Leinster hungry tohitevenmore heights, warns hotshot Larmour

WASPS have been well and truly filleted and already Leinster’s ravenous eyes have moved on to the big beasts of Toulouse.

Jordan Larmour hasn’t been on the beat too long but the winger is nonplussed by the idea that his team did anything special last Friday night. Instead, this was just the team performing and getting a job done.

Indeed, there is a clinical side to the 21-year old that sees the flaws in the display, that yearns for a higher plane of performance.

And if Leinster’s European rivals were hoping for some respite from last season’s double winners, they’ll find cold comfort in Larmour’s words.

“There’s a lot more in this team, we showed some parts of what we can do on Friday, then other times we were quite vulnerable and we need to sort that out,” he said. “Going through the review we picked out little details where we can get better.

“As backs; arranging the forwards quicker, getting into shape quicker, so once the ball’s there at the ruck we can play it straight away. There’s a lot more in us, and every game we need to keep building and hopefully win the double again.

“We talked last week about not being complacent. Some teams might think that if they won last year, then they’re defending the title. We’re not thinking that we’re defending it, we’re thinking we’ve got to go and win it.

“So I think that helps drive out complacency. We know how hard it is to win it so I think you have to take all your chances.

“I think it’s exciting. We know that we have a target on our back and that teams are out to get us. So we’re up for every challenge.

“The talent we have in our squad and the leaders we have, it’s pretty exciting.”

A year ago, Larmour was awaiting his European debut but now he is a regular in blue.

“I started off better than last season,” he reflected. “But I feel that there’s a lot more in me.”

Ominous words for rivals. INJURIES may be part and parcel of the game these days, but there is never a good time for a rugby player to be sat kicking his heels and waiting for the okay to be back on the paddock.

Even less so when you’re at a new team and looking to make a quick impression. Such was the fate that befell Ulster prop Marty Moore, who, having arrived from Wasps in the summer, had to wait until Saturday’s Champions Cup win over Leicester Tigers for his first taste of competitive action in an Ulster jersey.

The 10-times-Irish-capped tighthead did feature for his adopted province in the pre-season warm-ups but, struck down with a calf complaint ahead of the curtain raiser, admitted it has been a frustrating few weeks.

“I’ve had a couple of PR events with the supporters and supporters’ clubs and it’s always that question — ‘When are you going to play for us?’” he laughed.

“Getting here and settled in, I was training with the guys, pre-season games, and I was unfortunate to pick up a minor calf injury which ruled me out for five games. It was frustrating. It just seemed that every day it was dragging on a bit.

“But I was lucky in that it was only a minor knock as I could still run, I could still stay fit and be prepared.

“It’s good to finally get out and put on a show, and hopefully showcase more of what I can do.”

The early returns were certainly promising as Moore’s introduction before half-time seemed to solidify an Ulster scrum that had too frequently been put into reverse gear in recent weeks.

He’d enjoyed a few battles with the Tigers during his days representing their now-local rivals Wasps, and his experience against the likes of Dan Cole will surely have been a boost.

The Leinster product believes that a set-piece both succeeds and fails as a unit.

“We knew as a pack what to expect. As a pack, as a whole, it wasn’t a case of me coming on and doing something different,” he said. “We just grew into the game. Even from the first scrum to the end stage we dealt with them a lot better and tried to box more clever than earlier on.

“It was familiar faces (in opposition), it was like a derby game after the last couple of years in England. But to do it in Europe is a bigger step and even more enjoyable to get one over them.”

A bigger step is an apt enough phrase to describe Ulster’s next challenge. For all the good feeling generated by the win over Leicester — especially after backto-back inter-pro defeats — there is a definite sense that the trip to Racing 92 on Saturday will be a wholly different challenge.

On paper, Ulster have succeeded in the most winnable of their Champions Cup fixtures and now face their toughest.

Two thirds of the Parisians’ front-row that Ulster will expect to see were included in yesterday’s French squad for Les Bleus’ upcoming Autumn slate against the Springboks, Argentina and Fiji. Camille Chat and Cedate Gomes Sa likely would have been joined in the panel by Eddy Ben Arous if the loosehead hadn’t injured his calf on Saturday.

Last season’s beaten finalists in this competition — overcome by Leinster in Bilbao — have not had it their own way domestically this year, however.

While Leicester will have viewed Ulster’s set-piece as a target, for all their big names up front — also including former Munster man Donnacha Ryan — Racing’s scrum went into the European break ranked second to last in the Top 14.

While there is hardly a sense of panic around the ultra-modern La Defense Arena, it is part of a wider struggle that has Racing sitting seventh and having already suffered home defeats to Clermont and Lyon.

Moore believes the two-time runners-up are a different beast come continental competition.