Robin McBryde: We need to get a few things right at the scrum

Leinster coach Robin McBryde admits the province need 'a few fix-ups' at the scrum, after another inconsistent performance at the setpiece on Saturday.

Despite winning 16 games from 16 in all competitions this season, they have struggled at times in the scrum, and notably in each of the last three games against Ospreys, Gloucester and most recently Racing 92, where they conceded two penalties and a free-kick off the six scrums in the game.

And while they've yet to be made pay in the current campaign, Leinster's scrum specialist McBryde says it's something they're working to address.

"We need to get a few things right," the Welshman said.

"We're in constant contact with the referees, or the heads of referees with regards to the pictures they're seeing, so that’s a constant dialogue going back and forth.

"That aside, we’ve come up against a very good Ospreys team, a very strong scrum as well. It’s good sometimes to just get that little bit of a wake-up call that we’re not quite where we think we should be.

"It’s definitely a few fix-ups we need to get right ahead of the weekend."

The province will be heavily depleted for Saturday's visit of Cardiff to the RDS (live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player), with 20 members of their squad having been called up to Ireland's Six Nations squad.

As such, the meeting with Cardiff will present an opportunity for some of the fringe players in the squad, as well as some academy prospects to make a name for themselves.

The final game before the Six Nations has been a fruitful one for Leinster in recent years. Twelve months ago Joe McCarthy was handed his senior debut in this round of games, also versus Cardiff, while in the final pre-Six Nations game in 2021 Jamie Osborne made a try-scoring impression on his