Leinster fully focused on Ulster challenge - Healy

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Leinster prop Cian Healy says his side's full focus will first be on Saturday's United Rugby Championship game against Ulster before turning their attention to the following week's Champions Cup final against Toulouse.

Leinster may be expected to rest some of their frontline players for the encounter at Kingspan Stadium but Healy maintains it is a case of "one game at a time" for the Irish province as they prepare for the interprovincial match-up in Belfast.

"I expect Ulster to be very strong this weekend and that's what I'm preparing for," explained Healy, 36, when reporters' line of questioning strayed towards next week's continental decider at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at Leinster's media conference.

Leinster sit second in the URC table, one point behind leaders Glasgow Warriors, with two sets of fixtures remaining in the regular season before the start of the end-of-season play-offs.

"We could screw up our whole league by focusing on next week," emphasised the 125-times capped Ireland prop.

"We do well in the early part of the season because we're day by day, week by week, so there's no reason to vary off that because it's the business end of the season.

"That's the model that works. That's how players are trained, how kids are coached now, it's week by week, don't look forward.

"That's the Leinster way, and it's the way that keeps people focused on the task in hand."

'Fronting up in the tight trenches'

Leinster topped the URC standings last year, only to fall to Irish rivals Munster at the semi-final stage of the competition, and then go on to be edged out by La Rochelle in the Champions Cup final.

Leo Cullen's men will be keen to avoid a repeat of that scenario this year and boost their hopes of home draws in the URC knockout stages by avenging their New Year's Day defeat by Ulster in Dublin.

Ulster ran out 22-21 winners on that occasion, just weeks before the departure of head coach Dan McFarland, who has now been replaced on a permanent basis by Richie Murphy.

The northern province are aiming to clinch their berth in the play-offs in what is set to be their final home game of the season and, should results elsewhere go their way, a place in next season's Champions Cup.

"They exposed us in quite a few areas in that game and got us on the edges and in behind us," reflected Healy, who has made 10 appearances for Leinster this season.

"That's a lot of what the backs will deal with and it's up to us [in the pack] to front up in the tight trenches and deal with that side of it to let our backs play, and release them, and give them enough space to defend properly.

"It's a challenge, a tough challenge, they're going well, so it's something we have to give full concentration to in how we show up and prepare for it through training. It's pretty full steam ahead."