didn’t need a second invitation as he conjured just enough room to wriggle past the defenders and touch down.
The priority for teams is to hand the right players space and time, those that have the wherewithal to derive maximum benefit from those situations. Zebo had limitations to his game but even at 34 and in the twilight of his career, one thing remains that sets him apart from his peers: the ability to beat anybody one-on-one.
Zebo will have tried to encourage his team-mates to have that same spirit or joie de vivre in attack and hopefully passed on the courage to play without shackles to some of the peer group in Munster; that transition of knowledge between players is invaluable.
If Munster are to retain their URC title, Zebo is a player that can be that point of difference and bring it to bear in those big matches. That’s a huge asset in contests often defined by small margins.
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