The aftereffects of May’s 37-34 Champions Cup semi-final defeat by Northampton lingers in the air. But for many of the Leinster players and coaching staff, Saturday’s first outing in the competition since then might have started to exorcise some demons.
Nine of Saturday’s starting XV and 14 of the match-day 23 figured that day, with Caelan Doris, Joe McCarthy and Jack Conan all playing their first game for Leinster since that defeat. For Doris particularly, it would have been impossible not to reflect on that grim day, as that was when he suffered the shoulder injury that ultimately ruled him out of the Lions tour and sidelined him for six months.
The Leinster captain admitted as much, although he stressed did not think of it in a negative way.
“I think it’s there, not in a burden sort of way that weighs you back, but you want it to give you a little bit of edge. And in terms of making a personal chip on the shoulder, but not in a negative, holding-us-back way.
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“That’s my first game for Leinster since Northampton, so of course it was on my mind a little bit this week. But I don’t think it should weigh us back, I think it should catapult us forward.”
Only time will tell, but this was ultimately a positive start from a patchy performance. The patchiness was perhaps understandable given the Lions tour and Ireland’s four-match autumnal window meant Doris, Conan and Joe McCarthy were making their first appearances of the season in blue.
“It’s part and parcel of the game,” said Doris. “I had a long injury period, so I came back just in time for the Ireland internationals. It’s just the way it is. Control what you can control and get on with it is kind of my sense on it. And I was just delighted to be back in blue today.”
Doris admitted that Leinster’s performance had been “a little bit sloppy” and pointed to their ill-discipline after a bright start. “Performance-wise, there’s a lot more in us. I said on the pitch after that we’re going to need to be quite a bit better, [with a] six-day turnaround next week, away as well, at Leicester. So, happy with maximising points, but in terms of performances, we’re aware we’re going to need to improve as we go on in the tournament.”
He echoed Leo Cullen’s sentiments in admitting that Harlequins had some joy going after Leinster’s attacking breakdown, and while there had been “a few moving parts during the week”, Doris said they should be well used to that.
There is an amount of familiarity between Leinster and Leicester due to the number of meetings in recent seasons, and Doris said: “There’s a bit of an old-school kind of vibe to them still. Set-piece dominant, some big ball carriers, play a bit of a territory game, big kick chase.
“Discipline is going to be important for us. That’s a big improvement area going into next week. But it’s a different challenge, even being away at Welford Road, kind of hostile environments ... short training week, so we’re going to need to get discipline right and mentality right.”
