LEINSTER HAVE CONFIRMED they will leave most of their Irish internationals at home for the upcoming, two-game URC tour of South Africa.
The province travel to face Cell-C Sharks in Durban on Saturday, before then moving to Cape Town to play the DHL Stormers a week later.
With a Heineken Champions Cup quarter-final with Leicester Tigers slated for the week after the meeting with the Stormers, Leo Cullen has opted to leave the likes of Johnny Sexton, Robbie Henshaw, Garry Ringrose, Tadhg Furlong, Hugo Keenan, Caelan Doris, Jack Conan, James Lowe, Josh van der Flier, Jamison Gibson-Park and Ross Byrne at home.
Andrew Porter and Ronan Kelleher do travel, with the touring side to be captained by Rhys Ruddock.
With only three rounds of the regular season to go before the quarter-final line up is confirmed, Leinster are top with the Stormers fifth and the Sharks sixth.
Leinster Rugby Squad vs Sharks and Stormers
1. Ed Byrne
2. Peter Dooley
3. Michael Milne
4. Andrew Porter
5. Rónan Kelleher
6. John McKee
7. James Tracy
8. Vakh Abdaladze
9. Michael Ala’alatoa
10. Thomas Clarkson
11. Brian Deeny
12. Jack Dunne
13. Josh Murphy
14. Martin Moloney
15. Rhys Ruddock CAPTAIN
16. Seán O’Brien
17. Scott Penny
18. Max Deegan
19. Alex Soroka
20. Cormac Foley
21. Nick McCarthy
22. Harry Byrne
23. David Hawkshaw
24. Tommy O’Brien
25. Rob Russell
26. Ciarán Frawley
27. Rory O’Loughlin
28. Jamie Osborne
29. Adam Byrne
30. Chris Cosgrave
31. Max O’Reilly
Can’t blame them with league play off spots all but secured. Would presume Kelleher and Porter will be on the first flight back after game 1. Pretty bad timing for a SA trip with Europe. Presuming the young second row McCarthy is injured, would have liked to see more of him
All eyes on Europe, it’ll be great exposure for the 2nd string too, this is where you can build depth. Ulster will be a force now in the URC with their focus totally on that too.
@SPQH: it makes no difference if you finish 1st or 2nd in the league and Leinster have a top 2 spot all but sewn up. with Ulster now focussed on the league both should finish in the top 2 and get home quarter and semi finals, and not potentially meet untill the final. I dont think any team will fancy thier chances to much going to the RDS or Ravenhill, but its sport and anything upsets happen all the time.
@Kingshu: ulster have a bit of work to do to confirm that top 2 spot. Obviously the munster game is massive but also Glasgow may have a say in the final table.
@Chris Mc: With 2 games in SA they probably won’t. Ulster have 3 strong opponents in their last games but with 2 at the Kingspan they should make a home semi. As they’ve lost 3 of their last 4 games a win over Munster is very important for them (winning & losing can be a habit).
All Leinster need to do beat Munster by a point secure a home semi. Denying Stormers & Sharks a bonus point win would also probably be enough.
Munster most hope that a win over Cardiff will be enough to get to the quarters given Scarlets erratic form.
Porter
Kelleher
Michela Al’
Dunne
Murphy
Penny
Ruddock
Deagan
9 Mccarthy
10 Harry B
12 Frawley
13Osbourne
11 Rol
14 Adam byrne
15 oreilly.
Not the worst team in the world.
@Chris Mc: Hi Chris spot on with the iq comment on another forum. Ross kept back with the big guns a measure of the esteem in which he is held by a very astute coaching ticket. I would be concerned about the bigger front rows especially from The French and English teams left in the competition away games too. A lot of genuine contenders left in this competition.
@John Brennan: if the 6 of porter, Healy, kelleher, sheanan, furlong and Michael Al’a are fit then seriously there’s nothing to worry about frontrow wise.
Ross is playing well and a little closer to the gainline which is his weakness in my opinion.
