We don’t have to reinvent the wheel here, says Fitzgerald
Matt O’Connor’s side went into the return fixture with the English men on the back of six straight victories, the last of them a mesmeric 40-7 win at Franklin’s Gardens, so one admittedly costly loss clearly isn’t to be treated in apocalyptic fashion.
“It is very dangerous to be letting frustrations out on to the pitch the next week,” said the Ireland international, one of the more impressive performers in blue on Saturday.
“It is important we are calm at this point. We don’t have to reinvent the wheel here. We just have to focus on ourselves, work on the basics and get them right and things will hopefully turn around for us very quickly. It will be a really tough battle for us (against Edinburgh). I can’t emphasis that enough. I think they are three out of four in PRO12 as well so they are going really well.”
That’s true but Zebre, Connacht and Treviso are the PRO12’s bottom feeders while Gloucester, whom they overcame in Kingsholm on Sunday, are hanging onto the third from last rung on the Premiership’s list of contenders.
Still, Leinster have a long history of struggling in Murrayfield so clear heads would be a bonus, but not before yesterday’s weekly DVD review session and a painful examination of just where it all went wrong at the Aviva.
“What we said in there was our basics were very poor. We allowed them into the game with poor handing errors which is very unlike us. We let them into the game in a number of areas where we were just very disappointing.”
They will jump back on the horse this week minus at least some of their Irish international contingent thanks to player management protocols but they at least they came through Saturday light on injuries for a second week in a row.
Jack McGrath is to be assessed according to concussion protocols after taking a blow to the head while Devin Toner suffered heavy bruising, but Isaac Boss is expected back after eight weeks out with a hamstring injury.
Which leaves Sean O’Brien.
The flanker was a major loss against Jim Mallinder’s men having suffered a dead leg in the first meeting seven days earlier, but it appears he will be given an extra week off after a heavy run of games.
As for those of a more long-term bent, Fergus McFadden is looking at a new year return having fractured his hand last month while Cian Healy has had surgery on his ankle and will also be targeting a January restart.
Fitzgerald has been that soldier more than most this past few seasons having picked up a myriad of various injuries that resulted in his missing out on numerous caps for club and country.
This season is promising more in that regard: nine games already for Leinster and a return to the international scene in November thanks to an impressive run of form in which he has been constantly dangerous with ball in hand.
“I feel like I haven’t been playing too badly,” he reasoned. “I have had a few stop-starts. I made my way back into the Irish team the last Six Nations before I got injured out of nowhere.
“I made my way into the November internationals having been injured as well. I went through a poor enough patch, I think it was in 2011. I kind of feel like I’m paying a little bit for that now because all I hear is ‘oh, you’re back, you’re back’ but injuries have had a big part in that and I do feel as though I am definitely playing well.”
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
