This week Andrew Porter signed a new two-year deal with Leinster and Ireland and along with Cian Healy and Rabah Slimani, there is a wealth of experience for Boyle and other young players to lean on.
“Ports has been unbelievable to me. Not only Ports but someone like Cian Healy and then the likes of Rabah Slimani, Tadhg Furlong as well. I am lucky and grateful and privileged to be in a position I am in. Learning off four or five of the best in the business.
“It’s a great, vast knowledge from different parts of world rugby, not only Irish rugby. I’m grateful and delighted I get to learn off these lads. Ever since I got into the system two or three years ago when I was in the building, Cian Healy and Andrew Porter have been unbelievable to me, watching training with me, helping me, giving me little nuggets of knowledge. I’m extremely grateful and hopefully they know that.
“For me it’s about trying to get as much information off them as possible. At the same time, I’m competing with them and I want to try and stamp my authority on games and I suppose express myself, what they’re telling me to do but also add my own stuff to it as well,” Boyle said.
Boyle started Leinster’s opening Champions Cup game against Bristol where the scrum came under scrutiny .
Leinster face Connacht at the Aviva stadium this weekend, before facing Munster two days after Christmas, and Boyle says the players are looking to be more assertive when it comes to set-piece time.
“It was a frustrating one. We didn’t deal with it very well in the first half and it kind of just led into other areas of the game. It was just sloppy, to be honest with you.
“But the lads fixed it up for last week and we’re confident going into this week that we can stamp our authority and our process into the game and get on top set-piece-wise.
“Finlay [Bealham] is an incredible player, he’s a great man as well, I got on very well with him.
“But it’s up to us to get our process right and to stamp our authority on the game and we’re looking to have a go at set-piece time as well.”
Leinster’s ill-discipline in recent weeks has been a topic of discussion and Boyle stressed the importance of calculating the risk in a situation, especially when it comes to ruck time.
“A lot of it is a mental switch-off or a lack of concentration. Some penalties are avoidable, some aren’t, that’s just the way it is.
“It’s bossing the offside rule, back of rucks and things like that. But at the same time it’s working smart and having that individual responsibility that you know if you’re in a bad position here you have to roll away or if there’s someone caught in the back end of a tackle, it’s an individual responsibility to have a look and not go for a poach.”
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