URC: Leinster v Munster, Aviva Stadium, Saturday, 5.15 – Live RTÉ 2 and Premier Sports
It was always likely that a clutch of players nursing knocks who were named in the 37-man Irish squad for the November internationals would miss this evening’s marquee Leinster-Munster URC clash at the Aviva Stadium, and so it has come to pass.
All told, five of the 17-strong Leinster contingent named by Andy Farrell in midweek will not feature, namely Joe McCarthy, Ryan Baird, Josh van der Flier, Jamison Gibson-Park and Hugo Keenan. This is also true for four of the eight Munster players named, notably captain Peter O’Mahony, Tadhg Beirne, Craig Casey and Calvin Nash, although Munster have stated that O’Mahony’s neck complaint will not prevent him training fully with Ireland this week.
Nonetheless, with Ulster’s game away to the Sharks called off due to gastroenteritis infections in the province’s squad, this means that 17 of the Irish squad will not have played in the two weeks prior to the opening game against South Africa. In the cases of Gibson-Park and Keenan, they have yet to play this season.
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“They’re all a little bit different,” said Leo Cullen regarding his absentees. “They’re all going to feature at some stage in November, at what point exactly [is unclear], whether some of them will train next week, some the week after; it will be case by case. They’re all getting there.”
All of which adds to the absence of players such as Rónan Kelleher, James Lowe, Andrew Conway, Keith Earls and Simon Zebo, while it would appear that the province’s respective ex-All Blacks centres signed in the summer – Charlie Ngatai and Malakai Fekitoa – have been rested.
On the plus side, Johnny Sexton returns as one of a dozen Leinster players named in the Irish squad who feature in the matchday squad. Sexton is one of nine changes to the starting XV from last week’s 10-0 win away to Connacht. Robbie Henshaw, Luke McGrath, Cian Healy, former Munster lock Jason Jenkins, Max Deegan and Scott Penny all return to the starting team, while Andrew Porter and Jack Conan are among the replacements.
Necessity is the mother of invention given the casualty rate among the respective outside backs. Hence, in addition to the match-up between Sexton and Joey Carbery at outhalf, two of their understudies, Ciarán Frawley and Jack Crowley, each make their first starts for their provinces at fullback.
Each has done so off the bench before, Crowley having had an eye-catching roving commission from the position after being introduced at half-time in last weekend’s timely bonus-point win against the Bulls when dovetailing with Carbery as a second playmaker.
Graham Rowntree, Cullen’s one-time team-mate at the Leicester Tigers, makes eight changes in total. Rory Scannell and Conor Murray, who is in line to win his 100th Irish cap against South Africa, are restored at inside centre and scrumhalf, as Shane Daly moves to the wing.
Jack O’Donoghue returns in the backrow as captain, while Diarmuid Barron, Keynan Knox, Tom Ahern and John Hodnett also come into the pack as well. Barron, Ahern, Hodnett, Scannell and Crowley all make their first starts of the season for Munster.
James French is among the replacements and in line to make his second senior appearance for Munster. Academy duo Ruadhán Quinn and Patrick Campbell are also named in the replacements.
As Munster fans will no doubt be acutely aware, this evening’s game will see Jenkins eclipse his total playing minutes last season after making such a swift impact at Leinster.
Having been rested last week one imagines the once-capped South African lock will have been bouncing around UCD this week, but Cullen revealed: “Eh, he’s quiet now Jason, so he is. We need to get him to come out of his shell a bit more! But yeah, I think he’s excited by the challenge. It’s about playing here in the Aviva in front of a big crowd, a big occasion, so he’ll be nervous. But he’s enjoyed his time thus far and it’s another step up for a big day and we’ll see how he copes with everything.”
In addition to each side having dual playmakers, and unlike Leinster’s two previous derbies this season against Ulster and Connacht, the forecast for Dublin for Saturday seems very favourable.
“We are hoping that the conditions will allow it to be a bit more open and fluid,” said Cullen.
Over 43,000 tickets have been sold so far, eclipsing the attendance for the corresponding fixture last May by more than 10,000 and almost certainly again ensuring it will be the best attended URC game of the regular season. Proof, in Cullen’s view, that this fixture has lost little of its lustre or appeal.
“Definitely. There’s going to be 45,000 people here tomorrow and when we started off in the old Dooradoyle days there’d be 350 people there. It’s a huge occasion, the nature of the week on week – that’s the challenge.
“But, I said it after the game last week, for Irish rugby it has to be a point of difference; the way the provinces are supported, the sense of identity that each provincial team has, and they have their own unique identity. It’s important we celebrate that.
“We’re expecting a real, physical challenge and that’s what we’ve prepared for this week because we think that’s coming from Munster.”
LEINSTER: Ciarán Frawley; Jimmy O’Brien, Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw, Jamie Osborne; Johnny Sexton (capt), Luke McGrath; Cian Healy, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong; Jason Jenkins, James Ryan; Max Deegan, Scott Penny, Caelan Doris.
Replacements: John McKee, Andrew Porter, Michael Ala’alatoa, Ross Molony, Jack Conan, Nick McCarthy, Ross Byrne, Rob Russell.
Munster: Jack Crowley; Shane Daly, Dan Goggin, Rory Scannell, Liam Coombes; Joey Carbery, Conor Murray; Jeremy Loughman, Diarmuid Barron, Keynan Knox; Jean Kleyn, Tom Ahern; Jack O’Donoghue (capt), John Hodnett, Gavin Coombes.
Replacements: Scott Buckley, Dave Kilcoyne, James French, Jack O’Sullivan, Ruadhan Quinn, Paddy Patterson, Ben Healy, Patrick Campbell.
Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU).
