Over the next fortnight Irish rugby's internecine rivalries won't be for the squeamish as provincial bloodletting is disputed ferociously, in pursuit of bragging rights, individual and collective, but more importantly, Guinness Pro12 points.
Leinster, for example face Connacht, Munster and Ulster, in that order and by January 3rd, will either be looking up at, or down on, all or some, of their rugby siblings. The finishing positions in the league dictate the qualification order for next season's European Champions Cup and at present a tea-towel would cover the provinces in terms of the table.
Connacht travel to Dublin standing on the cusp of history as they have never beaten their hosts twice in the one campaign – they won 10-9 at the Sportsground earlier in the season – never won in the RDS and it is 2002, in Donnybrook, since they last prevailed in the capital.
Pat Lam was able to rest all bar secondrow Aly Muldowney, the only survivor from the team that started in the superb European Challenge Cup victory over Bayonne in France. Connacht are seeking a fifth win in succession in all competitions so there is no shortfall in confidence or momentum.
Henshaw is back
Ireland
international
Robbie Henshaw
is back to partner Bundee Aki in the centre,
New Zealand
centurion Mils Muliaina will grace the RDS for the first time and scrumhalf
Kieran Marmion
shouldn’t get as much latitude from a Leinster backrow, once bitten. Up front,
John Muldoon
leads a pack, and a team for that matter, that will relish the physical collisions.
In times past, Connacht might have relied on spoiling tactics to inconvenience their hosts but the western province has enough talent to guarantee a handsome dividend from the currency of possession and territory. It's possible to view the game in macro or micro terms and in the latter respect watching how the numbers 13s, Henshaw and Luke Fitzgerald influence proceedings, will be an instructive companion to the main feature.
Leinster coach Matt O'Connor has made seven changes to the side that tiptoed past Harlequins last weekend, some of which are down to player management issues, while others herald a return from injury, as is the case of Dave Kearney, Kevin McLaughlin and Shane Jennings. There's a new frontrow, Noel Reid is named alongside Fitzgerald in the centre while Jamie Heaslip is the only survivor in the backrow.
Maks van Dyk, signed from the Cheetahs on a short term contract, arrived in Ireland last Wednesday week, and came on as a half-time replacement for Leinster A in the British & Irish Cup win over Plymouth on the Saturday. The scrum went forward on his arrival so it’s a decent start.
Leinster’s set piece will again be under scrutiny having been a little scruffy over the two Harlequins matches. So too will their patterns, and their effectiveness is the subject of debate and O’Connor has a fair point when suggesting that the same criteria in critiquing are not applied countrywide.
Criticism
He elaborated on the subject of criticism. “It’s a different yardstick, I’ll say that. Connacht are a point behind us, they’re having an unbelievable season. Munster and Ulster, where are they in Europe? Ask the question, but we’re getting beaten up. That’s not our doing. Whether it’s fair or not is irrelevant really, we just go about doing what we do. We try to be as good as we can.
“We spend the whole week trying to be as good as we can and most of that is in and around playing and scoring tries, because that’s what we want to do. People will write what they write. The expectation is there, rightfully so, because of how good a group we’ve got and what we’ve achieved.”
A key for Leinster might be to declutter minds; that is to avoid dwelling on what they’re not doing, the mistakes and just trust to instinct, good technique and habits. They may need to relax to find a playing rhythm.
