Leinster still chasing consistency despite European semi-final spot

Leinster attack coach Bleyendaal wants more accuracy from his side without sacrificing ambition

Tyler Bleyendaal believes it would be fair to say Leinster have not been at their best for the entirety of games this season. Pic: ©INPHO/Grace Halton

While the past weekend saw them qualify for their sixth consecutive European Champions Cup semi-final, Leinster assistant coach Tyler Bleyendaal admitted his side are still searching for a greater level of consistency across the remainder of the season. 

Just 7-3 ahead at the end of a scrappy opening period against Sale Sharks in Saturday's quarter-final, Leinster proceeded to outscore their cross-channel opponents 36-10 in the second half and ultimately progress in convincing style.

A number of errors and defensive lapses saw them trailing 31-28 in the 52nd minute of their Round of 16 showdown with Edinburgh six days earlier, before an unanswered haul of 21 points propelled them over the line. An overall tally of 92 points and 13 tries across these two fixtures will have pleased an attack specialist like Bleyendaal, but there will be some finetuning required ahead of their final-four European meeting with Toulon in the Aviva on Saturday, May 2.

“I'd say it’s very fair [that Leinster haven’t been at their best for the whole of games]. The reality is it's hard to just dominate a game for 80 minutes as well, so I think what we're pleased with is how we're able to absorb a bit of pressure. We made errors, which in the past might have cost us a lot of points,” said Bleyendaal.

“We just want to be more accurate with the ball, but not necessarily be more conservative. It’s just finding the balance there. To score points, you've got to retain that possession and then if we want to give it to the opposition, it has to be on our terms. I think that's particularly true for those French teams.” 

 Before switching their attention back to Champions Cup action, Leinster will be focused on bolstering their defence of the United Rugby Championship. An interprovincial derby is on the cards against Ulster in Belfast this Friday, followed by a URC visit to Benetton in Treviso eight days later.

Although he wasn’t certain about the severity of the injury that forced Ryan Baird off in the second half of their win over Sale – in only his second game back after a lengthy absence – Bleyendaal did confirm the second-row/back-row hybrid wasn’t training on Monday and will miss out on this week’s trip to Ulster.

An ankle injury sustained just four minutes into the game on Saturday sees Alex Usanov becoming the latest loosehead prop to be sidelined, but there is every chance that Andrew Porter – Leinster’s first-choice option in this pivotal front-row position – could feature in the match day 23 against Ulster.

The 30-year-old Ireland international and team skipper Caelan Doris are set to be assessed later this week after both players missed out on Sale’s visit to Ballsbridge, while there will also be a call made on the potential availability of Josh van der Flier, who was withdrawn after 50 minutes at the weekend.

“I’m not 100% sure on Ryan Baird, but he wasn't training today. He's not playing this week, so it's one of those to be assessed and hopefully a bit more clarity by the end of the week,” Bleyendaal explained.

“We've obviously got a short week, so it's hard to get an early read on those guys [Porter, Doris and van der Flier]. Obviously Ports in the loosehead position, it'd be good to get him back and fit, but obviously not one we're looking to rush as well.”