THE LAST TIME Leinster played a European game on this ground, six debutants at Champions Cup level sparkled to give the province something to shout about during an otherwise forgettable campaign.
Tomorrow, another one of the club’s academy stars, Joey Carbery, will make his European bow at the RDS as Leinster open Pool 4 by welcoming Castres to Dublin.
With Johnny Sexton ruled out with a tight hamstring, the 20-year-old will deputise at out-half having made his professional debut against Treviso last month.
The Clontarf man marked the occasion with a match-winning performance, scoring two tries in a comfortable victory, and Leo Cullen is fully confident he can fill Sexton’s boots tomorrow afternoon.
“Joey has obviously played a few games at the start of the season so we feel pretty confident there,” Cullen said at the pre-match press conference.
“He’s been involved in all of the games this year. He’s gone well. He’s got a lot of confidence, he was involved with the Ireland camp a couple of weeks ago as well. He’s come back in energised from that.
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“He’s a young guy coming into the team but he’s dealt with all the pressure so far really, really well. Tomorrow is just another step in that progression.
“He’s excited. He’s just someone who works really hard at his game. He’s going well in the games so far, he went pretty well with a couple of tries in the first half and we’d love to see more of that.
Carbery has made six appearances in the Pro12 this season. Craig Watson / INPHO
Craig Watson / INPHO / INPHO
In all, Cullen makes four changes from the side which beat Munster in the Guinness Pro12 last time out but, given how their campaign unfolded 12 months ago, the head coach and players are fully aware of what’s at stake.
“I think he’s [Carbery] a pretty good idea what’s at stake,” the former second-row continued.
“It’s a step up to the Champions Cup from what we’ve done so far but Joey has taken everything in his stride early in the campaign, even all through pre-season. He’s dealt with all the steps and tomorrow is just another step in that progression.”
“We saw our last European game here at the RDS, we had six guys making our European debut and we rely on bringing players through the academy system and they all have to make their first games in Europe. It’s a great challenge for Joey.”
While backs coach Girvan Dempsey indicated earlier in the week that there was a chance Sean O’Brien would be available for the visit of Castres, the flanker will instead play for Leinster A against Richmond tomorrow.
O'Brien will line out for the Leinster A side tomorrow. Gary Carr / INPHO
Gary Carr / INPHO / INPHO
With so many back-row options at his disposal, Cullen admitted there was no real possibility that O’Brien would be included in the matchday squad for tomorrow.
“It’s important he gets a bit of game time under his belt. It’s a big game here against Castres so it’s a fine line. Sean has trained well but we’ll see how he goes in the As and we can make a further assessment on how he goes through the game.”
“It’s a tough old challenge going down to Montpellier at the best of times so we’ll see how he goes at the weekend and we’ll make some calls then.”
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'We rely on bringing guys through the academy': Cullen confident Carbery can fill Sexton's boots
THE LAST TIME Leinster played a European game on this ground, six debutants at Champions Cup level sparkled to give the province something to shout about during an otherwise forgettable campaign.
Tomorrow, another one of the club’s academy stars, Joey Carbery, will make his European bow at the RDS as Leinster open Pool 4 by welcoming Castres to Dublin.
With Johnny Sexton ruled out with a tight hamstring, the 20-year-old will deputise at out-half having made his professional debut against Treviso last month.
The Clontarf man marked the occasion with a match-winning performance, scoring two tries in a comfortable victory, and Leo Cullen is fully confident he can fill Sexton’s boots tomorrow afternoon.
“Joey has obviously played a few games at the start of the season so we feel pretty confident there,” Cullen said at the pre-match press conference.
“He’s been involved in all of the games this year. He’s gone well. He’s got a lot of confidence, he was involved with the Ireland camp a couple of weeks ago as well. He’s come back in energised from that.
“He’s a young guy coming into the team but he’s dealt with all the pressure so far really, really well. Tomorrow is just another step in that progression.
“He’s excited. He’s just someone who works really hard at his game. He’s going well in the games so far, he went pretty well with a couple of tries in the first half and we’d love to see more of that.
In all, Cullen makes four changes from the side which beat Munster in the Guinness Pro12 last time out but, given how their campaign unfolded 12 months ago, the head coach and players are fully aware of what’s at stake.
“I think he’s [Carbery] a pretty good idea what’s at stake,” the former second-row continued.
“It’s a step up to the Champions Cup from what we’ve done so far but Joey has taken everything in his stride early in the campaign, even all through pre-season. He’s dealt with all the steps and tomorrow is just another step in that progression.”
“We saw our last European game here at the RDS, we had six guys making our European debut and we rely on bringing players through the academy system and they all have to make their first games in Europe. It’s a great challenge for Joey.”
While backs coach Girvan Dempsey indicated earlier in the week that there was a chance Sean O’Brien would be available for the visit of Castres, the flanker will instead play for Leinster A against Richmond tomorrow.
With so many back-row options at his disposal, Cullen admitted there was no real possibility that O’Brien would be included in the matchday squad for tomorrow.
“It’s important he gets a bit of game time under his belt. It’s a big game here against Castres so it’s a fine line. Sean has trained well but we’ll see how he goes in the As and we can make a further assessment on how he goes through the game.”
“It’s a tough old challenge going down to Montpellier at the best of times so we’ll see how he goes at the weekend and we’ll make some calls then.”
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Sexton out as Cullen makes four changes for Castres
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big talent Leinster Leo Cullen