LEINSTER FANS WHO have a well-worn matchday routine for home games won’t face too much upheaval this season given that the Aviva Stadium is just around the corner from the RDS.
As the latter undergoes redevelopment work that may continue into next season, it won’t just be high-profile Leinster games that are hosted at the 51,700-capacity stadium on Lansdowne Road.
For games like tonight’s against the Dragons [KO 7.35pm. TG4/Premier Sports/URC TV] in round two of the URC, only the lower tier of the Aviva will be open, meaning a maximum capacity of 20,000, which is still more room than what the RDS has offered.
Leinster are expecting a sizeable crowd despite the relatively low-key Welsh opposition, with over 19,000 tickets sold yesterday if you include the new record 15,124 season ticket holders.
Those who turn up have plenty to be excited about in a game where the home side are 28-point favourites.
Leo Cullen has shaken his team up after last weekend’s bonus-point win away to Edinburgh, with Jimmy O’Brien, Josh van der Flier, and Joe McCarthy – all of whom toured South Africa with Ireland in July – set for their first appearances of the season, albeit van der Flier and McCarthy off the bench.
That follows Garry Ringrose and James Ryan getting starts in Edinburgh, with Ryan continuing in the second row tonight.
The likes of new captain Caelan Doris, Robbie Henshaw, Andrew Porter, James Lowe, Ryan Baird, Hugo Keenan, Ciarán Frawley, Tadhg Furlong, and Rónan Kelleher have yet to feature this season but their time will come soon. Cullen said lots of different factors go into deciding when each IRFU-managed player returns.
“James and Garry came back last week but they missed a big chunk of the tail end of last season so they’ve almost finished the season feeling very fresh because they’ve only played a couple of games,” said Cullen. “And we’ll probably manage them over the course of the six games that lead into November and beyond.
“Versus some guys who have probably had a bigger load going into the end of the season, so it’s very much a case-by-case basis. A lot of guys are not back yet who would have been involved in the two Tests in the summer and some pretty big games prior to that.
“It’s just being smart really about how you manage players. We’ll have a good chunk of players back in the mix then next week [away to Benetton].”
Leinster fans will also be excited to see two promising young players keep their places in the team tonight despite being called up by Emerging Ireland, who depart on tour to South Africa tomorrow.
Academy playmaker Charlie Tector shone at inside centre last weekend, while academy hooker Gus McCarthy also did well. They go again this evening and 24-year-old lock Brian Deeny comes into the second row alongside Ryan.
While Tector and McCarthy will fly out with Emerging Ireland tomorrow, 22-year-old loosehead prop Jack Boyle won’t after Cullen confirmed he had picked up an infection in his leg to keep him sidelined in the coming weeks. His fellow young loosehead, Paddy McCarthy, is also out of action at present.
But the most experienced loosehead in the squad is raring to go tonight. Cian Healy will become the most experienced Leinster player ever as he starts on the occasion of his record-setting 281st appearance for the province. The home fans will love the chance to pay tribute to him, as will his team-mates.
With the experienced Luke McGrath and Ross Byrne coming into the halfback slots, Will Connors returning at openside, Jamie Osborne continuing at number 15, Jack Conan captaining again, and academy scrum-half Fintan Gunne and wing Aitzol King included on the bench, there’s a nice blend to this Leinster 23.
There will be plenty of eyes on out-half Ross Byrne’s performance given the competition at out-half, with younger brother Harry on the bench. Sam Prendergast had a strong first outing last weekend, while Frawley will be hoping for plenty of chances at 10 this season.
“It’s competitive,” said Cullen. “Frawls is out there and keen to play 10 as well, so we’re a bit spoiled for choice.
“We’re very lucky we have four unbelievably talented 10. It’s a good position for us to be in.
“We talked a few weeks ago about how we give them opportunities which is good because we get to see them playing. Some of them may get a little frustrated with that. But it’s been explained to everybody that this is the way we’re doing things. Whoever steps forward will continue on then.
“At some point, you are placing your faith in somebody and we will see where we go from there. They’ve all shown good moments so far this season so we will see how this game works out.”
Cullen said to expect more mixing and matching in the next few weeks as Leinster try to give everyone chances, all while winning games. He liked lots in their five-try performance against Edinburgh but wants to see greater physicality early on tonight, as well as more consistency across the 80 minutes.
Cullen warned that the Dragons shouldn’t be taken lightly after they showed grit to dig out a win against the Ospreys last weekend despite having a man sin-binned in the 70th minute when they were eight points down.
“It was hard to believe when you were watching it with ten minutes to go,” said Cullen. “To manufacture that shows a team playing with belief and team spirit.”
Dragons boss Dai Flanagan has made four changes as Aussie centre Harry Wilson, Steff Hughes, Chris Coleman and George Nott all come in, but the Welsh region know they face a huge task.
“Leinster bring everything,” was Flanagan’s assessment.
Cullen will surely expect a little more early-season rust as his squad gets up to speed but he and Jacques Nienaber will also be demanding improvement on last weekend. Leinster fans will be hoping they’re served up a treat in their new home for the season.
Leinster:
15. Jamie Osborne
14. Jordan Larmour
13. Liam Turner
12. Charlie Tector
11. Jimmy O’Brien
10. Ross Byrne
9. Luke McGrath
1. Cian Healy
2. Gus McCarthy
3. Thomas Clarkson
4. Brian Deeny
5. James Ryan
6. Max Deegan
7. Will Connors
8. Jack Conan (captain)
Replacements:
16. Lee Barron
17. Michael Milne
18. Rabah Slimani
19. Joe McCarthy
20. Josh van der Flier
21. Fintan Gunne
22. Harry Byrne
23. Aitzol King
Dragons:
15. Angus O’Brien
14. Rio Dyer
13. Harry Wilson
12. Steff Hughes
11. Jared Rosser
10. Lloyd Evans
9. Dane Blacker
1. Rodrigo Martinez
2. Brodie Coghlan
3. Chris Coleman
4. Ben Carter (captain)
5. George Nott
6. Ryan Woodman
7. Harri Keddie
8. Shane Lewis-Hughes
Replacements:
16. Oli Burrows
17. Rhodri Jones
18. Luke Yendle
19. Matthew Screech
20. George Young
21. Rhodri Williams
22. Joe Westwood
23. Ewan Rosser
Referee: Mike Adamson [SRU].
