It might sound a little like fortune cookie wisdom but a key to the post-match review is not what’s looked at per se but what’s seen, something that will occupy Leinster and Connacht as they reprise their rivalry for the second time in a week at the Aviva stadium on Friday evening (5.30).
It’ll be about finding new or old chinks in the opposing defence while smoothing out wrinkles in attack, all the while looking to present a different set of pictures where success and failure of ploys are determined by tiny margins. Leinster coach Felipe Contepomi has been tracking the analysis. There are areas that Leinster can exploit but only with precise timing and execution.
He explained: “We could have worked better and been more cohesive as a unit, especially in the backs (in Galway). We could have seen pictures earlier and worked harder off the ball so that we can take those opportunities; that’s what it takes in these games.
“You need to nail them. That’s part of the improvement we need to get on Friday. It is another week having the internationals back so hopefully we can be better.”
The latter is a reference to the news that Andrew Porter, Rónan Kelleher, Jordan Larmour and long-term injury victim Michael Milne, who has yet to play this season are back in full training. Contepomi said: “It’s a big boost, especially in a European week. You want to have as many players available as you can.
“It’s great for selection and great for the team. Recovering players bring such an energy, they’ve been working so hard to get into the training field. Once they get there, their energy lifts the other guys as well.”
England’s Luke Pearce will take charge of Friday night’s game, an appointment that should appeal to both sides. He communicates well with players while maintaining control and likes to ensure a clean breakdown and fast tempo to the games over which he presides.
“I think that appeals to teams that want to play good rugby or that want to play a quick, fast game. The thing is that we have two teams that want to do that so hopefully it will be a cracker of a game because that’s what we want. It appeals to everyone.
“To be honest, one thing about rugby is that the breakdown is part of it and it is what makes rugby such an interesting game. If it is clean, we want it still being contested but in a legal way. The end product is not good if you have teams trying to slow down the rugby rather than contesting the breakdown.
“We try to go and contest the breakdown where we have the possibility of getting the ball back and so that we can get it back and attack. That’s our mentality.”
Improvement
Looking at his own specific area of interest from last Friday’s game the former Argentine playmaker and outhalf admitted: “There’s a lot more for us to improve, especially in the launch side of the game. (We can) see the pictures earlier and we can be working harder off the ball. There’s a lot of improvement to be done. That’s a good thing.
“When you face teams who work hard in defence, the attack needs to work harder and smarter. That’s where we have a fair bit to improve. When you create a starter play, the purpose is to score. But if you don’t but you launch properly, for us, it’s easier to get in our flow.
“That’s the importance of the launch (play) for us. It’s not just to look nice, it’s a way for us to get into our game, into our flow if we don’t score from the first phase or whatever phases the launch or starter play is. There are a lot of variables and very tiny details make them work.
“Players know that and that’s why we sit down in the den and review the launches saying what we should do better, where it failed, or where it worked. For a play to work, it’s 15 guys doing their job and it only takes one person not to do their job at exactly the right moment for the play not to work.”
Leinster will once again be without James Ryan (concussion) and Ryan Baird (back) along with longer term casualties Dave Kearney and Will Connors.
