The Stormers are expecting a defensively strong Leinster team in the opening round of the Vodacom URC in Cape Town on Friday night. MORNE ESBEN reports.
Under the guidance of former Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber, the Leinster defensive structures have been fortified and they’ve become one of the most difficult teams in the world to break down.
In the Champions Cup last season, Leinster walloped Harlequins 62-0 in the semi-final in Cardiff – the first time in 257 games that a team managed to prevent the opposition from scoring any points in a Champions Cup knockout game.
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Stormers assistant coach Dawie Snyman told the media on Monday that they’re excited to try out a few fresh elements to their game, but adds the defending champions are strong in all facets of the game and will be a tough prospect.
“We know Leinster is a well-oiled machine,” Snyman stated. “They’ve got the ability to put a lot of phases together, they’ve got a great attacking system, obviously with Jacques there now, increasing their defensive linespeed and putting you under pressure in a lot of areas and also getting the balance right between not only attacking, but kicking well.
“There are no weaknesses in that team, so for us all areas need to be firing for us to get a good result.”
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Leinster have been boosted by the return to fitness of three Irish internationals in centre Robbie Henshaw, winger Jordan Larmour and loose forward Will Connors. Lock Brian Deeny is also fit again.
However, Leinster will still be without several frontline players, with fullback Hugo Keenan sidelined for up to three months following groin surgery. Caelan Doris (shoulder) and Joe McCarthy (foot) are also unavailable for the early rounds, although both are making progress in their recovery.
Snyman says due to the structures in place at Leinster, the players who take their place will be equally threatening.
“Leinster is a great club. It doesn’t matter who’s got the jersey on, they know their systems really well from a young age, so we’re really expecting a tough contest. It’s nice to start like that – we want to test ourselves.”
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