Matt O’Connor bids to raise lowly Leinster spirits

“Business as usual” was the message yesterday as Matt O’Connor and Jamie Heaslip discussed Leinster’s Guinness PRO12 meeting with Benetton Treviso tonight, but the reality is that no-one can recall when the balance sheet looked so grim.

O’Connor’s side face the Italians at the RDS and then Edinburgh in Scotland next week with play-off and title forecasts long since scrapped and the focus instead on ensuring they play Champions Cup rather than Challenge Cup rugby next season.

Talk about falling stock.