Rugby:Leinster hooker Richardt Strauss remains a doubt for Saturday night's pro12 clash against Edinburgh at the RDS after be suffered a knock t the head in the one-point victory over Treviso in Italy over the weekend.
The South African-born player, who qualifies for Ireland later this year, left the field in a neck brace, but was later able to sit on the bench in a game that Leinster won thanks to a last-gasp drop goal from Jonathan Sexton.
Leinster coach Joe Schmidt will be able to call on more of his Irish international players, with Gordon D’Arcy and European player of the year Rob Kearney available for selection for the game.
Leinster cancelled Monday’s field training session as a mark of respect for the late Nevin Spence, and Schmidt admitted that the death of the Ulster and Irish Wolfhounds centre has had a huge affect on players in all the provinces.
“Of course preparations this week have been greatly affected by Nevin Spence’s tragic passing,” said Schmidt. “Nevin was an extremely talented player and a hugely respected and popular young man within our squad, especially among all those players who played with him at underage representative levels and in the Ireland Senior and Wolfhounds panels in recent years.
“The rugby, sporting and wider public have all been greatly affected by this tragedy. And it goes without saying that the thoughts and prayers of the squad, and everyone in Leinster Rugby, are with the Spence family and all of our friends in Ulster Rugby.”
Looking back on Saturday’s tight victory in Italy, Schmidt said: “The Treviso game was a real test, as we knew it would be. We were sluggish in the first half which could be a result of the hot weather conditions and the fact that we were integrating players back into the panel for the first time. But I was pleased that we managed to get the result.
“The players stuck to their task and ground out a good win against a combative and well-coached Treviso side. This week’s test will be a big one because we saw last year, in their fine run to the semi-finals of the Heineken Cup, how good a side Edinburgh are becoming.
“And this year they seem to have improved further with greater strength in depth across the park. Tim Visser has six tries in just three games and Greg Laidlaw controls the game for them astutely.
“Having already recorded an away victory over Cardiff Blues this year, they will travel to Dublin this weekend with confidence and we’re well aware of their many threats. It’ll be another big challenge for us and we’ll need to be more co-ordinated than last weekend.”
