There has been a lot of head-scratching in the Leinster camp following their first two games in this year’s United Rugby Championship.
Both games took place in South Africa and one thing they are sure of is that game two was better than game one. Following in that pattern, game three this weekend must be better again. It comes against another South African team in Sharks, but this time Leinster are at home.
It’s a curious kind of pressure Leinster find themselves under with an imperative to get it right at the third time of asking. However, with some of the Lions players returning for their first appearances since the successful summer tour to Australia, it feels much too soon to categorise the two defeats as a crisis.
The suggestion of a crisis in October draws a laugh from former Ireland flanker and current Leinster coach Seán O’Brien. But one point and 15th in the table – a place above bottom placed Scarlets – is not a great look for last season’s champions.
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Nor will Leinster gain any comfort from glancing at last year’s table. After 18 games, they had as many defeats as they do already this term.
“We’re in a lot better place based on the evidence of the second game,” said O’Brien. “On the whole, we played 50-60 per cent better than the first game in terms of the physical elements of the game – the breakdown, carrying and all the stuff that we didn’t do the first day over there.
“That was probably the most disappointing aspect of the game. We just didn’t fire shots in the first game for whatever reason. But we did against the Bulls.
“We handed them two soft tries. They didn’t have to work at all for them; one they scored from their own five-metre line.”
Leinster played only one preseason friendly, leading to the suggestion they might have been under-cooked in terms of physicality and alertness.
The prerequisite for any visit to South Africa, as O’Brien knows very well, is to first match them physically and then work out how to win the match.
“It’s probably something we will look at going forward now again,” he says about having just one preseason competitive match. “But you would have thought the way we trained would have given you enough to have only one game under your belt.
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“Maybe they were under-cooked. Maybe we didn’t do enough contact. Maybe another game was needed. We can’t change it now obviously, but there are certainly learnings from a set-up point of view. And especially with a younger group.
“I know there were a few older lads last weekend, but it’s still a young group. And when you go away to South Africa, the one thing you have to be is physical. That’s the piece that was missing in the first game.”
The game against Sharks will be quickly followed by facing Munster in Croke Park on Saturday, October 18th. Nor will the international players in the group have much game time before they turn their attention to the Autumn Series.
“It was uncharacteristic,” says O’Brien of the displays in South Africa. “I’ve never looked back at a game and been so frustrated even though I wasn’t there. But you’re kind of looking going ‘Jesus’.
“You’re asking yourself as a coach, ‘did we make them understand enough of what is to be expected of them over there?’. But there is frustration all round. Anyway, we move on very quickly.”
Even that may not be as straightforward as rostering in some heavy hitters for the visit of Sharks. The third-placed team in last year’s league phase have had their own stuttering start to the season.
A 35-19 defeat in Glasgow and a 17-17 draw with Scarlets makes for an almost equally slow beginning to their campaign. Home advantage will certainly count for Leinster, but there will be an edge of desperation to the Sharks’ bite.
“We’ve another bite of the cherry this week against a side who will be disappointed with their tour also,” says O’Brien.
“So, they’ll be champing at the bit. [Sharks coach] John Plumtree knows us very well and they will see it as an opportunity to go after us. They will double down on physicality.
“We’ll have to focus on ourselves this week and make sure we have done all we can and cover all the bases. It’s the first home game as well, so that has to mean something. Having the lads back will help with their experience and they are hungry for games as well. I’ve been there myself – you’ve gone on those tours and you’ve nearly had enough time off. You want to get into that flow again.”
One additional body to add to the returning healthy players is Jamie Osborne, who has resumed training after recovering from a hamstring issue and will be available for selection.
