That defeat by Clermont will drive Leinster says Lancaster
backs coach Stuart Lancaster is wary of a Saracens backlash, which comes just a fortnight after their England players suffered a beating by Ireland at Twickenham.
While the Irish province are hot favourites, former England boss Lancaster says reintegrating their hefty contingent of Ireland Grand Slam winners has been a challenge.
He told The Rugby Paper: “We’ve got 15 returning Ireland players so, along with the players who weren’t involved with Ireland, it means we’ve got amazing depth.
“The challenge, though, is the last game they played together for Leinster was the Montpellier game in January. After that they went away with Ireland and most didn’t play against Ospreys last week, whereas more of Saracens’ internationals played against Harlequins.
“There’s not been a problem getting our guys back to earth, they’re a pretty humble group anyway, it’s more around reintegration than attitude with all the different calls and a slightly different way of doing things than they’ve become used to with the national team.”
Lancaster insists the respective performances of Ireland and England in the Six Nations, in which England bombed badly, may influence today’s protagonists in unexpected ways.
He explained: “The returning England players will have given Saracens a boost and, while Irish rugby is obviously on a high, they’ll have that bounce factor as well.
“If you look at the quality of the Saracens team, their cohesiveness is still there and although guys like Brad Barritt, Alex Goode, Schalk Burger, Schalk Brits and Marcelo Bosch may not be playing international rugby, they’re all still Test quality players.
“They’re a very complete team in my opinion and to win the Champions Cup twice on the bounce says it all. I’ve got huge respect for Mark McCall, Alex Sanderson and their coaching team so we go into this game knowing they’ll offer a massive threat.”
However, Lancaster says his Leinster players are hugely motivated themselves after losing out in last season’s Champions Cup and PRO12 semi-finals.
He added: “It was really disappointing to lose the Champions Cup semi-final against Clermont last year and that’s a big driver now. But it’s exactly the same for Saracens because they have a chance of winning three Champions Cups on the bounce.”
Meanwhile, Lancaster has confirmed his intention to remain with Leinster next season despite being linked with the head coach’s vacancy at Ospreys.
He said: “Dublin’s a great city to live in, the commute works for my family in Leeds and now it’s getting to the business end I want to just keep pushing on here.
“I’ve signed with Leinster until the end of next season and, while things sometimes change, it would take a very strong reason for me to do that. There’s a good pathway of players coming through in Ireland and it’s great being part of that success.”