RUGBY:WHILE ATTENTION was being diverted to the permutations of the backrow due to Jamie Heaslip's ankle injury, Isa Nacewa has claimed Joe Schmidt's fullback position with Luke Fitzgerald on the bench as Leinster face into their Heineken Cup round-five match against Saracens.
That means Fitzgerald is fit and that it was a straight call between the Leinster utility player and the Irish back, who could possibly open Ireland’s Six Nations Championship against Italy in that position due to the absence of the injured Rob Kearney and Geordan Murphy.
Fergus McFadden also holds off the challenge of Fitzgerald to start on the left wing, largely for several eye-catching performances in the absence of some of the national squad members over the Christmas run. It’s just reward for McFadden’s recent enterprise in those games, although tough on Fitzgerald.
O’Brien, who deserves his place at number eight and the big tackling Dominic Ryan form a rejigged backrow with Shane Jennings in an otherwise familiar Leinster line-up. Nathan Hines and captain Leo Cullen form a mature secondrow with Cian Healy back in as prop, former Cheetah’s hooker Richardt Strauss and Mike Ross forming the frontrow.
Jonathan Sexton partners scrumhalf Eoin Reddan in a match that could position the 2009 champions to make it through to the knock-out stages.
The possibility of a home quarter-final is also still very much alive, so although focus is short term this will be a two-week campaign for Schmidt and his side, which has the two pillars of Gordon D’Arcy and Brian O’Driscoll back in the centre.
Saracens sit at the bottom of the pool but the South African-laden side, coached now by Ulster’s Mark McCall following Brendan Venter’s return to South Africa, have forewarned Leinster after travelling to Paris in the last round and taking the scalp of Racing Metro. That result raised a few eyebrows and showed some of Saracens’ potential. The feeling in the Leinster camp is they will arrive in Dublin in a mood for doing more than just completing the fixture list. The proud Ulster man that he is, McCall will not wish his first match in charge to be a resounding defeat in Dublin.
“I don’t know what their thinking is but if I was in that team I’d want to win every game that I’m playing in,” said the Australian-born Scottish international Nathan Hines. “In professional sport if you don’t want to win a game you shouldn’t be there. That’s the attitude they’re going to come over with.”
The player with the perma tan on the Saracens bench will be Gavin Henson, who is still undercooked for rugby since his return from Strictly Come Dancing. But captain Steve Borthwick’s side has plenty of power. David Strettle on the wing, Owen Farrell, son of former league and union international Andy, at outhalf, a frontrow with Schalk Brits at hooker and Italian prop Carlos Nieto and Scotland’s Kelly Brown in the backrow gives Saracens strength all over.
McCall makes four changes to his starting line-up as Ernst Joubert, Welsh prop Rhys Gill and Nils Mordt all come into the side in place of Namibia backrow Jacques Burger, Springbok Deon Carstens and Alex Goode, who are all missing with minor knocks.
Hugh Vyvyan also comes into the starting team, while Springbok scrumhalf Neil de Kock comes back into the match-day squad following paternity leave.
Leinster have been performing averagely but have won their last few games – a good sign.
Schmidt will be looking for more at the contact area today, efficient set-pieces and control from Sexton. In Healy and Strauss, they have an unbelievably mobile forward line while the backs are world class. But he needs it all to come together a little bit better than it has been so that Leinster can travel to Paris next week, not chasing qualification but an April home game at the RDS for a place in the semi-final.
LEINSTER: I Nacewa; S Horgan, B O’Driscoll, G D’Arcy, F McFadden; J Sexton, E Reddan; C Healy, R Strauss, M Ross, L Cullen capt, N Hines, D Ryan, S Jennings, S O’Brien. Replacements: J Harris-Wright, H Van Der Merwe, C Newland, D Toner, K McLaughlin, I Boss, I Madigan, L Fitzgerald.
SARACENS: N Mordt; D Strettle, M Tagicakibau, B Barritt, J Short; O Farrell, R Wigglesworth; R Gill, S Brits, C Nieto, S Borthwick capt, H Vyyan, K Brown, A Saull, E Joubert. Replacements: J George, J Saunders, P Du Plessis, H Smith, J Melck, N de Kock, G Henson, N Cato.
Referee: R Poite (France).
Previous meetings: Saracens 23, Leinster 25 (Wembley Stadium).
Previous results: (Saracens) Clermont 25, Saracens 10 (a); Saracens 23, Leinster 25 (h); Saracens 21, Racing Metro 24 (h); Racing Metro 14, Saracens 19 (a). (Leinster) Leinster 38, Racing-Metro 22 (h); Saracens 23, Leinster 25 (a); Clermont 20, Leinster 13 (a); Leinster 24, Clermont 8 (h)
Betting: Leinster 1/10. Draw 25/1; Saracens 11/2.
Forecast: Home win
