Connacht 'need to go up a level' to pull off Leinster shock

Connacht showed they are maturing as a team in spite of their defeat to Leinster last week, according to senior coach Pete Wilkins.

The western province will have to produce one of the shocks of the season on Friday night if they want to reach a first ever Heineken Champions Cup quarter-final, trailing 26-21 on aggregate heading into the second leg of their last 16 tie on Good Friday.

Despite taking the lead inside three minutes at the Sportsground last week, Connacht found themselves trailing 18-8 and 23-14 at various stages in the game, before cutting the deficit back to just one score ahead of the return tie at the Aviva Stadium.

Although they were beaten by Leo Cullen's side on the night, the Connacht performance was far removed from the previous meeting with Leinster three weeks ago, as well as the humbling defeat to Edinburgh, where their defence imploded on both occasions.

"Both teams would have come away with things to do but quietly satisfied that there is more in the tank," Wilkins (below) said ahead of Friday's trip to the Aviva Stadium.

"That sets it up for an exciting second leg and the mindset of both teams will feed into that.

"It's important not to fall into the trap in that first leg of chasing a lead on the scoreboard or chasing a points differential too early. It’s about being there or thereabouts for that second leg and it’s an interesting one for us.

"In the past in games against Leinster we have maybe not trusted ourselves when they have got a score or two ahead. We haven’t had that trust that we can chip away at that lead and we have tried to pull out miracle plays and solve the scoreboard in an instant.

"If nothing else that first leg shows that we actually can remain diligent in playing our way and