Tyler Bleyendaal mindful of maintaining Leinster's DNA in rugby's new order

Bleyendaal played down Leinster's “isolated" errors in a shaky start against Leicester in the Champions Cup

Leinster’s first-half against Leicester on Friday was a case of anything that could go wrong did go wrong. Pic: ©INPHO/James Crombie

Three days after Leo Cullen’s tetchy exchange with an English journalist at Welford Road and, while Tyler Bleyendaal was in a less animated mood, he was still offering a similar defence of Leinster’s current health.

The province has stuttered through the opening months of the season as they welcome back, lose and welcome back again their batch of Ireland internationals and British and Irish Lions. The URC table tells us as much.

So do their two Investec Champions Cup games played this month, against a weakened Harlequins and a Leicester Tigers side missing a few key men, given a variety of issues in terms of execution on both sides of the ball.

“We won two European games, which we're really happy about,” said Bleyendaal. “We went away from home and Leicester was really great. Now we've got a very tough Christmas period where we're going to have interpros.” 

Leinster’s first-half last Friday was a case of anything that could go wrong did go wrong. Leicester claimed two tries without the need for a single ruck. Leinster let slip a handful of tries due to some sloppy play.

The consequence was a 15-6 deficit at half-time in a ground renowned as a bearpit at the best of times. That they extricated themselves from that hole shouldn’t be overlooked. Same goes for the fact that they got themselves into it.

Bleyendaal saw multiple issues. There were individual errors, a lack of composure, poor decision-making. These things tend to spread like a winter flu but the attack coach doesn’t see anything endemic in it.

“I think they are just isolated events, which is the reality. Someone throws a ball into touch, another one we just miss an offload down an edge, another one we're just losing the ball in contact. I don't think it's necessarily concerning in regards to the team's got an issue.

“It's just unfortunate that it happens that many times when we created so many nice things. We get back to work and we make sure we work on our connections and combinations. We've got to work on our skillsets under pressure.

“We've got to make sure mentally we're making good decisions.” 

Leinster will have Jack Conan available when they welcome Ulster to the Aviva Stadium this Friday. The back row left the field in the opening minutes in the East Midlands with a head knock but has gone through the return-to-play protocols.

Jimmy O’Brien (hamstring) and Tadhg Furlong (illness) are to be assessed through the week while the likes of Hugo Keenan, Jamie Osborne, Ryan Baird, Jordan Larmour, Andrew Porter, Garry Ringrose and RG Snyman are all out.

That’s not an inconsiderable casualty list but Leinster can absorb that better than most. The question is whether, regardless of personnel, they can rediscover the standards across the board that can make them trophy contenders come the spring and summer.

There is a theory that the imposition of Jacques Nienaber’s blitz defence has imbalanced the team and negated an attack for which they had been renowned. And another that new breakdown laws and interpretations are working against them, and Ireland.

To put it bluntly, that defenders now find it easier to get the rub of the green from referees at rucks, and that that is a problem for Irish sides that had been so effective from multi-phase attacking play and off a high number of breakdowns.

Leinster’s response to this, according to Bleyendaal, is to attack space more effectively so there is less congestion around the tackle area, and for supporting players to be faster to the ruck with a low height and appropriate force.

There is also the boot-to-ball option. Bleyendaal doesn’t want Leinster to make this their calling card but there was an admission that they could have turned to it more against the Tigers when they did. And teams have to play to a ref’s interpretation too.

Add in the laws banning escort runners and rugby has changed rapidly and significantly in a short course of time and, if there is a template for playing the game now, then South Africa are the poster boys for the new dawn.

“It's got to match your team's DNA and what you're about, because if everyone tried to play like the Springboks, you've got to have the right personnel, the right mindset. You've got to have a love for that type of game to execute it well.

“I don't know if there's a perfect game. You've just got to find the perfect game for your group and be able to execute that. For us, I'd say we are reasonably balanced. We like to play ball in hand, but we do have an effective kicking game.”