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Head coach taking little satisfaction from opening defeat to the Lions despite two bonus points
Leinster avoided another start-of-season duck in South Africa last week, but head coach Leo Cullen has dispelled any suggestion that he was pleased with earning two points from their narrow opening URC defeat to the Lions.
The back-to-back champions are back in action on Saturday , with the battle moving from Johannesburg to Durban for a meeting with the Sharks, who will mean business with the return of their Springboks. Cullen, who has again opted for a mix of youth and experience, selecting a first-ever 4-4 split for the bench, stressed his side must improve.
“There’s definitely an air of frustration,” he said. “I don’t want us to be like happy losers, coming away with two points and thinking, ‘listen, that’s a great outcome’. “There were definitely parts of the game that we need to have a proper good look at and improve as a group. It’s positive that there’s lots of young players getting experience, but it’s only experience if you make it truly worthwhile.
“Let’s see if we can put some of that into action now. We’ve moved from altitude down to sea level, we’ve had a decent week’s training here, but we need to try and implement certain things because we want to come away with a little bit more than what we came away with last week.
“But, listen, you look through that Sharks team and the Springboks are back in town for them. It’ll be a great challenge. ” Robbie Henshaw makes his first appearance of the season in a team with five changes from last Saturday. His Ireland colleague Rónan Kelleher captains the side from the front row as Max Deegan’s misses out with concussion.
Deegan and Scott Penny have returned to Dublin, along with several of Leinster’s Ireland contingent who didn’t feature in the Lions game, in order to prepare for the trio of home games against Cardiff and Clermont at the Laya Arena, and Munster at Croke Park. Henshaw, who starts at inside centre, will cover the back row if required as part of the selection reshuffle.
“We’ve seen Robbie do that role for us last season without really any prep. This week we’ve actually managed to get a bit of prep into him, so he’ll be able to cover that if needs be,” said Cullen.
“Brian Deeney can cover the six role as well. So, yeah, a few different options there, which we’ve played around with this week. Sometimes when you’re on tour, it’s a needs must - a bit of versatility, when you’re lighter on numbers with back rowers that are out here.
“We have a plan. There’s something that’s been sprung on us late in the day so, since Monday, we’ve known the way this will be. We’re keen to experiment with something. Other guys are willing to step up, and we’re covered for different scenarios.
” Cullen admitted Leinster had hoped Joey Carbery could feature as backup to Caspar Gabriel, but the 30-year-old is probably still a fortnight away from his return. With Harry Byrne unavailable through concussion and Charlie Tector sidelined with a knock, Sam Prendergast is named on the bench.
“Sam is in the mix now as well, a little bit earlier than would have been planned initially,” said Cullen. “But listen, it’s a luxury for us to have to be able to call on someone like Sam. We’ll see how the game plays out and what type of impact he can deliver.
” LEINSTER: T Lawlor, T O’Brien, H Cooney, R Henshaw, A Osborne; C Gabriel, F Gunne; A Porter, R Kelleher , T Clarkson; C O’Tighearnaigh, A Spicer; R Baird, J van der Flier, J Ericson. Replacements: G McCarthy, A Usanov, N Smyth, B Deeney, C Mangan, O Coffey, S Prendergast, H McLaughlin.
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