Healy hails Leinster’s growing squad depth

Cian Healy has welcomed the increasing competition for places among Leinster’s front row as the province turns attention from Heineken Cup duties to Saturday’s Pro12 derby against Connacht.

The Lions loosehead was the club’s only first-choice front rower available against Castres last weekend due to Mike Ross’s hamstring injury and Richardt Strauss’s heart condition — for which he underwent a successful operation last week.

It said much, then, that coach Matt O’Connor felt confident about his strength in depth against a hefty French pack to call Healy ashore with more than a quarter still to go, and send Jack McGrath in with Sean Cronin and Martin Moore.

Compare that to Leinster’s biggest game last year — the Pro12 final against Ulster at the RDS — when Healy and Ross were asked to put in 77 and 75-minute shifts respectively.

Cronin’s abilities were reasonably well flagged, given his age and service with Connacht, Leinster and Ireland and the performances of Moore and McGrath have been hugely encouraging for club and, potentially, country so far this season.

“It’s adding pressure,” said Healy. “The two of them are lighting a fire under Rossy and me. It’s going to come to a stage now where it doesn’t matter about selection, one set of us will be starting and the other will be on the bench.

“That’s very healthy to have because it’s big pressure and you’re constantly looking to improve.

“If you slip up when there’s no-one behind you, there’s nothing really going to be made of it. You’re going to be talked to and that’s it. But if you slip up and there’s someone hot on your heels, you’re easily gone and they’re in, so it brings us all up to the top of our game.”

Moore was making his first Heineken Cup start against the French champions but it remains to be seen whether Ross, who departed early in the defeat of the Ospreys earlier this month with a hamstring injury, will be fit to feature against Connacht. Ross is being monitored on a day-to-day basis and returned to light training this week. So too has Brian O’Driscoll, whose calf injury will certainly not keep him out of Ireland’s November internationals.

“He has got a fantastic feel for his own body. He is excellent at managing himself,” said Leinster team manager Guy Easterby. “There’ll be no issue at all, in my opinion, for the autumn games.”

Shane Jennings has been cleared to return after his five-week absence with a fractured hand, Lote Tuqiri (hamstring) may join him, while Zane Kirchner could come into the picture for the first time as he gets used to his new surroundings.