Jack Conan wants to make a statement against the Ospreys on Saturday after growing frustrated by his lack of first-team opportunities with Leinster.
Conan makes his fifth start of the campaign for Leinster when they travel to Swansea seeking a 14th successive victory. The Ireland No 8 was limited to 26 minutes during the Christmas interpros, coming off the bench against Munster before dropping out of the match-day squad as Leo Cullen rotated his line-up for the New Year's Day demolition of Connacht.
Conan believes the competition for places in the Leinster back row has never been fiercer and revealed he was forced to change his approach in recent weeks as he battles to regain a regular starting spot.
"I can’t think of a time when the standard was higher than it is right now," said the 30-year-old.
"The training sessions are getting to a higher pace, with a higher level of skill and clinicalness. It really is such a competitive place to be at the moment.
"Rugby is attritional and people pick up knocks, everyone isn’t fit at the same time, but when the majority of lads are there the standard is incredibly high.
"For the 10 years I’ve been involved here, from academy to development and into senior, this is the strongest squad we’ve ever had. You’ve lads like Jason Jenkins and Charlie Ngatai who have come in and added massive value.
"The competition is always incredibly high at Leinster. My frustration for the last while is just probably not getting as many minutes as I would have liked. That’s a testament to how strong the back row is. Ryan Baird has slipped into the back row from the second row, he performed well at the weekend [against Connacht].
"You’ve got lads who were winning man of the match for two weeks in a row in Europe [Caelan Doris], you’ve some other fella who won world player of the year [Josh van der Flier]. The quality and strength is really high at the moment.
"I’m just looking forward to getting another opportunity this weekend and getting back to my best. When I get to play week-in week-out, I get better and better. I’m excited to run out in Swansea and make a bit of a statement to show where I’m at.
"Physically my body is great. The thing on my mind is to be a bit more selfish, to put myself in a position to do things I’m good at – to carry ball, work hard and put the team on the front foot.
"Maybe at times I haven’t been more demanding of myself, to put myself in the right positions. I’ve been kind of waiting my turn a little bit, but I’ve had to change my mindset a little bit over the last few weeks."
Conan's inclusion is one of 10 changes made by Leinster head coach Leo Cullen for the trip to Wales, with out-half Harry Byrne handed his first start of the season.
The Ospreys sit 12th in the BKT United Rugby Championship, 29 points behind leaders Leinster, but they have found some form of late and head into the Saturday’s game on the back of an impressive away win over Montpellier in Europe and back-to-back derby successes against the Scarlets and Cardiff.
"They’re a team that’s definitely on the up," said Conan. "Early on in the season I’m sure they would have been disappointed with a few of their results, considering the quality of team and coaching staff they have.
"We know it’s going to be really tough. They’ve got some fantastic players with a lot of experience. They have a big forward pack so we know we need to be on the money to get the result we want."
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