RYAN READY TO GO TIGER HUNTING
RYAN BAIRD says Leinster must be calm assassins in their bid to win that elusive Champions Cup prize.
Fresh from the excitement of winning back to back Six Nations with Ireland, Baird is part of Leinster’s young generation who have come on board since the province’s last European triumph in 2018.
He returned to action with the Blues in last Friday night’s impressive victory over the Bulls, Leinster’s closest URC challengers.
“Yeah, that Bulls game was a terrific test, a great way to come back,” Baird said.
“We have some unfinished business for the last two years, that was my motivation for coming back.
“I’m incredibly hungry to start on the Leinster team and then eventually the Irish team, so I saw it as a great opportunity to improve and show what I could do, I really enjoyed it.”
However the 24-year-old understands the need for balance in Leinster’s bid.
Hunger could turn to desperation if things start going wrong against Leicester Tigers at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday night.
“Oh, 100 per cent, I don’t think you ever want to be desperate because desperate is rash and it’s not calculated,” he said.
“We want to have great clarity and execution in how we do things, but at the end of the day we want to have a clear focus of what exactly we’re trying to win.
“We’ll sacrifice everything to win that – but it’s not going to be in a way that’s desperate.
“It’s going to be calm and calculated, it’s evidence-based confidence from the work we put in, not ‘aw, we’re a really good Leinster team, we’re going to win’.”
This will be Leinster’s fourth meeting with the Tigers in just three seasons.
Having beaten them on all three occasions – in two quarter-finals and in this year’s pool – Leinster have to avoid any complacency creeping into the ranks.
“You’ve just got to get back to what it actually is,” said Baird, who is expected to be used as an impact player on Saturday.
“You can have a lot of fluff on the outside about previous wins and tournaments, but it’s so simple to me.
“This is the last 16 of the Champions Cup our objective is to win the tournament, so this is just another obstacle in our way.
“I’ll treat Leicester with the same respect as other opposition, but it’s exciting.
“Aviva Stadium, I’m not sure what sales are going to be on it but there is a different feeling when playing Champions Cup.
“I have memories of watching the final between the teams at Murrayfield. I was at that.
“To say I can play in that tournament is pretty special, I’ll have that appreciation that it is pretty cool when I step onto the pitch on Saturday, hopefully, and I’ll have that evidence-based confidence.
“That’s where I’ll get my strength from.”