One thing watching all the Irish 10′s recently he’s is easily the best defender of all those chasing sextons Jersey.
@Chris Mc: would be good to see Clarkson get some more game time.
@ChronicAnxiety: I’m sure he will. Porter and kelleher will only play one game.
5 players who played in AIL during season now missing from Clontarf team for playoffs … brought to SA…the very best of luck to them but its 2 fingers from Leo and Leinster to Clontarf and the Energia AIL
@JG: kidnapped? Did someone call the guards?
@JG: see Munster rugby 2006–2022
@JG: how very dare Leinster use players that they are paying. The cheek!
Leinster don’t tend to play their Internationals in the URC no change there. The main disadvantage for the Leicester game is no real tough games played. Where Leicester will be battle hardened.
@bullfrogblues: I thought that too. Avoidance of injury v possibly lack of sharpness. The former one out.
Thought they might have played the front liners in the first game, sent them home and used the others for the second.
We’re really going out of our way not to play SA. We’ve managed to not face them since 2017 as a tour or in the autumn internationals, and now again we’ve passed up the chance to have our best vs their best. Anyone got a good reason for this?
@Anthony James McLaughlin: maybe the European Cup is being prioritized over quite frankly meaningless league games
@Anthony James McLaughlin: I’ve narrowed it down to Climate Change, Pat Kenny or Dunnes Stores being responsible.
@Anthony James McLaughlin: Most of South Africa’s best players don’t even play in South Africa. Vincent Koch, Malcolm Marx, Coenie Oosthuizen, Eben Etzebeth, Franco Mostert, RG Snyman, Lood De Jäger, Pieter Steph Du Toit, Jason Jenkins, Duane Vermeulan, Jasper Wiese, Du Preez brothers, Marco Van Staden, Rhynardt Elstadt, Kwagga Smith,Nizaam Carr, Juarno Augustus, Faf De Klerk, Cobus Reinach, Handre Pollard, Elton Jantjies, Damian De Allende, Lukhanyo Am, Cheslin Kolbe, Willie Le Roux, Dillon Leyds. All their best players play overseas….
@Anthony James McLaughlin: Squad management. Leinster don’t need to win these games and so getting front line players injured ahead of knock out games would just be dumb when it doesn’t need to happen.
@Anthony James McLaughlin: Squad management. Leinster don’t need to win these games and so getting front line players injured ahead of knock out games would just be d@ft when it doesn’t need to happen.
Are URC teams at an advantage in Heineken Cup then? I can’t imagine Leicester picking dummy teams for the next two Premiership matches before their Leinster game? Nor Toulouse resting their 1st teamers for the next two Top14 matches prior to the Munster match?
@Mitre: the would if they could get away with it
@Mitre: in an ideal world i don’t think Leinster would like to rest up their players for two weeks prior to that game. But they’d certainly rather rest them up than drag them there and potentially play 2 knock out games in a row after (I think the semi is the week after)
@Mitre: with a 10 point lead at the top of the table of course they would. Sure most French teams field weaker squads away from home
@Mitre: I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see Leicester rest players in the coming month. Their game against Bristol maybe. They are 8 clear of Saracens and 12 clear of Quins with 4 to go. They are away to Quins this week. Win that and they are guaranteed a top 2 finish.
Also worth noting that they arent travelling to a different hemisphere to play a couple of incredibly physical sides. They play Quins, Bristol, Newcastle and Wasps. The latter 3 are 9, 10 and 11 in the league. Its a wildly different schedule.
Toulouse seriously struggled without their internationals this season and are 5th in the Top14. They cant afford to rest players. Leinster can.
Teams will always prioritise some game over others where they need to or where they can. Its entirely normal.
Nobody cares about mickey mouse league
@Tony Mcgrath: Glad you read the article and took the time to post Tony. Clearly you care.
@Tony Mcgrath: Leinster care so little that they’ve already done enough to all but guarantee a top 2 finish. Thrown it so they have!