Madigan: Best yet to come
Leinster played some sparkling rugby when they spanked Cardiff in the Heineken Cup quarter-final on Saturday, but, according to out-half Ian Madigan, there’s even better to come. They now play crack French team Clermont-Auvergne in what should be an epic semi-final, and, by the time that match comes around three weeks from now, Madigan reckons Leinster will be better equipped to play to their full potential.
“As regards potential, I definitely think there’s another 20% in us,” he said.
“The team hasn’t fully gelled since the Six Nations and after another few weeks of training together I think we’ll be getting a lot closer to 100%.”
Leinster might be coming to the boil nicely, but their semi-final opponents proved in their convincing quarter-final victory over Saracens on Sunday that they’re in a pretty hot streak of form themselves.
Madigan is well aware besting them in Bordeaux will require a hell of an effort form Leinster, but he’s confident they have the wherewithal to do it.
“There’s no doubt that they have one of the strongest squads in Europe.
“Apart from Toulouse and maybe Leicester on their day, I can’t think of a squad as strong as Clermont’s. They’ve got serious power-houses coming off the bench, and if you’re not on form they can really do a job on you. ”
The fact that Joe Schmidt was a coach at Clermont before he took on the head coach role at Leinster will surely be an advantage as well.
Schdmit might have admitted after the victory over Cardiff on Saturday that he’d prefer to play Saracens in the semi-final, but if the French team have a weak-spot then there’s no-one better qualified than the Leinster coach to identify and exploit it.
“He’ll definitely have an insight on them and the way they like to play which has to be a help,” agreed Leinster kicking coach Richie Murphy.
Leinster yesterday reported a clean bill of health after their weekend’s exertions, but weren’t so forthcoming about reports linking them with Leeds Carnegie second-row, Tom Denton.
He’s English-born but eligible to play for Ireland and was recently described by former England star, Neil Back, as “one of the bright stars of the Premiership”.
Leinster manager, Guy Easterby, yesterday refused to confirm or deny the reports.
“When we have a signing to announce we’ll announce it,” said Easterby. “So, as far as I’m concerned, there’s nothing to say on that at the moment. There will be in a couple of weeks when we announce our signings for next season.”
© This appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Tuesday, April 10, 2012
