Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
LIFE UNDER THE LEINS
Conan’s embracing the pressure & scrutiny of being at a club where winning is everything
LEINSTER’S private PRO14 winning party was quickly parked as thoughts of Saracens last year fuel their bid to reach the Champions Cup last eight this week.
“100 per cent we’ll look to build on this performance,” declared man of the match Jack Conan after Saturday’s final victory over Munster and the completion of the domestic four in a row.
“We want to win everything we can.
“We want to win every single game in every competition we’re in and that doesn’t change.
“It’s even more important this week.
“We haven’t been at the level we want to be at in the last two years in Europe, so it’s a massive opportunity in the RDS to put in a good performance against a good French side and hopefully progress.”
It was Toulon who took over from Leinster as Europe’s dominant force in 2013, going on to win the next three Champions Cups after the Blues’ back to back successes under Joe Schmidt.
They are not the same force now but are still fifth in the Top 14 and will bring a star-studded line-up to Dublin for Friday night’s last 16 encounter.
For Leo Cullen (inset), it is about Leinster avoiding the same fate as last September when they overcame Ulster in the PRO14 final only to fall flat against Saracens in the Champions Cup quarter-finals the following weekend.
Whether Johnny Sexton will play – he didn’t return from a HIA not long after coming on against Munster with what Cullen described a bang on the nose – remains to be seen. The head coach lamented the absence of fans from Saturday’s final.
“It’s the fans that make these occasions, if you have a crowd there it just adds another dimension, you have an atmosphere and that’s what we’re missing,” said Cullen.
“The players get a bit of a special moment.
“It’s like a private party for them, really.
“They’re celebrating as a group there, but at some point really quickly we’ll have to turn the page. So that’s a challenge.
“Toulon are a star-studded team. I see Parisse is back in their team, Ma’a Nonu, players who played with France on Friday night like
Serin, Ollivon,
Taofifenua.
“It’s a massive challenge for us.
“We didn’t manage the transition from winning the final against Ulster to playing a quarter-final in Europe particularly well, so hopefully we can learn as a group and be a little bit better this time.
“Toulon have lots of big bodies in their ranks. It will be a huge challenge.”
Those challenges will keep coming now, with the Rainbow Cup and the prospect of facing big South African franchises in May.
With Munster boss Johann van Graan conceding that Leinster are the best PRO14 team “by a mile,” the introduction of the Stormers, Bulls, Lions and Sharks is very timely.
“Definitely, for the future of the competition, they’re a big deal,” said Cullen.
“For the credibility and the profile of the competition, it’s only going to be positive.”