JORDIE BARRETT’S PLACE in Leo Cullen’s Leinster team is proving to be one of the most fascinating aspects of the province’s latest Champions Cup charge.
Last weekend the All Black come off the bench in Bristol to make an impactful debut. With Ciarán Frawley forced off at fullback Cullen shuffled his pieces to accomodate Barrett at inside centre – Robbie Henshaw moved to 13, Garry Ringrose was pushed to the wing and Jimmy O’Brien went to 15.
Today Barrett is bumped up to the starting team for the round two meeting with Clermont Auvergne [KO5.30pm, RTÉ 2/Premier Sports 1], with a string of injuries clearing up Cullen’s selection picture. Frawley, Hugo Keenan and Jamie Osborne are all unavailable, making Barrett’s positional switch a straightforward one.
All eyes will be on the New Zealander as he makes his home debut, with part of the attraction in signing Barrett his potential to shift tickets across Leinster’s season away from the RDS. This is his first start at fullback since November 2022 and Leinster will hope to see his kicking threat and ability in the air come to the fore.
It’s going to be interesting to see how Cullen uses Barrett over the course of the campaign and this could be a testing day out for the 27-year-old.
Clermont will be no pushovers. Led by former Castres and Bordeaux coach Christophe Urios, the French side have looked sharp with Frédéric Charrier running their attack.
They currently sit third in the Top 14, with recent wins against Bordeaux, Lyon and Castres putting some wind behind their sails. Last weekend they opened their Champions Cup campaign with a 28-0 home win against Benetton.
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The French side are a big, physical team who want to make a dent in this competition and there is frustration on their end that injuries have prevented them taking over a stronger 23.
They’ve changed seven from last weekend’s win over Benetton, with former Leinster man Michael Ala’alatoa included in the Clermont front row.
The most interesting selection comes at out-half, where 29-year-old Irae Simone starts at 10 for the first time in his pro career. The former Brumbies player, capped twice by the Wallabies, is a centre by trade but Clermont have been considering this switch for some time. Simone is a threat with ball in hand so will need close attention in Dublin.
“They’re going well,” says Leinster lock James Ryan, who expects a different type of challenge to the one the province faced in Bristol.
Clermont have named Irae Simone at out-half. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
“I don’t think they’ll play as much inside their own half. I think they’ll kick long from the off and try to put us under pressure. Upfront they’ll be strong in terms of the weight they have in the pack so the set-piece will be important too.”
Attack coach Tyler Bleyendaal also anticipates a battle up front.
“I’m expecting big, physical men to come and play big, physical rugby,” Bleyendaal says.
They’ve got a great set piece. They can carry strong, they’re very disciplined and deliberate with their kicking. They’ve definitely added that to their game, but that’s balanced with game breakers.
“So it’s like you can’t get just bored of them doing what they do well because suddenly they break the game open with some individual talent. So some challenges we’re going have to face and overcome, and then try and impose our game on top of them.”
To combat that physical challenge, Leinster have welcomed back some key forwards to the starting XV. Loosehead prop Andrew Porter and backrower Caelan Doris were both excellent off the bench in Bristol and will bolster the Leinster pack from the off today. Tighthead Tom Clarkson gets an opportunity to build on his strong November form with Ireland as he starts a Champions Cup game for just the second time.
Elsewhere Sam Prendergast gets another chance to pull the strings alongside Jamison Gibson-Park in the half-backs. The 21-year-old linked nicely with Barrett last weekend and that playmaking partnership looks highly promising.
On the wing, Liam Turner is named in a starting Champions Cup team for the first time. Barrett is the star attraction but Cullen will point to the likes of Turner and the three Academy players on the Leinster bench – Gus McCarthy, Fintan Gunne and Andrew Osborne – as indicators of the good work the province continue to do in developing young talent.
Going two from two while handing valuable Champions Cup experience to some of those fresher faces will represent a good day’s work all round.
LEINSTER: Jordie Barrett; Liam Turner, Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw, Jimmy O’Brien; Sam Prendergast, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Rónan Kelleher, Tom Clarkson; Joe McCarthy, James Ryan; Max Deegan, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris (capt).
Replacements: Gus McCarthy, Cian Healy, Rabah Slimani, RG Snyman, Jack Conan, Fintan Gunne, Ross Byrne, Andrew Osborne.
CLERMONT: Alex Newsome; Lucas Tauzin, Pierre Fouyssac, George Moala, Alivereti Raka; Irae Simone, Baptiste Jauneau; Etienne Falgoux, Etienne Fourcade, Michael Ala’alatoa; Peceli Yato, Rob Simmons; Killian Tixeront, Alexandre Fischer, Fritz Lee (capt).
Replacements: Barnabe Massa, Giorgi Akhaladze, Cristian Ojovan, Oskar Rixen, Antoine Chalus-Cercy, Sebastien Bezy, Ben Urdapilleta, Theo Giral.
