Doris: Debrief after Toulouse has sparked positive change for Leinster
Caelan Doris believes Leinster have improved in both attack and defence since the disappointments of 2023-24 following a productive first pre-season with Jacques Nienaber and Tyler Bleyendaal.
Leinster will bid to stretch their winning start to the URC campaign with a maximum 20 league points from four games into a fifth with their second consecutive interprovincial derby in a row when they visit Connacht a week on from their 26-12 bonus-point win over Munster at a sold-out Croke Park.
From playing in front of 80,468 supporters at GAA headquarters to the building site that is currently Connacht’s Dexcom Stadium, Doris is not expecting any difference in the size of the challenge his side will face from in Galway on Saturday night.
The No.8, who looks set to lead Ireland into next month’s Autumn Nations Series, led from the front against Munster, with a try and a game-high 21 tackles and 21 carries, has been given the weekend off by head coach Leo Cullen but speaking in Cardiff this week at the EPCR Champions Cup media day, he reflected on the fall-out from last May’s third consecutive European final defeat, the ideal start to the league season and the trip west to Connacht.
“Definitely, 20 from 20 is ideal. Performance-wise it hasn’t been perfect but it’s been pretty good at times and our defence has been a good area of growth. A full pre-season with Jacques gave us more clarity and understanding of his plan and the system so that’s been good.
“He brings an extra level of aggression and the mindset of wanting to suffocate teams with our defence and use it as a proper weapon to get the ball back. And a proper buy-in and enjoyment of that. He’s a great fella to have around, very energetic and enthusiastic, enjoys a pint and he’s just good for the environment in general.”
Former Munster fly-half Bleyendaal replaced Ireland-bound attack coach Andrew Goodman this summer and Doris is already an admirer.
“Yeah, there’s definitely been a few changes in there. He’s be great. He’s a very smart fella, very laid back, which is nice, but he’s implemented a few new things and hammering home our uniqueness as players and wanting to show a bit of our own individual uniqueness and what we can do.”
Last season’s European final loss in extra-time to Toulouse at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium prompted a difficult period of analysis, as Doris explained.
“We have been knocking at the door over the last few years and fallen short at the final hurdle three years in a row, which is tricky, and there have been some pretty grim days off the back of that. But there is also still a ton of belief within the squad and there’s a load of motivation to get better individually. Everyone has a plan on where they as a player want to grow and need to grow and how to achieve that.
“So from an individual perspective hopefully everyone getting after their plan will raise the standard across the board and also from a team perspective, like if you look at the final last year, breakdown, Dupont himself had about four turnovers at the breakdown so that's one fairly glaring area. Our attack didn’t fire as well, some of that may be off the back of how we trained, so there’s areas.
“We had a debrief at the end of last season and it was a pretty open one and there was a lot of suggestions. A lot of things we were doing right as well, given we got to the final, but there were some suggestions on the where things can change and they’ve been implemented so it’s been good.”
Wins over Edinburgh, Dragons, Benetton and Munster will carry Leinster to Galway in confident mood but Doris warned: “That will be very different (from Croke Park) but it will be a hostile atmosphere down there. They are loud, pretty boisterous, the Galway people. It will be good. They’re doing a bit of work in their stadium at the minute so I’m not sure how it’s looking at the moment but it’s always a tough challenge there.”
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