McFadden happiest with life at Leinster

Fergus McFadden has said the new batch of talent forcing their way through this season at Leinster would convince him to stay at home even if an offer from abroad were to materialise.

It makes a change from the depressing updates that Leinster fans have been used to hearing from Leinster HQ on Monday mornings this season, especially when it looked as though a step forward was set to be followed by two back on Saturday when captain Jamie Heaslip departed the game against Ulster with a damaged AC joint.

But after scrum coach Marco Caputo confirmed yesterday that Heaslip should be back for the crunch Champions Cup tie against Castres on January 17, and with Rob Kearney and Eoin Reddan, as well as Marty Moore and Dominic Ryan, in contention for this weekend’s Pro12 game at Cardiff, Leinster’s early-year updates sounded a more positive note.

The immediate concern of seeing Heaslip leave the field injured after 27 minutes of the 24-11 win over their rivals was alleviated somewhat by the options now available to coach Matt O’Connor in the back row.

The performances of man-of-the-match Jack Conan, Jordi Murphy and substitute Josh van der Flier – average age 22 – ensured Heaslip’s loss wasn’t felt in terms of outcome. It’s the emergence of the new crop that would sway any future McFadden decision.

“It’s getting competitive now,” McFadden said. “A lot of guys are coming back from injury and it’s exciting after a stop-start year before Christmas for us.

“I feel we’ve managed and gotten through it well with some of the injuries we’ve had. We’ve gotten results, we’re in a good place in the league, we’re getting by in Europe. I’d like to think in 2015 we can kick on.”

Not that the 28-year-old wouldn’t be averse to casting a curious glance abroad despite the obvious affection he has for his current side.

“I love Leinster,” McFadden said. “It’s a great club, it’s been great to me. I’ve made some good friends, so of course I would like to stay.

“There’s always curiosity about going abroad, going to a different set-up, but it’s very hard to leave this set-up at the moment with the facilities we have and essentially a new flock coming through after Leo (Cullen) and Brian (O’Driscoll) retired.

“There haven’t been any real talks but my priority is to stay at Leinster. There’s always a curiosity, but if I could stay here I’d be happiest.”

McFadden also admitted criticism this season is a product of the standards Leinster have set over the last number of years.

“It’s not easy,” he explained. “I suppose the brand that Leinster’s become over the past five or so years, winning is sometimes not good enough. It’s a bit like Manchester United in their heyday, you have to win by two or three goals.

“Admittedly, at times we haven’t put teams away this season but that win against Ulster was really, really good. From a physical point of view I thought we really dominated them at times. That’s a starting point for us and when it works, our structure, set-piece and phase-play will come from that.”

The Ireland international has fond memories of Cardiff having got his first cap there in 2007 but he acknowledges that the unfamiliar surface at the Arms Park is something Leinster will quickly have to adapt to.

“It has been a good enough hunting ground for us. But I suppose they’ve got the novelty of playing on a 3G artificial pitch which we don’t.

“The game will be a bit quicker and I’d like to think that will suit us as well. I think overcomplicating things can sometimes be your worst enemy. You hear coaches and the best players talking about doing the basics really well and, if you can do them better than the opposition, then you’ll be in a good place.”