URC tougher than Ronan O'Gara realises, says Robin McBryde

Leinster coach Robin McBryde doesn’t go along with Ronan O’Gara’s suggestion that La Rochelle have to contend with a tougher fixture list through the regular season than Leinster

TOUGH SCHEDULE: Ronan O'Gara celebrates at Stade Matmut Atlantique in Bordeaux after the Champions Cup semi-final win. Pic: David Rogers/Getty Images

Leinster coach Robin McBryde doesn’t go along with Ronan O’Gara’s suggestion that the Irishman’s La Rochelle side has to contend with a tougher fixture list through the regular season than the province.

The two sides will meet in a repeat of last year’s Heineken Champions Cup in three weeks’ time but O’Gara was in no mood to project his mind that far forwards after Sunday’s semi-final defeat of Exeter Chiefs in Bordeaux.

The La Rochelle boss acknowledged the hectic schedule which Leinster face at the moment with knockout games week on week across two tournaments but made the point that his players face this all the time with the relentless nature of the Top 14.

“It is ten months of a slog,” O’Gara told BT Sport after the Exeter win.

McBryde, Leinster’s forwards coach, watched that Chiefs game after Leinster’s impressive defeat of Toulouse in Dublin the day before. He paid tribute to a physical and clinical outfit and was of a mind to leave it there before referencing the former Munster man’s interview.

“I don’t necessarily agree with what he said with regards to them playing big game after big game. We’re in the same situation playing big game after big game. It’s like a mini-World Cup towards the end of the year. If we can win Saturday it is another big game.” 

It has to be said, Leinster were able to excuse their front-line players from a two-week tour to South Africa prior to their defeat of Toulouse. And the only game they lost in the league was their last when a callow collection got whipped by the Bulls.

So, while Leinster were able to top their table after winning 16 and drawing another of their 18 URC fixtures, La Rochelle are second in France despite losing eight of their 23 ties. Toulouse, sitting at the summit, have lost seven. That’s almost one-third.

There’s no doubt that one league is appreciably more competitive than the other but McBryde was insistent that the URC is not the practise ground some think it to be but, instead, a “very tough” competition that is better now than before.

“You've got the South African teams who are bringing everything with them now. In their first season they were just finding things out. They've got a grasp of it now and they're bloody difficult teams to play against and they've raised the standard, profile, everything.

“When it comes to the business end as well they've got experienced players who know how to perform at their best in difficult situations and big matches, they are big game players. So I wouldn't say we'd have it easy in any way, shape or form. It has been a tough slog.” 

Next up for the province is a URC quarter-final at the Aviva against a Sharks side that has looked far more impressive on paper with its collection of Springboks than on the field of play. They did finish eighth on the ladder, after all.

Robbie Henshaw (quad), Ronan Kelleher (shoulder), Joe McCarthy (ankle) and Tommy O’Brien (shoulder) are in the mix to feature at the weekend and James Lowe (calf) is in the running to be right for the date with La Rochelle.

The Sharks tie is potentially just the second of what would be five knockout games in as many weeks if they make it all the way to the URC final – which will also be played at the Aviva – and it makes for a big ask for players and fans alike.

With Bruce Springsteen paying the rent at the RDS for now, Leinster will again be housed in the main stadium down the road. Capacity has been capped at 19,000 for the visit of the Sharks and they will do very well to trouble that.

Last year’s quarter-final against Glasgow at the RDS attracted less than 10,000, and the semi-final against the Bulls less than 12,000, although tickets are available at a fraction of the cost charged by EPCR for the Toulouse game.

For the coaches and staff, the job at hand is how best to juggle their admittedly enviable resources in such a way as to give the team the best chance of winning against the Sharks while avoiding burnout for their brightest and best.