URC: Leinster v Ulster, 7.35pm, Saturday, Aviva Stadium, live on TG4 and Premier Sports 1
The home games keep coming thick and fast for Leinster and, this being the business end of the season, there’s nothing unusual in that. Indeed, despite the demands on their supporters, at least 22,000 tickets have been sold for this significant interpro derby against Ulster and besides, the more home games the merrier as far as Leinster are concerned.
After next week’s trek to Llanelli, Leinster will not have to leave Dublin again until, they hope, the Champions Cup final in Cardiff. Following the Scarlets game, they host Northampton here in the Champions Cup semi-final followed by concluding BKT URC games at home to Zebre and Glasgow, and then the Champions Cup final.
Why do Leinster keep signing All Blacks?
Leinster lead Glasgow in second place by eight points and ideally would want to have first place secured before the reigning champions visit in the 18th and final round, thereby ensuring home advantage in the knockout stages potentially all the way through to, and including, the final.
As usual therefore, the run-in poses a difficult selection balancing act for Leo Cullen. But, before accumulating 114 points without conceding a single score in crushing Champions Cup knock-out victories over Harlequins (62-0) and Glasgow (52-0), his side’s sleeves-rolled-up 10-7 win away to the Sharks has given him more elbow room.
So it is that Leinster have made a dozen changes to last week’s starting team, with only Tommy O’Brien, Garry Ringrose and Joe McCarthy retained.
Eight of last week’s starting XV have been rested, namely Hugo Keenan, Jordie Barrett, James Lowe, Jamison Gibson-Park, Cian Healy, Ronan Kelleher, Josh van der Flier and Jack Conan, who has a minor shoulder injury.
Luke McGrath captains the side from scrumhalf, with Ciarán Frawley named at outhalf while Robbie Henshaw is reunited with Garry Ringrose, while Jimmy O’Brien named on the leftwing and Jamie Osborne at fullback.
Jack Boyle, academy hooker Gus Mcarthy and Thomas Clarkson from a new frontrow, with Academy lock Diarmuid Mangan also starting a week after making his European debut last week while Alex Soroka, Scott Penny and James Culhane complete a new-look back row.
Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan and Tadhg Furlong are the frontrow replacements alongside RG Snyman and Max Deegan, with academy scrumhalf Fintan Gunne, Sam Prendergast and Liam Turner completing the bench.
Akin to Conan, Ryan Baird has again been ruled out of this game with a minor calf injury. Cullen seems reasonably optimistic that both could be options for the trip to Llanelli, while James Ryan might, at a push, be back for the Northampton game.
By contrast, Ulster had a week’s respite after their Champions Cup Round of 16 loss in Bordeaux by 43-31 a fortnight ago. They sit sixth after three URC wins in succession, but have seven teams below them who are within four points. Ulster also face a tough run-in with four games against sides who went into the weekend in the top eight, including three teams above them, namely Leinster, the Sharks at home and Munster away before a last round trek to Edinburgh.
Accordingly, Richie Murphy has kept changes to a minimum. Ireland international Cormac Izuchukwu and centre Jude Postlethwaite return to the starting XV after their respective injuries, the latter’s recovery proving well timed given James Hume has joined a lengthy injury list due to the back injury he sustained in Bordeaux.
The third and last change to the starting team sees Nathan Doak start at scrumhalf with John Cooney dropping to a bench with a 6-2 split.
“We are preparing to go down there and win the game,” said Murphy. “We have a clear plan and it’s up to us to see if we can implement that and put them under pressure.”
Ulster completed a URC double over their provincial rivals last season, their 22-21 win at the RDS on New Year’s Day almost 16 months ago being the last time Leinster suffered a home defeat.
“We know it won’t be easy against Ulster,” said Cullen. “A good challenge. We’re excited to see this group play.”
Looking down on a sheet with Ulster’s selection in Leinster’s HPC base in UCD, Cullen said: “It’s full on and what we expected, and they’ve come off a loss in Bordeaux and a break week. They’re fresh, they’re making plans last seek so we need to make sure we’re ready for the challenge because Richie knows our guys incredibly well. He coached a lot of them over the course of his time with Leinster and Ireland.
“If you think back to some of the knock-out games we played last year, if you look back at the footage, you’re brought back to some of the things that they do. They kicked a lot in those games. Richie is a kicking coach after all, that’s his background, and you can see that in the way they play.
“So, I expect a lot of kicking from ’9′. Jack, his young fellah, is in there now as well, who’s come through Pres Bray and the system here, into the COE down in Donnybrook and made the decision to move up there and he’s a very good kicker as well.
“So, I’d expect a lot of kicking from them and then they’ll be very physical on the other side of the ball with some of the players they have there that we know well from over the years.”
Perhaps more pertinently than last season’s double by Ulster, Leinster exacted revenge with a 43-20 win here at the Aviva in the URC quarter-finals.
Furthermore, Ulster have only won twice away from home this season and their only previous victory in their last nine visits to this ground was in the Champions Cup semi-final against Edinburgh in 2012. They have not beaten Leinster at this venue since its Lansdowne Road days in 1989.
Leinster: Jamie Osborne; Tommy O’Brien, Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw, Jimmy O’Brien; Ciarán Frawley, Luke McGrath (capt): Jack Boyle, Gus McCarthy, Thomas Clarkson, Joe McCarthy, Diarmuid Mangan, Alex Soroka, Scott Penny, James Culhane.
Replacements: Dan Sheehan, Andrew Porter, Tadhg Furlong, RG Snyman, Max Deegan, Fintan Gunne, Sam Prendergast, Liam Turner.
Ulster: Michael Lowry; Zac Ward, Jude Postlethwaite, Stuart McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale; Jack Murphy, Nathan Doak; Andrew Warwick, Rob Herring, Tom O’Toole, Alan O’Connor (capt), Cormac Izuchukwu, James McNabney, Nick Timoney, David McCann.
Replacements: Tom Stewart, Callum Reid, Scott Wilson, Matthew Dalton, Kieran Treadwell, John Cooney, Stewart Moore, Matty Rea.
Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR)
Forecast: Leinster to win.
