Much like Warren Gatland last week, Dylan Hartley is setting great store by Northampton's victory over Leinster in the Heineken Cup last December. He spoke to the Guardian's Robert Kitson about their crushing defeat to Leinster in Franklin Gardens when "an international side turned up from Leinster and played against a poor club side."
"The following week there was no pressure. We said: 'Look, no one is giving us a chance, let's just focus on physicality, which we brought in abundance, and on the process. Instead of thinking about the result, let's think about the first scrum or attack move and move on to the next job.' Basically, if you focus on being pretty physical you'll be intense. And if you can do that for 80 minutes …"
Last week, Warren Gatland hinted that Northampton's famous Heineken Cup victory was a good blueprint to beat Ireland. Any attempt from Wales to ape this display fell embarrassingly flat last week. Hartley, however, played in that match and may know slightly more about it.
