O’Connor targets back-to-back wins

HEINEKEN CUP POOL ONE:

Leinster’s bid for a third Heineken Cup in a row and fourth in five years came to a crashing halt over these same two weeks a year ago, Losses away in round three and then at home in Aviva Stadium to eventual finalists ASM Clermont Auvergne crippled their challenge.

Leinster, then coached by Joe Schmidt, failed to progress from their pool as a result and were denied the chance to qualify for the European showpiece on home soil in the same arena.

Cardiff and the Millennium Stadium is the most desired destination in this season’s calendar and Leinster, now under the stewardship of Matt O’Connor, have made the perfect start to their 2013/14 campaign, beating Ospreys and Castres in October.

Now comes the critical period of the campaign, a doubleheader with a side going strongly in second place in the English Premiership with as many frontline Test players as the Irishmen.

Tonight’s first game between the two is a mouth-watering clash in an old-fashioned rugby theatre that is bound to generate an electric atmosphere, the home fans set to spur on a side with the added incentive of avenging their second-half capitulation to Leinster in the 2011 final.

To Rob Kearney and his team-mates, though, that is a mere historical footnote. Last year’s reversals to Clermont are the reference point and the Ireland and Lions full-back is expecting two more very close encounters 12 months on.

“I think our discipline was a big one for us in the Aviva last year,” Kearney said. “When we were in the game we scored enough tries and I think penalty-count wise is probably an area that cost us on the day.

“That’s always a big thing for us, I think our discipline has been pretty good this season and again we were up against a really good team so the margins are going to bepretty small. These next two weeks are going to be pretty tight games but we just have to make sure we’re close to our best as we can be.”

O’Connor, who last pitted his wits against Saints director of rugby Jim Mallinder as Leicester Tigers head coach in last year’s Premiership final at Twickenham, has certainly instilled a positive outlook for the back-to-back games and would not calculate whether they could afford to lose one of them.

“We certainly are looking at winning both games, that may change post-Saturday but I mean we’re good enough. As Rob says, if we play anywhere near our potential we’re good enough to win the game.

“And that’s the challenge for us, making sure we’re near our best.”

The team he will send out certainly looks as if it has all the attributes to give Northampton a torrid time, even in their Franklin’s Gardens stronghold, breached last season by Ulster in the pool stage. Ulster’s problem was that they lost to the Saints back at Ravenhill. This Leinster outfit is better equipped not to make the same mistake.

Ian Madigan gets the nod at fly-half over Jimmy Gopperth, Springbok Zane Kirchner moves to the bench to make way for the return at full-back of Rob Kearney and Dave Kearney, refreshed after facing the All Blacks, has been assigned the right wing berth, with the task of containing George North, with Luke Fitzgerald on the left.

It is a Leinster team of 15 Irishmen, 14 of whom were on Test duty for the autumn Tests in November and who should be too much for Northampton.

The Saints back line, on the other hand, has a depleted look about it, for all the talents of Lions hero North, England centre candidate Luther Burrell and Samoan wing Ken Pisi.

Pisi’s elder brother George is missing, though, suspended since his tip tackle on Ireland’s Tommy Bowe, Samoan team-mate and standout scrum-half Kahn Fotuali’i has not recovered from a knock and England full-back Ben Foden is a long-term knee injury casualty. Those are three pretty big cogs missing from Northampton’s attacking wheel.

Mallinder will look to his formidable pack, still missing injured Lions loosehead Alex Corbisiero, to get the job done instead, with Courtney Lawes and Samu Manoa dovetailing in the second row and dynamic ball-carriers in the loose alongside back-rowers Tom Wood, Phil Dowson and Sam Dickinson.

“They’ve picked up a few world class players since that final in 2011,” O’Connor said.

“They’ve tried to evolve their game and they’re certainly trying to play more rugby. We will still have to deal with their strengths which are the drive and the scrum and the maul.

“They play to their strengths. They certainly try to get dominance up front and off the back of the space that creates, they’re probably a bit more dangerous out wide than they have been. They’re scoring tries and winning games, they’re playing good rugby.”

How best to stop Northampton? “You have to limit the opportunities they get,” O’Connor said.

“They’re pretty direct and they will play to the space once they go forward. But if you don’t give them that initial go forward ball, you can probably deal with them in the wider channels.”

Yet so too are Leinster and if they do play as well as they can, it can be a very satisfying trip to the English east midlands this evening.