Leinster senior coach Jacques Nienaber says better execution and a low error-rate will be key to victory over high-flying Munster in Limerick on Saturday.
Leinster head into the Vodacom URC derby against Munster with plenty to fix. Nienaber was candid this week when asked whether Leinster’s patchy form is a deliberate attempt to peak later in the season, insisting the reality is far less comfortable.
“Let me tell you it’s not a plan, I can guarantee you,” Nienaber said. “As a coach you would love it to go plain sailing, you would love to win every game with 50 points and sit there in the box at half-time and the game is in the bag because it is good for the heart and it is good for the nerves and the nails, but it is not one of those seasons for us.”
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From Leinster’s perspective, the concern is not a lack of opportunity, but an inability to make those moments count – often through their own errors.
“We make it difficult for ourselves. As a team we create opportunities but we kind of find a way to almost stuff them up, if I can put it like that,” Nienaber admitted.
He pointed to recent examples where fine margins and discipline have cost them, including tries chalked off for marginal infringements.
“So that is almost the thing; we are currently finding a way in the club to make it difficult for ourselves, so we are creating the opportunities, but we haven’t nailed them and partly due to our own inaccuracies and our own ill-discipline.”
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Nienaber was quick to acknowledge the quality of the opposition Leinster face week in, week out, and the danger Munster pose if given an opening.
“You have to say fair play to the teams that we play,” he said. “When we make a mistake like last weekend, Ulster is good enough to capitalise on it.
“The same with Munster when we played them in Croke Park. You don’t deal with an attacking kick; they’re good enough to punish you.”
LEINSTER – 15 Ciarán Frawley, 14 Tommy O’Brien, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 James Lowe, 10 Harry Byrne, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris (c), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Max Deegan, 5 James Ryan, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Thomas Clarkson, 2 Rónan Kelleher, 1 Andrew Porter.
Bench: 16 John McKee, 17 Paddy McCarthy, 18 Tadhg Furlong, 19 Diarmuid Mangan, 20 Scott Penny, 21 Fintan Gunne, 22 Charlie Tector, 23 Andrew Osborne.
MUNSTER – 15 Shane Daly, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Alex Nankivell, 11 Thaakir Abrahams, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Craig Casey, 8 Gavin Coombes, 7 Jack O’Donoghue, 6 Tadhg Beirne (c), 5 Tom Ahern, 4 Edwin Edogbo, 3 Michael Ala’alatoa, 2 Lee Barron, 1 Michael Milne.
Bench: 16 Diarmuid Barron, 17 Jeremy Loughman, 18 John Ryan, 19 Jean Kleyn, 20 Fineen Wycherley, 21 Paddy Patterson, 22 Dan Kelly, 23 John Hodnett.
Photo: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile via Getty Images
