Wasps’ Joe Launchbury out for revenge against Leinster as he revisits scene of England’s Six Nations defeat to Ireland
JOE LAUNCHBURY returns to the scene of England’s Six Nations Grand Slam choke today looking for revenge against the Irish.
The Wasps skipper and Red Rose second row, 25, leads his side out against Leinster at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium expecting the same raucous crowd that saw Ireland beat England 13-9 last month.
Joe Launchbury admits he’s out for revenge when Wasps play LeinsterPA:Press Association
Where Eddie Jones’ men bottled it, Wasps want to reach the semi-finals of the Champions Cup for the second year running.
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After thumping Leinster 51-10 in the group stages last year, Dai Young’s side have now won four of the last seven clashes between the two heavyweights.
And centre Elliot Daly, 24, knows what to expect having played against many of Stuart Lancaster’s side in the Six Nations.
Launchbury played as Ireland inflicted defeat upon England in the Six NationsGetty Images
He said: “They are going to bring the same sort of attitude. There’s a lot of Irish players in that team and the way they play is very similar.
“We have to look at them and know what we’re up against. We’ve been here for five or six years now and this is a massive game in our progression.”
Between them, these two sides have totalled 152 tries this season.
And that is no surprise with Daly, Kurtley Beale, Danny Cipriani, Willie Le Roux and Christian Wade playing for Wasps and Johnny Sexton, Gary Ringrose and Robbie Henshaw opposite.
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Launchbury admits he will give everything to progress to the Champions Cup semi-finalsGetty Images
Launchbury added: “They try and get Sexton on the ball as many times as possible in each phase of play. They try and get him to manipulate defences. But it is not too different to what we do here — we are very similar in styles.
“We have always been very high in the try-scoring stakes. What we have tried to do over the last couple of years is build a pack to be proud of and try and win games on our own.
“As a pack we are going to have to be really up for this and really on it, because these big games aren’t always decided by one moment of brilliance. They are decided by hard work up front and a base to play from.”
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