In-form Connors timing run well as Leinster eye business end of season
Leinster head coach Leo Cullen has said Will Connors is ‘timing his run’ nicely after the openside flanker picked up the player-of-the-match award in his side’s last-gasp 21-20 defeat to the Bulls in the United Rugby Championship on Saturday.
Owing partly to the head injuries sustained by his back-row partners James Culhane and Max Deegan inside the opening 10 minutes of the action – Alex Soroka and Scott Penny coming off the bench to replace them – Kildare native Connors played for the full duration of last weekend’s gruelling contest at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria.
Although it was ultimately decided by a stoppage-time penalty from Bulls centre David Kriel, a committed performance from Connors earned him the game’s top individual accolade. After being selected for some of their biggest games at the business end of the 2023/24 campaign (including a Champions Cup final loss to Toulouse), he will be hoping to use his strong showing in Pretoria as a launchpad to feature in Leinster’s latest bids for silverware in the URC and Europe’s top-tier.
“Will, he was excellent at the weekend. It’s a good battle even with him and Scott Penny here as well. They’re two quality players that we have, so we’re very, very lucky there. They’re both great characters within the group. Very, very different characters, but great characters to have. We’re lucky there on a lot of fronts,” Cullen remarked in a video call from South Africa.
“Will, in terms of what are his strengths? His chop tackling ability. He played some big games for us in the Champions Cup last year and he’s timing his run now. It’s great that we have that option to use for later on in the season hopefully.”
While Cullen is set to have a relatively full squad to choose from for Saturday week’s Champions Cup Round of 16 showdown against Harlequins – their first knockout outing of the current season – it remains to be seen if Jordan Larmour will be in contention for selection.
The Dubliner last saw action as a replacement in the closing minutes of Leinster’s victory over Munster at Thomond Park in the URC on December 27 of last year as he has been troubled by a hamstring injury picked up in training in early January.
Cullen expects Larmour to be back on the field of play before the 2024/25 term has reached a conclusion, but he doesn’t have a precise time frame for his return.
“We had originally tried to push Jordie to get back for this [Leinster’s current mini tour of South Africa]. It’s not that he’s had a set-back, it’s just he’s a bit slower in trying to get onto the next stage.
“There is still plenty of rugby to be played and he’ll be back for it at some point. At what stage exactly I’m not sure yet, but hopefully we’ll get him back and there’ll still be plenty of rugby to be played at that stage.”
Before returning to home soil for their last trip to GAA HQ, table-toppers Leinster will be aiming to bounce back from their first defeat in this season’s URC when they complete their time in the southern hemisphere with an enticing clash against the Sharks at Kings Park in Durban this Saturday.
With former Leinster (and Munster) lock Jason Jenkins now a key member of their squad, Cullen is expecting a robust challenge from the fourth-placed South Africans. Whilst he was coy about who might be joining the set-up for this weekend’s game, Cian Healy was pictured at Leinster training in Durban’s Northwood College on Monday.
“The conditions down here are unusual. If you look on Google, the temperature is 27 degrees, but it doesn’t paint the picture of the humidity. It’s sweaty, so handling can be a challenge,” Cullen added.
“A strong aerial game, that’s the first threat. Similar to all South African teams, a good set-piece. They will always challenge us there. Jason Jenkins is in their ranks, so he’ll have an idea about what we are trying to do, which is always a danger.
“It’s a good challenge away from home. Durban, Kings Park. It’s such an iconic stadium, so we’re looking forward to the challenge.”