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Barrett the star attraction but Clermont bring interesting team to Leinster clash
JORDIE BARRETT’S PLACE in Leo Cullen’s Leinster team is proving to be one of the most fascinating aspects of the province’s latest Champions Cup charge.
Last weekend the All Black come off the bench in Bristol to make an impactful debut. With Ciarán Frawley forced off at fullback Cullen shuffled his pieces to accomodate Barrett at inside centre – Robbie Henshaw moved to 13, Garry Ringrose was pushed to the wing and Jimmy O’Brien went to 15.
Today Barrett is bumped up to the starting team for the round two meeting with Clermont Auvergne [KO5.30pm, RTÉ 2/Premier Sports 1], with a string of injuries clearing up Cullen’s selection picture. Frawley, Hugo Keenan and Jamie Osborne are all unavailable, making Barrett’s positional switch a straightforward one.
All eyes will be on the New Zealander as he makes his home debut, with part of the attraction in signing Barrett his potential to shift tickets across Leinster’s season away from the RDS. This is his first start at fullback since November 2022 and Leinster will hope to see his kicking threat and ability in the air come to the fore.
It’s going to be interesting to see how Cullen uses Barrett over the course of the campaign and this could be a testing day out for the 27-year-old.
Clermont will be no pushovers. Led by former Castres and Bordeaux coach Christophe Urios, the French side have looked sharp with Frédéric Charrier running their attack.
They currently sit third in the Top 14, with recent wins against Bordeaux, Lyon and Castres putting some wind behind their sails. Last weekend they opened their Champions Cup campaign with a 28-0 home win against Benetton.
The French side are a big, physical team who want to make a dent in this competition and there is frustration on their end that injuries have prevented them taking over a stronger 23.
They’ve changed seven from last weekend’s win over Benetton, with former Leinster man Michael Ala’alatoa included in the Clermont front row.
The most interesting selection comes at out-half, where 29-year-old Irae Simone starts at 10 for the first time in his pro career. The former Brumbies player, capped twice by the Wallabies, is a centre by trade but Clermont have been considering this switch for some time. Simone is a threat with ball in hand so will need close attention in Dublin.
“They’re going well,” says Leinster lock James Ryan, who expects a different type of challenge to the one the province faced in Bristol.
“I don’t think they’ll play as much inside their own half. I think they’ll kick long from the off and try to put us under pressure. Upfront they’ll be strong in terms of the weight they have in the pack so the set-piece will be important too.”
Attack coach Tyler Bleyendaal also anticipates a battle up front.
“I’m expecting big, physical men to come and play big, physical rugby,” Bleyendaal says.
“So it’s like you can’t get just bored of them doing what they do well because suddenly they break the game open with some individual talent. So some challenges we’re going have to face and overcome, and then try and impose our game on top of them.”
To combat that physical challenge, Leinster have welcomed back some key forwards to the starting XV. Loosehead prop Andrew Porter and backrower Caelan Doris were both excellent off the bench in Bristol and will bolster the Leinster pack from the off today. Tighthead Tom Clarkson gets an opportunity to build on his strong November form with Ireland as he starts a Champions Cup game for just the second time.
Elsewhere Sam Prendergast gets another chance to pull the strings alongside Jamison Gibson-Park in the half-backs. The 21-year-old linked nicely with Barrett last weekend and that playmaking partnership looks highly promising.
On the wing, Liam Turner is named in a starting Champions Cup team for the first time. Barrett is the star attraction but Cullen will point to the likes of Turner and the three Academy players on the Leinster bench – Gus McCarthy, Fintan Gunne and Andrew Osborne – as indicators of the good work the province continue to do in developing young talent.
Going two from two while handing valuable Champions Cup experience to some of those fresher faces will represent a good day’s work all round.
LEINSTER: Jordie Barrett; Liam Turner, Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw, Jimmy O’Brien; Sam Prendergast, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Rónan Kelleher, Tom Clarkson; Joe McCarthy, James Ryan; Max Deegan, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris (capt).
Replacements: Gus McCarthy, Cian Healy, Rabah Slimani, RG Snyman, Jack Conan, Fintan Gunne, Ross Byrne, Andrew Osborne.
CLERMONT: Alex Newsome; Lucas Tauzin, Pierre Fouyssac, George Moala, Alivereti Raka; Irae Simone, Baptiste Jauneau; Etienne Falgoux, Etienne Fourcade, Michael Ala’alatoa; Peceli Yato, Rob Simmons; Killian Tixeront, Alexandre Fischer, Fritz Lee (capt).
Replacements: Barnabe Massa, Giorgi Akhaladze, Cristian Ojovan, Oskar Rixen, Antoine Chalus-Cercy, Sebastien Bezy, Ben Urdapilleta, Theo Giral.
Referee: Luke Pearce (RFU)
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