Lancaster to crank up pressure in training after Connacht’s humbling by Leinster

If Leinster’s record-equalling victory in the Dexcom Stadium on Friday night was something of a statement win, the 50-5 defeat was a salutary humbling for Connacht.

“I was on TV and I just apologised up there,” admitted Stuart Lancaster afterwards. “Yeah, 12,500 people, it’s an interpro, so absolutely gutted. I’m looking at people in the ends of the ground who are supporting us and getting soaked with rain and I’m just thinking: ‘Jeez, it’s so disappointing’.

“But I would turn the page back to Zebre and to Saracens, where the energy was so good. The one thing I’d say about the players and the supporters is we’ll roll our sleeves up and be resilient, and they’ll stick behind us and we’ll stick behind them.”

Lancaster said the key was for him to increase the pressure in training so that the players would be better able to deal with the intensity of matches such as last Friday’s.

“We’ve got a big November now,” added Lancaster in reference to the 15 players who are with the Ireland senior and XV squads. “It’s great for them and then all roads lead to that nine-game straight run of matches between December and January.”

Their disappointment was more acute as the team wanted to honour the memory of Seán Coppinger, the lifelong Connacht fan who passed away last week.

Coppinger had been part of the ground staff since 2015 and was an active member of the Connacht Clan supporters’ group. He had presented the players with their jerseys before their titanic win over Saracens a fortnight previously and the minute’s silence before Friday’s game was meticulously observed.

Fittingly, the postmatch singing and banging in the Leinster dressingroom, as if testing the Clan Stand’s very foundations, almost drowned out much of what Lancaster was saying.

Leinster like to make a song and dance about their new caps, which on Friday meant a dressingroom presentation to academy players Connor Fahy and Alex Mullan in front of family members.

Fahy, a strong-running centre, came through Good Counsel in New Ross and club rugby via Wexford Wanderers, Enniscorthy and Clontarf, where he won an AIL. Mullan is yet another prop from the Blackrock/Séamus Toomey scrummaging school and Leo Cullen didn’t deny these nights gave him even more pleasure than, say, a Champions Cup win away to Clermont.

“I agree. It’s just magic. It’s what it’s all about, really, isn’t it? I’m delighted,” admitted Cullen. “It’s a great pleasure to tell young players they’re going to be representing Leinster this weekend. Then they go out and play like that, so it’s really pleasing.”

Whereas Connacht, Munster and Ulster sit 11th, 12th and 15th, the back-to-back champions have moved up to sixth, just five points off the leaders Glasgow, but Cullen was not inclined to hail this fourth successive bonus-point victory as a statement.

“It’s a more positive start to the season than last year, but it’s early days, so nobody’s getting too far ahead of themselves.

“We’ll have a big focus around AIL now over the coming weeks. I’m hoping most of these guys that are out there today will be representing their clubs in the AIL this weekend coming.

“There’s great stuff going on in the AIL, there really is, which is very, very positive. We’ve tried to do our best with the club coaches and keep them involved as much as possible. It’s a really important aspect of what we do. As I said, these lads don’t get too carried away with themselves.”

Among the crowd were captain Caelan Doris and Cian Healy, who has joined the province’s backroom team.

“Cian is an EPDO [elite player development officer] now,” confirmed Cullen. “So, he’s in the building with us now, which is fantastic.”