Just shy of three months since he was forced to retire and Kevin McLaughlin still can’t restrain himself from calling Leinster ‘we’.
The 30-year-old was forced to call it a day, in September, after repeatedly developing concussion-like symptoms. He battled the inevitable for months before it became, well, inevitable.
McLaughlin was over at Stade Felix Mayol on Sunday as Leinster fell to a Toulon side that were more grinders than Globetrotters on the day.
Getting knocked out of the European Cup, which is an extreme likelihood after this weekend’s matches, is no great shock but getting heaved so early is for a club like Leinster.
Naturally, given home defeats for Munster and Ulster in recent Champions Cup outings, Leinster’s failure has some bounding for the panic button.
There have been suggestions, from fans and media alike, that the IRFU should loosen restrictions on provinces to attract a marquee, foreign player. Or two. It was a topic that SportsJOE covered during a disappointing 2014/15 for the provinces. McLaughlin tells us:
“It’s a hard one. I understand where the IRFU policy is coming from.
“They want to have two or three top players in every position and they want to do that by blooding young Irish guys in Europe.
“It has paid dividends to a certain extent, if you look at the depth we have in the Irish squad to a couple of years ago, particularly in the front row. Would that have happened if each province had a top, foreign tighthead? Probably not.”
“A balance needs to be found,” McLaughlin continues.
“With English and French sides spending the type of money they are on marquee players – look at the Wasps [v Leinster] game, they had Frank Halai, George Smith and Carles Piutau – the difference they made was really saying something to the IRFU.
“What it is saying is that maybe we need to bring in one or two guys more, per province, each season.
“It really is a balancing act because, at the end of the day, the national team is the top priority. But, in order for the national team to do well, the provinces have to be winning matches.
“It is undoubtedly something that has to be looked at.”
While acknowledging the impact of the World Cup, the former Blues flanker dismisses the handy notion of a prolonged hangover being totally to blame.
“Ulster and Connacht don’t have World Cup fatigue,” he says. “Ulster got an incredible result, by anyone’s standards, against Toulouse.
“Connacht have been absolutely flying – playing the best rugby of any of the Irish provinces so far.
“Then you look at Leinster and what they’ve had to do. A new coach [Leo Cullen] and two new teams – one squad to work with during the World Cup and a whole new set of players after it – and trying to integrate lads in while games were going on.”
Leinster v Toulon is live on Sky Sports 3 on Saturday from 5pm. The fixture is part of Sky Sports’festive line-up, including European rugby, Premier League football and darts.
