Leinster head coach Leo Cullen says the financial chaos in the English Premiership has provided a stark reminder of the importance of good attendances.
With Worcester Warriors having their relegation confirmed this week, and their entire squad released after the club entered administration, and Wasps also in real danger of financial collapse, it's been a sobering time for the professional game.
Leinster had just over 13,000 fans in attendance at the RDS for their home opener against Benetton two weeks ago while they'll be hopeful of even more this evening when they host the Sharks (live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player), with the likes of Johnny Sexton, Andrew Porter, Robbie Henshaw and Jack Conan all starting.
And Cullen says the days playing in front of empty stadiums during Covid-19 has heightened the need for his own side to do their best to make sure the supporters keep coming back.
"Again, it's going back to life during Covid, life after Covid. The importance of the fans," he said.
"We’re not going to be able to survive, going forward, unless we get the buy-in from supporters. That’s the reality, isn’t it?
"Our big point of difference pre-Covid was our support we get, particularly on big days. It’s something we’ve to work really, really hard on to make sure that we provide a product out on the field that people want to come and see."
And the Leinster coach said the Warriors plight is also a cautionary tale for other clubs who are desperate for success.
"You can see it now, because some clubs, you can always overspend to try and chase the success.
"You have to be careful as well, because sometimes survival and moving on, the gradual sustainability of success can’t be at all the costs. What is going to be the ultimate cost?
"That is the balance bit that we have to try and get right here all the time," he added.
In recent years Leinster have been slow to bring in big-name signings, but the four-time European champions reached out to the market in the summer, recruiting South African Jason Jenkins from Munster, as well as one-time All Black Charlie Ngatai from Lyon.
Both players appear to have hit the ground running, with Ngatai making a try-saving tackle on Aaron Sexton in the final quarter of last week's win against Ulster, an intervention which arguably won Leinster the game.
Jenkins has impressed early on, and is set to start his fourth game in a row this evening against the Sharks, having gained rave reviews for his first three performances.
And while the Springbok has offered a huge amount of physicality to the province's pack, Cullen says he has also helped them learn more about the South African style of play.
"As you know, we have very few players from outside that we're bringing in. First and foremost, you're not bringing people in for the sake of it. They have to bring something that you don't have and not just adding in terms of the playing piece, it's the off-field as well.
"He's [Jenkins] a big man and I think you have seen what he has delivered in the first few games of the season. Hopefully he goes on from strength to strength.
"It's the mindset of the South Africans as well, the teams we come up against now on a regular basis in the URC. I'm not sure that our guys really understand that, if I am being totally honest.
"You can talk about it but until you really come up against it. I think we saw first-hand against the Bulls what it was like and obviously Jason has come through that."
"Just the attention to detail around set-piece in particular – how they test you out in certain facets of the game would the big piece for me."
While Jenkins (above) has already added to Leinster's pack, the likelihood is that his arrival will potentially see a reduction in playing time for Ross Molony or James Ryan, two products of the club's academy, while another academy graduate Jack Dunne departed in the summer to make way for the South African lock.
And while Cullen accepts that the arrival of outside-signings can lead to homegrown talent missing out, he says there's a constant balance between what's best for one individual, and what's best for the team.
"The impact of some of the players we've brought in from outside has been pretty immense. I know there's probably always this broader debate about homegrown talent and I’m more conscious of that than I think anyone, really.
"As in, I have to understand with this person, what is he adding versus the denying of somebody else I’m very, very conscious of that part. Because again, I’ve been that Irish player coming through.
"Overall, if you get the right people, I think they can add and have a very special contribution to the group because they just give you a different sense. Again, as long as you get the right people I think it’s important.
"It’s a great debate, isn’t it?"
