Jack Conan says collective effort key to Leinster glory
Friday 12 January 2018 16:03, UK
Leinster's players are too focused on getting their name on the teamsheet to dwell on the excitement their rugby is creating, according to Jack Conan.
The No 8 is preparing for Leinster's home tie against Glasgow on Sunday, live on Sky Sports from 12:45pm, and during a break from training on Thursday, Conan offered an insight into an ethos forged by Leo Cullen and Stuart Lancaster that has caught the attention of the rugby world.
Jordan Larmour's try against Munster; Andrew Porter's charge out of the '22 against Ulster; the high-energy performance of Max Deegan against Connacht.
These moments have marked Leinster's canvas with such flourishing strokes in recent weeks, and have been painted in the main by inexperienced players who must feel like they have just rolled out of the province's academy and into the forefront of public consciousness.
The energy wave they have helped create is obvious - or overwhelming for teams who have felt it crash over them of late. And many pundits are predicting it will carry Leinster to European glory.
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Collective
Jack Conan acknowledges this momentum. He understands the enthusiasm that has greeted Leinster's turbo-charged ascent to the top of the European Pool pile.
But on the training field, the playing pitch, and away from considered lunchtime conversations like this one, Conan talks of a team coldly focused; of a creative culture back-boned by clear communication; of an inclusive ethos that saw Leo Cullen use 37 players in that recent hat-trick of Inter-Pro wins - a list that does not feature names like Sean O'Brien, Cian Healy, Isa Nacewa and Jamie Heaslip, among others.
"Being part of it I do feel we are in a special place," said Conan.
"A lot of that is down to Stuart Lancaster and the style of rugby he wants to play. On every space of the pitch we have our set moves. But if we have a set move and then realise that there is something else on then we're encouraged to play what's in front of us.
"I look and see the talent and depth and it's unparalleled. But you can't get too caught up in it because the games come thick and fast and you can see players lining-up to take their chance.
"The talent is massive and it's showing in the brand of rugby. For us, the standard is so high that if you are not at the races one week then there is someone waiting in the wings to take your place.
"It's down to the competitive culture of the group and that competition is to the benefit of the group."
This collective mass-effort has become a hallmark of Leinster's season under Cullen and Lancaster. But Conan dismisses the suggestion that such depth of competition must leave squad members in an almost permanent state of insecurity.
"We are not stagnating because of our collective effort to go out and perform at the weekend and you have it in your head that you have to make the most of your opportunity when it comes along," the 25-year-old added.
"In the back of your head it's not insecurity, it's that you want to play!
"This week I've had a bit of nerves about the Glasgow game and it's a massive opportunity for myself and once the whistle goes all that fades away. You've done all the preparation and analysis and the pressure fades once you get your hands on the ball."
Focus
Leinster's trajectory looks certain to propel them to a home-quarter-final place and Conan's performances this season saw him feature against Fiji in Ireland's three-Test November series. But he admits that following that tryscoring performance he was left to dwell on defensive gaps he needed to fill more than the influence he felt he exerted.
"I sat down with Joe [Schmidt] pre the two Exeter games and had a chat about where I was and where I needed to be come the Six Nations," Conan said. "And he didn't think my defensive game was up to scratch and that I had to try a bit harder on my defensive skills, my line speed, my energy, and to improve it.
"It probably comes down to a better understanding of the skills and the structures. To chat to the lads inside you and outside you and that's something you've got to do for 80 minutes.
"But trying to improve is a mind-set not a talent or a skill-set. You have to have the want and desire to stay in the moment, to not let your concentration waiver."
Concentration is something that the coaching ticket of Cullen and Lancaster have tried to emboss on Conan and his team-mates.The need to see a contest in its entirety and to tune into the game's rhythm.
This has been challenging for a player who confesses to lapses in concentration and the No 8 admits to being struck by the capacity of Leinster's new batch to not only get to the level of this pitch, but to project far beyond it.
"Look at Jordan [Larmour] he's been fantastic," he said. "What an exciting player he is and he's mature and driven and the guys coming through have been so confident and so mature and when I graduated from the academy, I was within myself. I had this feeling that I was hanging back. I didn't want to force myself [in certain situations].
"Some of the guys are massively naturally driven and in the academy. The onus is on players to push on and get caps."
Creative edge
Conan's commitment to improve can be glimpsed through the prism of a nightly habit that involves him setting aside time alone to reinforce the team's playbook in his memory.
"I can be someone who overthinks things and I like to do something that takes my mind off things completely," he added. "But 15 to 20 minutes every night you will sit down and think about your plays."
It's a commitment entirely expected. But one that creates an almost rigid juxtaposition against Leinster's free-wheeling nature this season. The nature that propelled Larmour across the line in Thomond against Munster, that led to the line-break from Porter, and that has branded Leinster so positively among critics this season.
"It's so exciting and looking back at the New Year this is what has set us apart and absolutely, we've been given permission to break out and express ourselves as players," he added. "We are backed to go out and enjoy it. You have Andrew Porter running from his own 22 and setting up a try against Ulster - that's completely off the cuff."
