Sean O'Brien says Leinster aiming to fix 'physical intent' in Sharks clash

Michael Bolton

While Leinster's struggles were there for all to see in their opening two games in South Africa, skills coach Sean O'Brien was helping the returning Lions in Dublin.

After a heavy defeat to the Stormers in the opening game of the URC, Leinster lost a thrilling contest against the Bulls last Saturday.

It was over 20 years since Leinster last found themselves in this position after two games, with O'Brien questioning Leinster's physicality and preperation for the season.

Having only played one game in pre-season, and several players lining out for both the British and Irish Lions in the summer, O'Brien admits Leinster may have been "undercooked."

"The first week was a difficult watch. What were the learnings from there? I suppose the physical intent part.

"There was a lot of scraps on the ground from kicks and battles that we lost.

"It was nice to see that the lads got back into the fight last weekend.

"That’s the main one, the intent part around winning scraps and physically being at the level that’s required in this competition, especially away from home.

"Obviously, it was the first game in the URC for the majority of those lads.

"Were they undercooked? Did we need another game under our belts?

"That’s a question we asked ourselves; all those things are irrelevant now. We just need to move on quickly."

A key member of the 2013 and 2017 tours, the 38-year-old knows all about how the long season followed by a trip to the other side of the world can take its toll on players.

James Lowe, Tadhg Furlong, Ronan Kelleher, Jamie Osborne, and Josh Van Der Flier are among those to return to face the Sharks in the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.

At most, Ireland's top players may have two games with their provinces before they face New Zealand in Chicago on November 1st.

Having a longer break than O'Brien would have experienced, he is confident the players will be ready for action.

"The tours obviously take a bit of a toll on the body. Back at that stage of my career, you only had a couple of weeks off; the lads have had five or six weeks off.

"Some lads didn't play as many games as others, so there will be a bit of freshness there, a bit of itchiness at this stage to be back playing rugby.

"You kind of miss it when you have a bit of a break as well. The challenges will be to fit back into our system and get up and running.

"The Lions lads have applied themselves really well over the last few weeks since they came back in. I am really looking forward to seeing them kick on again.

"What a way to win a tour like that and a good ending to last season. You get a taste for success and you want more of it."