GROUND ZERO
CIAN HEALY says Leinster’s Grand Slammers must be zeros before they can be heroes again.
The Blues won all six of their Champions Cup pool games for the first time ever before a large chunk of their side powered on to a 6 Nations clean sweep.
It’s serious momentum to bring into Sunday’s quarter-final showdown with Saracens but Healy warns the province can’t take anything from what’s already happened this season.
The veteran – already a threetime winner in the competition – insisted: “You just start at zero.
“This is different – this is knockout rugby. People become different beasts in that end of the game.
“We have to start like we’re at the bottom and slog away - get as structurally sound and as game-prepped as we can.
“We don’t have a hell of a lot of lads left that have won that Cup. There’s a few of us left in there so it’s new to them. There’s a winning mentality in those younger lads – the likes of ‘Cheese’ (James Ryan) that hasn’t lost a professional game.
“That’s what they’re bringing to it. They have this expectancy and we have to push that on in what we deliver and what we expect of them in training.
“You have to understand that it just doesn’t happen. We’ll all be pushing each other on.
“It’s another step up, especially when it gets to knockout rugby. The knockout is where the rugby drags the best out in players.
“Even how you are playing moves, you have to be that bit more accurate to get CIAN HEALY reveals there was laughter in the Leinster dressing-room when the players learned who their Champions Cup quarter-final opponents would be.
But he admits Leo Cullen’s (left) men are deadly serious about their attempt to return to Europe’s summit after watching through defences. Everyone’s a little bit more highly attuned. It’s fun, though.”
Even more fun for Healy, one suspects, given that he has muscled his way back into the No.1 jersey for province and country this year and is reaping big rewards.
The 30-year-old went from the Grand Slam success to a family wedding celebration, but had time on the Tuesday after Twickenham to pop in to Leinster for video work on Sarries so that he wasn’t returning to training “cold” this week. Asked about getting up for this tie after the 6 Nations triumph, Healy said: “It was very Toulon and then Saracens claim their former throne.
Back-to-back champs Saracens edged into the knock-out stages as eighth seeds - and Leinster, as first seeds, were paired with Mark Mccall’s powerful unit.
Prop Healy says that Leinster’s defence and physicality will be their key to easy, the mindset is bang on for it.
“We’re switched on and want a follow-on success – to bring as much from what we had in the past into this.
“You’re just trying to create another high, as good [as the Slam] – and then considering that you’re doing it with a different bunch of lads.
“That’s the moments that you play for, for those 40 minutes or an hour in the changing rooms after having the craic
“With this [the Slam], OK, you do that, but it’s not done. So you’re not on the beers in the changing room, you’re just enjoying yourself and move onto the next one.
“Come Bilbao, hopefully we’ll get a few beers in the changing room.
“I haven’t taken a break for the satisfying moment. I’ll probably look back at the end of the season. But I’m really enjoying it and I’m loving what I’m doing.
“I’m very thankful to have ended up in the starting position for a lot of it and to get to play some good ball.” success against a Sarries side that he rates as a more creative force than the England outfit Healy faced with Ireland almost a fortnight ago.
“It’s tough seeing teams doing that, taking prizes when you want to be taking them,” acknowledged Healy.
“You always do want to take the people at the top. It was kind of nice seeing that draw come through.
“There were a few laughs about it. You finish top (of your pool) - and you end up with Sarries.
“That’s the way you want to go. If you want to get to the top of this, you have to beat the best. You don’t want to be looking for an easy route.”