Leinster aiming to get Munster loss out of their system

If Shane Jennings’ mood on St Stephen’s night was any indicator, Leinster have a very grumpy New Year to look forward to as they aim to right some wrongs on the training field ahead of a derby clash with Ulster.

The Guinness Pro12 champions went down to Munster for the second time this season last Friday, their 28-13 defeat at Thomond Park leaving them three points adrift of the fourth and final play-off spot at the halfway point in the league season.

Jennings, who scored Leinster’s late try, offered no excuses for a poor performance, personally and collectively, against their arch rivals. The flanker also anticipated a long week in preparing for the first game of 2015, against fourth-placed Ulster at the RDS next Saturday.

“I certainly don’t think I played well and I certainly don’t feel like I can comment on behalf of the team because I didn’t put my part of the bargain forward,” Jennings said. “I missed two tackles that led to scores and that’s not good enough and that is the reality of it.

“It is going to be a long week for me, it is not an enjoyable Christmas time, I’m pretty grumpy, I am pretty pissed off with the way I played (and) there are a few guys who feel like that. I don’t think we performed well, I think if you asked the Munster guys they probably didn’t feel that they worked too hard for their scores. And that is not taking anything away from them, they deserved their win. But I don’t think we really performed.”

Jennings bemoaned Leinster’s lack of possession and accuracy, exemplified by 29 missed tackles, and said his province needed to return to the consistency they showed in beating Connacht.

“The next step is we look at some things we did well. We showed a bit of character to come back and score the (last) try. I think we need to focus on getting consistency, probably what we did well against Connacht and we didn’t follow through on this week. It is very tough playing against good teams at home and there is a lot of pride at stake. We have to realise we have to match that with accuracy and executing.”