Leinster ‘better than last year’

IT may seem like a strange claim to make just days after losing to the previously pointless Borders, but Michael Cheika firmly believes his Leinster side is already better than last year’s model.

With an unbeaten and adaptable Gloucester to face in their first Heineken Cup outing of the season on Saturday, those will be words of comfort to the province’s fans who have experienced the full range of emotions, from victory over Munster to abject defeat in Scotland, in the space of seven days.

“I genuinely believe we’re playing better this year than we were last year,” said Cheika. “Performances at the start of the year without the (Irish) boys back were better in comparison to last year and we’ve got to keep improving, which comes with consistency. We can play really well at a level that can challenge any team around but we’ve got to do it consistently.”