Leinster must work on weaknesses in defence, warns Feek

THEY scored seven tries on the way to a 25-point victory over Bath last weekend, but it’s the three tries they conceded in the final quarter that has most occupied the minds of both the Leinster management and players since.

According to scrum coach, Greg Feek, it was another illustration of a defensive fragility everyone in the camp is keen to address in the coming weeks.

“There were a few things in the last 20 minutes we weren’t happy with. Things that have been creeping up on us a little bit recently,” said Feek yesterday.

“For me, we went a bit high in tackles. They ended up getting an easy advantage line and that meant they were able to score two or three tries in the last 15 or 20 minutes. That is one aspect we want to address.”

You might think Leinster were entitled to ease off the gas in the final quarter of the match, considering the high-octane stuff they’d played in the first 60 minutes, but Feek doesn’t accept that.

“There were seven or eight guys who came on and they we’re a little disappointed because they were on when it happened.

“They’re fresh; they have only played 10 or 15 minutes. Those guys want to come off the field feeling good about their performance. They weren’t involved in the first part so they might be disappointed.

“It’s about getting through the pool stages in the Heineken Cup and also the Magners League [sic] and guys wanting to put their hands up for positions. These are moments where they have to shine.

“That’s 18 minutes if they come on. You hear it all the time but it does have a big impact when they come and miss four tackles; that could be a decisive selection issue.”

When Feek came on board as scrum coach last season, the Leinster set-piece quickly became one of the most respected in Europe, but they haven’t flexed that particular muscle to the same extent this season.

“Yeah, yeah, I’d say that’s true,” he admitted.

“We’re still building. Obviously I was away, a lot of the players were away so we never had that pre-season to build those combinations at the scrum and in other parts of the game.

“We’re trying to build and we’re actually measuring ourselves, not on maybe that but how we get on against a better unit.”

Feek believes there’s a good chance the Leinster scrum will get their stiffest test of the season yet when they play Ulster on St Stephen’s Day in the RDS.

“They’ve got John Afoa there who I’d say will be playing this week, he’s an All-Black tighthead, and Tom Court.

“Whether or not Rory Best is going to be there, I’m not sure, but they’ve got big powerful men and there is never really an easy day at the office for a forward pack, whether it’s scrums or mauling or whatever it is.”