Donal Lenihan has hailed the impact that Stuart Lancaster has made in his short time with Leinster.
The former England head coach joined Leo Cullen’s side as a “senior coach” in September and has helped the team to the top of their pool in the Champions Cup, and to joint top of the Pro12 table.
This time last season Leinster were as good as out of the premier European competition with three defeats from three games.
Former Ireland manager Lenihan, speaking on RTÉ 2fm’s Game On, said: “A lot of the English journalists I met [at the Wasps v Connacht game] were interested to see how [Lancaster] was getting on with Leinster.
“He has certainly made a huge impact there, right from the day he went in.
“The English press were surprised in a way because he was seen to be a little bit laid back or non-confrontational... but he’s made a huge impact in Leinster and fair dues.
“The likes of Leo Cullen, [coaches] Girvan Dempsey, John Fogarty – I think they’ve all benefited from Lancaster’s presence.”
Leinhan also paid tribute to Leinster’s ability to deal with injuries.
The triple-European champions overcame Northampton Saints on Friday without Ireland internationals Johnny Sexton and Joey Carbery, who was injured early in the game.
“[They had] a load of young fellows being exposed to European rugby, down to their third choice out-half after only 15 minutes,” he said.
“Again it shows the quality of player coming through. That Ross Byrne can come off the bench, make his European debut and the whole operation was seamless.”
Leinster host Northampton in the Aviva Stadium on Saturday night (kick-off 7.45pm, live on RTÉ Radio 1).
