Leinster's Winning Streak: URC Focus After Champions Cup Glory

Leinster defensive guru Jacques Nienaber hailed his side's resolve and comeback qualities as the immediate focus shifts from the Champions Cup to the URC, with Saturday's trip to Connacht the first in a block of five fixtures in the competition. After a wretched start to the season, where Leinster lost three of their first four encounters in the URC, their winning streak now extends to nine matches. The latest of those victories came in the French Basque Country, with Bayonne dispatched on a 22-13 scoreline. Leinster had already qualified from Pool 3, but securing home advantage in the last 16 tees the team up perfectly for the business end of Europe's premier club competition where they will first host Edinburgh. Reflecting on the weekend win, Nienaber said: "I think for us this part of the season, especially in Europe, it's important for us to keep building momentum as much as we can. "We're delighted with the win, obviously. That got us out of the pool stages and that was probably our first aim: to get out of the pool stages, try and get into the round of 16, and if you can, get a home round of 16. "We've achieved that, so very happy with that. "In terms of performance, I think individually we're still working hard as a group to improve ourselves and to make sure that we're better, and also collectively to improve as a team. "That will be a constant work-on for us as a team going forward, especially now that Europe is done for now. "Our main focus will be our next five URC games, which is very important for us to keep building momentum as much as we can. "Every point will matter because we're fifth in the league, so there is a lot of work for us to do." The injury status of a number of players remains up in the air as Leinster await the result of scans, but Nienaber is acutely aware that a depleted squad is an inevitability as international action looms large on the horizon. "Hopefully we will lose a lot of players to the Irish camp, and if that happens we'll have to work with the group that we have available to us, which is quite exciting," the South African, whose side visit Connacht in the URC on Saturday, said. "We've been in that position since the start of the season with a lot of players. "I think the positive for us is that it creates the opportunity for us to create squad depth." Leinster's resurgence hasn't silenced all their critics and it's one hallmarked by come-from-behind wins. Saturday proved no different, with their Top 14 opponents leading 10-3 at the interval before three second-half tries settled matters. While the resolve shown was admirable, Nienaber wouldn't be averse to seeing the side win more easily. "Obviously, you don't want to be in a position like that, you probably would like it to be done and dusted by half-time," he admitted. "But it's not the case and every game is a little bit different. "I think the main thing is players trusting the process and trusting each other. "There have been a lot of moving parts in the past game, with injuries that we sustained and guys pulling out late in the week, and stuff like that. "The beauty of it is the team just getting on with it, I would say. "If something happens in the week or the game, they put their heads down and find a solution. That's the key."