Schmidt lays it on the line

JOE SCHMIDT believes his Leinster side were outfought by a hungrier Glasgow outfit in his first competitive game.

On the day that the new coach got a taste of what the eastern seaboard has to offer as the heavens opened on Leinster’s training session in UCD, the New Zealander took pity on the huddled, soaked media present and offered himself up for a brief, unscheduled interview.

Leinster may have only been beaten by three points in Glasgow after an Isa Nacewa drop-goal drifted wide, but after throwing away a healthy first-half lead, Schmidt was disappointed by their levels of commitment and attention to detail. “We have to be a lot more accurate,” he said.

“We were disappointingly loose with the ball, we were disappointingly lacking in hunger as well. Glasgow were really more hungry; they chased harder, were more proactive on the ball and that’s a disappointing thing when we led by 10 points at half-time.

Forwards coach Jono Gibbes agreed with Schmidt and admitted the lack of commitment was unacceptable.

Judging by Gibbes’ ideas on how to turn the result around, Leinster’s big stars are in for a tough week’s training ahead of Saturday’s visit of Cardiff Blues to the RDS for which they are hoping to have Mike Ross back fit and more of their international stars available.

“Yeah (it’s a disappointment),” he said. “Rugby is a confrontational game, it’s a physical battle and any time some team shows a little bit more want in that area is a disappointment.

“Especially in our first up game, an away game against one of the top teams in the league and to let it slip in the second-half.

“It’s your Monday to Friday really. We have to make sure we are right there, that we take it on the chin and move forward.

“We know we need to improve. We’ve had a good look at it this morning and this is our first session of the week so hopefully we can work it out.”

Cardiff coach Dai Young wasn’t afraid to lay down the marker ahead of the new season, stating his belief that Welsh sides no longer fear their Irish counterparts.

Asked if it was time to put the fear back into the men from across the Irish sea, former All Black Gibbes said Leinster would respond on the pitch. “Listen, he’s probably saying that on the back of the squad that he has got and he’s probably confident based on the results that are available to him,” he said. “I guess from his point of view he’s making it into a very strong argument. Obviously, the Ospreys came here and won last year and as usual the Welsh are talking themselves up.

“We want to just do our talking on the field. They have a right to be confident, they have a good squad. We can’t really get into that stuff, we just have to focus on ourselves.”

Meanwhile Connacht’s new No.8 Ezra Taylor has been ruled out of their trip to Llanelli next weekend as Eric Elwood’s men bid to build on their superb start to the season.

The Australian had to go off during his competitive debut on Saturday with a knee ligament injury during the 40-17 win over the Dragons.

Elwood is awaiting the result of a scan yesterday but it looks like the 27-year old will be out for a number of weeks.

Saturday’s win saw Connacht secure top spot after the first round of games in the Magners League but they will have to win away from home for the first time in two and a half years if they are to stay there.

Connacht are on the road for the next two games, taking on the Scarlets on Saturday afternoon before heading to Glasgow the following Friday.

“We have a massive challenge in the next two away matches because our away form is well documented and the challenge for us going forward is to be competitive away from home and earn that respect away from home,” said Elwood.