MATT O’CONNOR HAS admitted he is feeling the natural pressure of being Leinster’s head coach, but has defended his team’s style of play.
The Irish province has been on the receiving end of much criticism, even after last weekend’s Champions Cup win at home to Harlequins left them in contention to secure a place in the knock-out stages of the European competition.
Ahead of tomorrow night’s Pro12 clash with Connacht at the RDS, O’Connor suggested that the perception of Leinster’s campaign so far may be veering towards unfair.
“It’s a different yardstick, I’ll say that. Connacht are a point behind us, they’re having an unbelievable season,” said O’Connor at the RDS this afternoon. “Munster, Ulster, where are they in Europe? Ask the question, but we’re getting beaten up. That’s not our doing.”
“We spend the whole week trying to be as good as we can and most of that is in and around playing and scoring tries, because that’s what we want to do. People will write what they write. The expectation is there, rightfully so because of how good a group we’ve got and what we’ve achieved. That’s out of our hands.”
O’Connor addressed the criticism of Leinster at the RDS this afternoon. Source: Ryan Byrne/INPHO
The vast majority of the negative reaction to Leinster’s form this season has been focused on head coach O’Connor himself, rather than the playing staff. The Australian admitted that he is feeling the pressure, as does any head coach in professional rugby.
“Of course you feel pressure, because that’s the nature of the game,” said O’Connor. “You want to be better, you want to be winning games, you want to be scoring tries. That’s the reality of it. I can’t catch the ball for them, I can only put them in a position to do it.