Josh van der Flier, a key player for Leinster, shared insights into the team’s performance during a recent match against Edinburgh. Despite conceding three intercept tries, which contributed to four first-half touchdowns for Edinburgh, Van der Flier emphasized that there was no sense of panic within the Leinster squad.
The team has experience in high-stakes games and was confident in their attacking capabilities. Van der Flier noted that while the defense didn’t face significant pressure in the first half, the attack had plenty of opportunities to score. He highlighted that the team managed to capitalize on some of these chances, although at times they may have forced the play, leading to a few of the conceded tries.
Van der Flier also mentioned the leadership displayed by the team during halftime. “Tommy O’Brien spoke at half-time, Caelan was really good throughout in the huddles,” he explained. He added that the team remained calm despite Edinburgh’s lead, noting that there was no sign of panic even after another breakaway try.
” I’ve been involved in games before where you can kind of feel maybe a small bit panic but it was unbelievably calm,” he said. Van der Flier pointed out that the team focused on maintaining control during the game, acknowledging that while they had opportunities, they also made some mistakes that led to the conceded tries.
Despite the challenges, Van der Flier remained optimistic about the team’s prospects. “I didn’t think there was a huge amount out there that we couldn’t just fix ourselves but it was a funny game, we didn’t do a huge amount of defending,” he said. He acknowledged that the number of points conceded wasn’t ideal but expressed confidence that the team would learn from the experience.
“Obviously, it was not ideal, the amount of points we conceded. I’m sure when we go through the review, there’ll be plenty of things we could have done better, but definitely I’ll be thinking positively anyway.”
Van der Flier also reflected on the importance of overcoming challenges in a tournament. “Besides, what doesn’t knock you out of a tournament makes you stronger,” he said. He noted that throughout the season, teams face moments where things don’t go as planned. “We’ve had a few like that earlier in the season where we probably have had close games and managed to get a win out of them.”
He concluded by emphasizing the value of building momentum through difficult situations. “You feel like you’re doing everything right, or you’re certainly preparing as well as you can and performing as well as you can, and things just aren’t going your way. Certainly you build momentum that way and take a bit of confidence from the fact that if we get into a bad situation, which will probably happen at some stage, then we’ll be better for it.”
