Caelan Doris hopes Covid-hit Leinster can follow Munster’s lead
Caelan Doris is hopeful a Covid-hit Leinster can take a leaf out Munster’s book when they face Montpellier in the Heineken Champions Cup at Altrad Stadium tomorrow evening (kick-off 8pm Irish time).
Overcoming the loss of several senior stars arising from their recent trip to South Africa, the Blues’ arch rivals dug deep to earn a bonus point victory against Wasps in Coventry last Sunday. Leinster were without three unnamed squad members for a Pool A opener at home to Bath on the previous day and will be further hamstrung for a second round visit to France after an additional number of players tested positive on Monday.
The Top 14 outfit have had their own Covid outbreak, but the game is expected to go ahead as it stands. International back-row Doris is set to be available for selection after taking part in training on Tuesday and believes a win over Montpellier would prove extra rewarding given the position Leinster find themselves in.
“It’s a bit of a strange one because it’s still developing. It’s quite a dynamic situation. We’re obviously doing a hell of a lot of testing to mitigate as much of the risk as possible. We’re trying to just get on with our jobs. Prepare as best we can for Friday,” Doris acknowledged.
“You can see from Munster last week. The bit of adversity and overcoming the challenge, how special it is when you get that win and a decent performance off the back of it. We’re still trying to prepare as best we can. We know that a good performance and hopefully a result on Friday will feel extra special, having gone through the challenge and the adversity around the Covid cases.”
Up until the past couple of weeks, Leinster’s issues with Covid-19 had been relatively minimal. While their scheduled Pro14 clash with Munster at Thomond Park last Christmas was postponed, that was due to the re-tests on a small number of people within their set-up that weren’t returned in time for the game to take place.
All players and staff ultimately tested negative on that occasion, but the virus has now broken into the camp. However, having seen how other sides have dealt with their own Covid complications, Doris is confident Leinster can cope during this difficult period.
“We’ve probably been quite lucky that we’ve gotten to this stage without too many cases. We’ve learnt from other clubs and seeing how they’ve gotten through it. We’re not the first, we’ve got a precedent to follow there. Just following the guidelines and following what other clubs have done. Hopefully we’ll come out the other side okay.”
After playing a starring role for Ireland in their successful march through the Autumn Nations Series last month, Doris returned to the Aviva Stadium last Saturday to help Leinster record a routine 45-20 bonus point triumph at the expense of Bath. Although pleased to get the Champions Cup campaign off to a winning start, Doris is aware the opening performance delivered by the four-time champions will require an immediate improvement.
“I thought we struggled to get into our flow a little bit. Not sticking to systems, going off on ourselves. Maybe forcing a few offloads. Obviously a good result, happy with the five points and all, but we know we’re going to need to be a lot better even on Friday and with teams to come in the future,” the Mayo man added.
“With the level we want to get to and the aspirations that we have around winning silverware, we’re going to need to be a lot better.”