Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Cannot let Fog engulf us again
STUART LANCASTER had spoken about Leinster’s trip to Zebre being an opportunity for those outside of Six Nations selection, but Saturday proved a frustrating day for those who needed a big game most.
Leinster cruised into a 21 points lead in Viadana but coughed that lead up by half-time before running out 40-24 victors.
As runaway leaders, they are a whopping 44 points clear of Conference B basement dwellers Southern Kings, who they face at the RDS on Friday.
But scrum coach John Fogarty insists there must not be a repeat of that second quarter fall-off.
“Last Saturday was frustrating at times for us,” he admitted.
“We started quite well, and then we had this lull in the second half of the first half – really, really frustrating, there was probably a bit of a mental drop and that led to us getting into trouble.
“So I think everyone across the board was frustrated with that.”
Jack Mcgrath is one of those who would have hoped for a big performance last weekend as he has found himself squeezed out at Test level due to the form of Cian Healy and Dave Kilcoyne.
“I don’t think he needs to be distracted by who is first, who is second,” added Fogarty.
“Where he’s sitting, he just needs to get on with what he’s getting on with. That’s what we’re helping him out with here.”
Dave Kearney played full-back last Saturday but presented with ‘minor concussive symptoms’ and is undergoing return to play protocols.