Leo Cullen has confirmed that his injured trio of first-choice Irish internationals, Hugo Keenan, James Lowe and Jamison Gibson-Park, will remain sidelined for Leinster’s marquee fixture against Munster at the Aviva Stadium next Saturday (kick-off 5.15pm).
“Unlikely I would say for any of them,” said Cullen. “Not next week. They’re not far off but we will see how they go this week.”
Leinster will also monitor three players who picked up knocks in Friday’s gritty 10-0 win over Connacht in the Sportsground.
Jack Conan was an early departure with a cut near his eye, while James Ryan “twisted his knee awkwardly” and Josh van der Flier suffered an ankle injury.
The Counter Ruck: the rugby newsletter from The Irish Times
Coach says Connacht taking a ‘wait and see’ approach after Mack Hansen referee comments
Munster confirm Craig Casey will miss Six Nations as Nankivell could also face spell on sidelines
‘There were a few offers but it was easy for me to stay’: Robbie Henshaw agrees new Leinster deal
However, Cullen said that Jason Jenkins will “hopefully be okay” and Jonny Sexton looks certain to return and lead the side against Munster.
“Jonathan, he’s on ice at the moment yeah,” joked Cullen.
Although last Friday’s rain-lashed game was no classic, Leinster’s fifth win in five in front of a near 7,000 crowd kept them atop the table before welcoming Munster to the Aviva for their third derby of the season.
“The form book does go out the window. It’s another big provincial game at the Aviva and you want that to be a celebration of provincial rugby really and of the rivalry. Hopefully we’ll have not just blue jerseys about but plenty of red ones in there as well because you want that, don’t you?
“You want both teams to be strong. We need all the provinces to be strong. I think the rivalry is great. It has been amazing since professionalism has begun. Particularly with all that’s going on in England at the moment, the fans and the support that we get has to be a point of difference for us.
Leinster have negotiated two rain-affected derby wins away from home, prompting Cullen to comment “the east coast will hopefully be a bit better” for the visit of Munster, who were emboldened by their bonus-point win over the Bulls in Thomond Park on Saturday night.
Cullen said Munster had been “affected pretty badly by the Emerging Ireland tour”, noting that seven of those players had been brought straight back into the squad for Saturday’s win over the Bulls.
“That sort of tells a story really doesn’t it? You’re missing a few guys with injuries, it places a bit more pressure on everybody else. I thought some of those guys performed well on the Emerging Ireland tour from an individual point of view, so they will definitely add something to their group. I think it’s going to be a great contest,” said Cullen, adding that this will be Leinster’s last full week together before Ireland’s November series, the squad for which will be announced next week.
Andy Friend’s frustration over Connacht being kept scoreless for the first time since losing 13-0 to Leinster at the RDS on New Year’s Day 2016 was compounded by failing to covert a host of attacking lineouts into scores. It was their fourth defeat in their opening five games, all against last season’s semi-finalists.
“There are multiple reasons why we have not won all of those four games that we lost. I thought our attack proved that we can get into the 22, it is just our ability to be clinical when we are in there which is something we need to look at.”
Connacht host Scarlets at the Sportsground next Friday (kick-off 7.35pm) before playing the Ospreys away.
“We need a win next week,” admitted Friend. “We got the result last week which we were very happy with. That was a ding-dong battle as well. Two wins out of the next two games would be fantastic for us.”
