Leinster stepping out of their comfort zone in South Africa not just confined to the game itself as travelling there proved tricky
Leinster stepping out of their comfort zone in South Africa not just confined to the game as travelling there proved trickyThe Leinster squad training in Pretoria, South Africa, for their upcoming game against the Bulls. Photograph: Steve Haag Sports/Christiaan Kotze/Inphoassistant coach Robin McBryde believes challenges don’t come any bigger than the one the Irish province are set to encounter at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria, South Africa, this Saturday .
“For us to come here and face them in their own backyard, it is going to be a vociferous and hostile environment with the home supporters. We have had the benefit of having home support. They have been great, so it will be good for us to face it in another way,” McBryde said.“Hopefully being taken out of our comfort zone we will see a bit of growth again. As a front row, a front five, as a pack of eight forwards, the challenges don’t come much greater than this.
Given it wasn’t until the conclusion of the game against Ulster on Saturday that their penultimate round showdown with the Bulls was officially confirmed, it proved quite tricky for Leinster to arrange flights for a sizeable travelling party over to Pretoria at such short notice. Yet either side of squeezing past their arch rivals at the semi-final stage, Munster also secured victories away to Glasgow Warriors and the Stormers to emerge as the top side in the former competition. From a sporting perspective that was close to being the textbook definition of doing things the hard way, and McBryde emphasised the importance of Leinster adopting the right mindset in Pretoria on Saturday.
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