McLaughlin: Physicality key for Leinster

The last time the two sides met was back in September and on that occasion Pat Lam's men triumphed in a tense encounter at the Sportsground.

McLaughlin wasn't present that day - indeed the flanker has only played 193 minutes of GUINNESS PRO12 action this season.

However, the 30-year-old will feature at the RDS this time and wants to make sure that if his side come up short it won't be through a lack of strength.

"It's pretty obvious, we need to front up physically. If we don't front up physically, we lose the game," he told the Irish Times.

"If you play against any fired up team, you need to be there in the physical stakes or you're in serious trouble, and we all know that.

"We got beaten up down there this year, so we have to make sure we're not caught off-guard on that front.

"(We come to this match with) a huge amount of positivity. We know we're playing within ourselves, but we're right in the mix in both competitions.

"We've been in this position before and we've a lot of experience in the changing room and there's a lot of experience in the coaching staff.

"We're right in the mix in Europe and right in the mix in the GUINNESS PRO12, so we're excited for the season to come."

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