Caputo: We'll need to be better against Harlequins

Leinster’s scrum coach Marco Caputo says a massive step up is needed this week in the European Champions Cup.

They go to face Harlequins this weekend in the first of the crucial back-to-back European games.

Matt O’Connor’s side travel to the Twickenham Stoop on the back of their scrappy Guinness Pro 12 victory over Ospreys on Saturday night, knocking the Welsh side off the top of the table.

However one would question how much momentum Leinster will take to their trip to London from that game which was an 80-minute slugging shootout.

Caputo says any sort of similar performance on Sunday will almost certainly see them fall to defeat against Conor O’Shea’s Quinns.

He said, “It probably wouldn’t be good enough.”

“In saying that, if you look at the performance from the forwards in the set-piece in the context of bodies missing, I was satisfied that the pack we were able to try out and guys that aren’t used to playing with that sort of intensity were able to come in and do the job and win the game for us.”

The Leinster squad trained at their base in UCD this afternoon and Matt O’Connor has a number of injury headaches.

In the Ospreys win, Tom Denton picked up a calf problem while Kane Douglas was replaced as he suffered a concussion and is following back to play protocols.

Ian Madigan meanwhile came off in the game after he rolled over on his ankle.

“With Madigan, his diagnosis has been fairly positive, we are hopeful of having him available for the weekend.”

“The first signs coming out of the medics meeting this morning was that he should be ok to play.”

“Tom Denton got a bang on is calf but we are trying to free that up so he’s available while Kane took a bang on his head, it’s very minor but we are taking a cautious approach with him,” Caputo said.