James Ryan issues warning to Leinster despite 25-game winning streak
James Ryan has told his Leinster teammates only their best will do against a potentially galvanised Saracens in the quarter-finals of the Heineken Champions Cup on Saturday. The clash is a repeat of last year’s final in Newcastle, but the circumstances are very different for the holders after a dreadful campaign.
Saracens were hit with a £5.36million fine and 35-point deduction in November for repeated salary cap breaches before they were automatically relegated in January. It means all Mark McCall’s side have had to play for is the Champions Cup and even though they will be without the suspended captain Owen Farrell in Dublin, Leinster’s lock is not about to take anything for granted.
“They are the defending champions for a reason, so we know this week we have to bring the best version of ourselves and I don’t think anything less will be enough to get a result,” Ryan said. “They have had some blows in the past and you have seen it has brought them closer. If anything, it could galvanise them as a group.
“They have targeted this game, I would imagine, from a long way back and because of the relegation, they have had months to fine-tune and plan for this game. It’s their last chance of silverware this season, so they have a huge amount to play for and they will be a very motivated outfit.”
Since Leinster’s 20-10 defeat to Saracens in May last year, the Irish club have put together a run of 25 wins in a row. The latest occurred on Saturday in the Guinness PRO14 final against Ulster, to crown them the champions of the competition for a third consecutive year.
This Leinster side deserved a flashier denouement to their unbeaten campaign but their dominance of the PRO14 isn't necessarily a negative, argues @heagneyl ???https://t.co/jRnY80TkpY
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 13, 2020
It was Ryan’s first game back after a shoulder injury and while happy to get his hands on more silverware, he knows where they can improve. “The last few weeks have been positive,” the 26-cap Ireland international added. “Looking at the weekend, it was a slow start but we got into the game. This week we can’t afford to start slow, we have to come out the blocks quick so we will need to improve – but we are all aware of that.”
Saturday will see Ryan renew his duel with England’s Maro Itoje with the pair going head-to-head several times over the last few years. The most recent was back in February during the Six Nations, but the Leinster forward was keen not to only focus on his rival, who he described as the “overall package”.
Ryan said: “It’s great. You look across the Saracens pack and they have some serious players there, whether it be Itoje or the Vunipolas (Mako and Billy). You look at the backline and yes they won’t have Owen Farrell, but they still have a huge amount of experience.
“Manu Vunipola has gone in there at ten and done a good job so across the park they are stacked with quality. They might have lost a few guys but they have the backbone of the team committed to the club and it is great to be coming up against some of the best players in Europe. We are massively looking forward to it.”
While Farrell will not be influential on the pitch, due to being issued with a five-match ban for a dangerous tackle against Wasps earlier this month, the fly-half has still been eager to play his part. Saracens director of rugby McCall revealed: “He’s running the opposition against us, running some of Leinster’s plays etc, so he’ll be a huge help to us this week.
“He just wants to help. He regrets the situation he finds himself in but now he just wants to help the team as much as he can.” On Ryan, McCall added: “He epitomises the hard working team they are. That’s his number one strength.”
'We have two choices' – Mark McCall has discussed his options to replace the suspended Owen Farrell against Leinster.https://t.co/UXn4k2IDGO
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 14, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
I wouldn’t spend the time on Nawaqanitawase! No point in having him filling in a jersey when he’s committed to leave Union. Give the jersey to a young prospect who will be here in the future.
4 Go to commentsIt was a pleasure to watch those guys playing with such confidence. That trio can all be infuriating for different reasons and I can see why Jones might have decided against them. No way to justify leaving Ikitau out though. Jorgensen and him were both scheduled to return at the same time. Only one of them plays for Randwick and has a dad who is great mates with the national coach though.
53 Go to commentsBrayden Iose and Peter Lakai are very exciting Super Rugby players but are too short and too light to ever be a Test 8 vs South Africa, France, Ireland, and England, Lakai could potentially be a Test player at 7 if he is allowed to focus on 7 for Hurricanes.
5 Go to commentsPencils “Thomas du Toit” into possible 2027 Bok squad.
1 Go to commentsDon’t see why Harrison makes the bench. Jones can play at 10 if needed, and there is a good case for starting her there to begin with if testing combinations. That would leave room for Sing on the bench
1 Go to commentsWhat a load of old bull!
1 Go to commentsOf the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.
29 Go to commentsIrish Rugby CEO be texting Andy Farrell “Andy, i found our next Kiwi Irishman”
5 Go to commentsI certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
5 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
4 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to comments