McLaughlin hails Leinster squad depth

The 30-year-old is currently on his way back from a knee injury sustained in round two of the GUINNESS PRO12.

The likes of Rob Kearney, Cian Healy and Sean O'Brien are all injured for Matt O'Connor's side and while they currently sit sixth in the GUINNESS PRO12 table they started their European adventure with a win over Wasps last weekend.

And McLaughlin is confident that the boys in blue will soon be back to their best.

"It's a credit to more than ten years of work in our school system, our academy system and it's paying dividends now, because don't think there's any other club in Europe, apart from Toulon, who could sustain the number of injuries we've suffered and still put out a team with so much quality in it," he told the Irish Independent.

"When you're down two tightheads and still have two lads (Michael Bent and Tadhg Furlong) who can scrummage so well against a quality pack with English internationals. . . Darragh Fanning and Noel Reid were making their European debuts.

"It's something we're proud of - no matter who gets injured the person who pulls on the jersey is able to maintain the high standard.

"Obviously, getting guys back from injury is a huge boost and having a fully fit squad at the end of last season won us the league - bringing a strong bench on won us the Ulster and Glasgow games, it made all the difference.

"What we're saying now is hang in there, get some good results and when we get guys back from injury we'll really be flying then."

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