Lions defence coach Jaque Fourie is adamant that Leinster will pitch up mentally and physically next week, whatever happens against Bordeaux.
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The Leinster rugby team are in a unique position, playing a Champions Cup final one Saturday and a United Rugby Championship quarter-final seven days later. Still, the Lions believe the Dubliners will be at their best regardless of what transpires in the big showdown with Bordeaux.
The Lions are in Dublin and will have notebooks out watching their quarter-final opposition do battle with the Frenchmen in a mouth-watering Champions Cup final in Spain, although there is not too much more they need to find out about Leinster. They were smashed 31-7 by them only a fortnight ago, also in Dublin.
Lions defence coach Jaque Fourie, the former ace Springbok centre, knows a thing or two about playing big games one after the other, and he is adamant that Leinster will pitch up mentally and physically next week, whatever happens against Bordeaux.
He did hint, though, that the Lions expect Leinster coach Leo Cullen to freshen up his side for the quarter-final.
“Any side that Leinster puts out for a quarter-final will be a very good team, so we have to be at our best next Saturday,” Fourie said. “Yes, they are playing a big final a week before playing us in a URC playoff, but they will deal with one thing at a time.
“If they lose the Champions Cup final, they will go flat out to win the URC, and if they win the Cup final, they will be pumped to do the double,” Fourie predicted. “They will leave nothing to chance. Whatever team they field against us will be a proper side with plenty of Test match experience, so we have to be up for the challenge for whoever is in front of us.”
Fourie pointed to the depth Leinster have in their greater squad, with 24 of their players having played for Ireland.
“When you play Leinster, you can be up against a side with 800 or 900 Test caps. They’ve played together for Leinster and Ireland for a long time, so you have to play really, really well to beat them.
“It is why you do not come to Ireland and win easily,” Fourie continued. “We looked at the last five or six years, and only about five or six teams have come here and won. That underlines how well we have to play.”
Fourie acknowledged that the silver lining to losing to Leinster recently is knowing exactly what they have to work on. One of the chief areas where they were exposed was the rush defence coached by former Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber.
“The opposition teams put you under tremendous pressure with that defence, and there are far fewer chances away from home,” he said. “You have to deal with that defence and then ensure your finishing is spot on because chances to score are few.”