Robin McBryde: Added significance to URC after European final defeat
As a result of their chastening Champions Cup defeat in Marseille last weekend, scrum coach Robin McBryde has acknowledged there will be an added significance to Leinster’s United Rugby Championship quarter-final clash with Glasgow Warriors at the RDS on Saturday.
When their last-eight meeting against the Scots was confirmed at the end of the regular URC season, the eastern province were hoping to come into it on the back of claiming a fifth European star. However, La Rochelle put paid to this particular dream at the Stade Velodrome and now Leinster will be hoping that a second quest for silverware doesn’t fall by the wayside.
“You want to have something to show for the fruits of your labour. The number of staff members that made it out to Marseille, the non-playing members of the squad were all there at the end of the game as well, so there’s a huge commitment from everybody. Supporters alike as well,” McBryde remarked.
“We’ve got to show that respect really in preparing the best way possible in order to give us the best opportunity to win on Saturday. There are no guarantees, Glasgow will have been preparing for two weeks. They’re a good outfit.
“They only narrowly lost to La Rochelle themselves, so they’ll have a plan put in place for us. We’re going to have to really make sure we’re on the money on Saturday. This game now is a little bit bigger possibly than what it was two weeks ago.”
In the post-match analysis of their European reversal across a variety of different mediums, the Leinster scrum has been coming under intense scrutiny.
Inevitably, some parallels have been drawn to Ireland’s own issues in this area during Six Nations Championship clashes with France and England.
Nine of the Leinster forwards that featured in Marseille last Saturday saw game time in the six-point loss to the French in Saint-Denis, while seven of them were selected for the subsequent round four duel with the English at Twickenham Stadium.
McBryde’s main focus is on how they fare at provincial level, of course, and he assumed full responsibility for the set-piece weaknesses that were on display against Ronan O’Gara’s newly-anointed European champions.
“It’s not the players, it’s my issue. I have to make sure that I do my work a bit better. We are pursuing the channels with regard to getting feedback from the pictures that the referees see on the day. It’s an ongoing process really, but ultimately, we know that teams are going to attack us in a certain way and we’ve got to be prepared for it,” McBryde added.
“We can’t rely on the referee to give us the call on every single occasion, irrespective if you agree or disagree with him. I need to do my work a bit better there. In fairness to the guys with regard to the energy they bring to all facets of the game, it’s a case of learning and moving on really.”