As Eddie Jones ponders his options at openside flanker for the summer tour to South Africa, England’s head coach could be excused for reflecting on Ireland, whose fourth choice in the position at the start of the season enjoyed a standout Six Nations and has spearheaded Leinster’s push to the European Champions Cup final.
Dan Leavy started the campaign with three caps, all off the bench, after making his debut against Canada in November 2016. He was behind Sean O’Brien, who had been an integral part of the British & Irish Lions’ drawn series in New Zealand, Josh van der Flier and Jordi Murphy, but injuries thrust a player who turns 24 this month into the limelight. He has yet to blink.
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His Leinster and Ireland colleague James Ryan this season described the flanker as “someone who throws his head into anything”. Leavy’s face bears testimony to that, sporting the scars of someone who has gone the distance in the boxing ring.
“If you are second-guessing yourself as a seven going for the ball you are going to hurt yourself,” he says. “You are either all in or you are out. It might look dangerous to some people but it is the way I always have been, particularly when I go for a ball.”
Leinster used him occasionally on the blindside last season because of the options they had at seven – Murphy is leaving for Ulster in the summer – but Leavy sees himself as a breakaway, close to the ball, linking in attack and devastating in defence, an all-action forward.
“The Leinster brand of rugby is a tough defence and an attack that throws the ball around,” says Leavy, who started the final four matches of the Six Nations this year having replaced the injured Van der Flier in the first half of the opener in Paris. “The culture here is all about winning. I remember Leinster’s past successes in Europe and you try to live up to that standard.”
Leinster face Racing 92 in the final in Bilbao on Saturday aiming to equal Toulouse’s record of winning the tournament four times. They have swept all before them in Europe in a season in which Ireland have won the grand slam while the country will be represented in the Pro14 final at the end of the month with Leinster and Munster meeting in the semi-final in Dublin on 19 May, chasing a triple crown with a difference.
“We were in the Champions Cup semi-final last season and came up short as we did in the Pro14,” says Leavy. “We sat down at the end of it and said we were not happy at the way it had gone.” Revenge was delivered on the team who had knocked them out of the league play-offs, the Scarlets, in the Champions Cup semi-final last month when Leinster’s domination was barely reflected in the 38-16 scoreline.
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“It was a weird feeling in the dressing room afterwards because we knew there was another gear in us,” says Leavy. “We knew there was more in us, another level to reach and we will need to find it against Racing. They are an incredible team with a number of top names and big match experience. They were finalists in 2016 and won the Top 14 that year. It will take a special effort to break them and we are aware of that.”
Leavy acknowledges the difference the former England head coach Stuart Lancaster has made since joining Leinster’s coaching team in September 2016. “He has been fantastic,” says the flanker. “He revolutionised the way we trained and the standards we set. We train at a high intensity and if you work hard you test yourself mentally. That comes through in matches.
“When he first came in he told us how we needed to change if we were to evolve as a team. He was very confident and sure in his ways. We have huge faith in him: he has told us what to do and when we do it we win.
“We are well aware how expensive it is for our supporters to get to Bilbao and we fully appreciate the efforts they make. When you come to Leinster as a youngster, you see pictures of the successful sides of the past on the wall. You want to join them and we have the chance.”