RUGBY HEINEKEN CUP POOL SIX: LEINSTER V LONDON IRISH: THE THEORY goes that a seeded draw diminishes the pool stages. So much for the theory. First up in the RDS tonight then are the holders and form team in Ireland, against the form team in England. The Heineken Cup, as is its wont, is beginning with a bang.
After all the domestic huffing and puffing, and there’s been quite a bit of both, these two have the ability and style to also put all of that in the shade in one fell swoop.
While ‘Irish’ may have lost some of their Irishness since the Exiles, complete with Simon Geoghegan, Jim Staples et al, strutted their stuff in a briefly expanded inter-provincial championship, this first meeting in the Heineken Cup puts all previous meetings in the shade.
That also includes the pre-season friendly, which London Irish played with cup-like intensity at Donnybrook last August in winning handsomely 24-8.
As expected there is only one change to Leinster’s starting line-up from the team that beat Munster 30-0 last Saturday, with Mike Ross starting at tight-head prop in place of the injured Stan Wright. If Leinster might lose a little around the paddock without the energetic Wright, they certainly oughtn’t to in the scrums. Furthermore, CJ van der Linde is included in the match day squad for the first time this season.
The Exiles, who boast 11 internationals in their starting line-up, make five changes to the the team that defeated Sale Sharks at Edgeley Park last Friday. Their customary rotation of the front row accounts for three of the changes – and yet an all international trio of Clarke Dermody, David Paice and Faan Rautenbach start.
Tom Homer replaces the injured Adam Thompstone on the wing, while Declan Danaher rotates with Richard Thorpe at blindside flanker.
The net result is that Irish return with nine of the same starting line-up and 16 of the 22 from that evening in August. By contrast, Leinster have only five of that starting line-up, as well as four of the bench. Brian O’Driscoll, Gordon D’Arcy, Luke Fitzgerald, Eoin Reddan, Nathan Hines and Jamie Heaslip were all missing that night, while this evening’s front-row and Kevin McLaughlin didn’t start.
Admittedly, none of the returning half-dozen have started more than three games. There remains a risk that Leinster will be a little under-cooked, as Michael Cheika admits, and Irish will arrive fairly cock-a-hoop about downing the European champions. Being a prized scalp goes with the new territory.
“They came here to target us and they probably still see us as being a little bit weak still,” admits Michael Cheika. “They can target us in the physical stakes . . . even after Saturday. They’re not going to change their approach now. You can see it from the friendly. They’ve got the goods (to think) they can do it; they can muscle up. It’s going to be a massive battle for us there, we’ve got a lot to prove in that area, and do our supporters proud at home. We have to be just ready.”
The sea-change in Leinster’s personnel perhaps diminishes the importance of that friendly, but Cheika admits: “I think we saw just how dangerous a team they are. They’ve a lot of powerful runners. They’re physically very strong and they’ve been on an upward curve over the past couple of years. They’re a really, really well coached team. I know just by talking to Bob (Casey), just how much respect all the players over there have for him (Toby Booth) and the amount of work he’s done bringing so many good players through the system. They’ve developed a lot of their own players through their academy structures. They’re going to be a real handful. It will be a big challenge for us.”
As one would expect from a team with such a strong Pacific Island hue, Irish are extraordinarily physical, and, as was the case away to Sale last Friday, may perhaps rely more on that this evening. As is their wont, they successfully targeted the Leinster line-out in pre-season and will assuredly attempt to do so again. They can cut their cloth to the needs of the game, with the hugely influential Paul Hodgson (regarded by many judges as the best player in the Premiership right now) pulling the strings.
Had two or three of Delon Armitage, Thompstone and Topsey Ojo all been in the mix, the threat to Leinster’s defence would have been all the greater. As it is, the threat remains, for Sailosi Tagicakibau has scored more tries than Leinster put together this season.
There’ll be defending to do but a week ago, Leinster would have looked decidedly more vulnerable. Until then, they’d been relying on their well-marshalled defence and a new found grittiness while opportunistically taking of chances. But their own set-piece is close to optimum level and the psychological effect of O’Driscoll’s match-twisting seasonal re-appearance – in its context it is hard to recall one like it – cannot be calculated.
With one bound, they’re not quite free, but the feel-good factor at the RDS was back and the confidence gleaned from last season’s triumph has been underlined. Besides, forewarned is forearmed.
Previous meetings:None.
Formguide:Leinster – L W W W W. London Irish – L W W W W.
Leading H Cup try scorers (current squad): Leinster – Brian O'Driscoll 25, Shane Horgan 24, Gordon D'Arcy 19. London Irish – Peter Hewat 4, Richard Thorpe 3, Sailosi Tagicakibau 2.
Leading H Cup pts scorers: Leinster – O'Driscoll 128, Horgan 123, D'Arcy 115. London Irish – Hewat 95.
Betting (Paddy Powers): 1/3 Leinster, 20/1 Draw, 9/4 London Irish. Handicap odds (= London Irish + 7 pts) 10/11 Leinster, 20/1 Draw, 10/11 London Irish.
Forecast:Leinster to win.
Venue:RDS Kick-off: 8pm
On TV:Sky Sports 2
There are a small number of returned tickets for Leinster v London Irish on sale in the Leinster Rugby Store (Donnybrook) priced €30 for adults and €10 for children.
