Leinster didn’t replicate the shortcomings in performance terms of their
Heineken Cup
quarter-final defeat to Toulon when they rocked up to the Liberty stadium last weekend. Unfortunately they unearthed a different way to fatally undermine their goals.
The Irish province rectified many of the glitches from France, in terms of line speed, breakdown work and lineout issues but in Wales their indiscipline – forwards' coach Jono Gibbes aptly summarised it in a word, 'horrific' – allowed Ospreys' outhalf Dan Biggar to kick them back across the Irish Sea clutching just a single bonus point.
Rhys Ruddock, outstanding against Toulon, returns to the side for tonight's game against Benetton Treviso having missed the trip to Wales.
He explained the changing focus in training over the past fortnight and the hard work that has gone into recalibrating the team for a successful end of season sprint.
"After the Toulon game there were a few areas that we picked out that we need to go back to (and improve).
Pretty poor
"We knew that they were strengths for us in the past. We knocked off a little bit. We felt we grew some of those areas like the breakdown, pretty poor against Toulon it was pretty good against the Ospreys. When you have players like Justin Tipuric who is always a thorn in the side for us over the years; I don't think he got a single turnover. That was one of the main focuses.
“There were other areas, defensively for example, that we can definitely grow this week. We fell off too many tackles last week; it’s an area we like to pride ourselves on and have been good at. It is something we need to put right.”
Leinster coach Matt O’Connor once again shuffles his playing deck. Brian O’Driscoll returns in place of Gordon D’Arcy, Darragh Fanning takes over from Dave Kearney on the left wing, Mike McCarthy is in for Leo Cullen, while Ruddock and Jordi Murphy join captain, Jamie Heaslip in the backrow. Luke Fitzgerald’s absence continues.
The home side have opted for greater ball carrying grunt against the traditionally, physically powerful Italian side, who travel to Dublin on foot of a victory over the Newport Gwent Dragons.
The visitors retain the same backline, one that includes a try-scoring revelation from the Six Nations, 21-year-old centre Michele Campagnaro. There are three changes up front, prop Matteo Muccignat and secondrows Marco Fuser and Valerio Bernabo.
Leinster have never lost to an Italian team at home, have beaten Treviso eight out of nine times in all competitions, and despite some very tight tussles between the sides in Italy, the Irish province has a tendency to win well at home. Ensconced again in the comfy confines of the RDS after two matches on the road they’ll want to reward their fans.
Gibbes said: “The supporters that travelled away to Toulon were awesome. . . The players love being back here and are up for the challenge of getting them up off their seats.”
Victory tonight nudges them to the cusp of a home semi-final and that’s why it’s like to be a good Friday all round for the home team.
