LEINSTER ARE IN Wales for to take on Ospreys this evening and they arrive with a fairly dismal record against the black shirts.
Just twice in nine attempts have they managed a win and the hosts will no doubt be chomping at the bit to increase the ratio.
There is one factor which sets this game apart however, the competition. European rugby has not delivered much success for Ospreys, so Leinster can reserve the right to be bullish about winning these three battles and coming home with four points.
Cian Healy v Adam Jones
Leinster laid much of the blame for their poor return from the scrum last week at Romain Poite’s door, but a big improvement is needed if they are to lay a solid platform this evening.
Cian Healy is long-since proven as one of Europe’s best loose-heads, but going head-to-head with his Lions team-mate Adam Jones promises to be an absorbing contest before you even look at the 28 other players.
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They will meet in open play too, it was noticeable last week that when Leinster needed a foothold, they got Healy on the ball. Expect that option to be called earlier and more often this evening.
Sean O’Brien v Justin Tipuric
Lions, Lions everywhere – nowhere more so than the four starting back rows.
Jamie Heaslip admitted this week that their breakdown work had been given even more focus than usual in training:
“We just have to have a mentality of one man, one bullet when it comes to the ruck – When you go to ruck, target someone and take him off the ball, out of the game. As opposed to two men having to take one man out, then you end up with four or five guys in the ruck. They only have two and you’re going to be beaten on numbers, making life easy for them in defence.”
The man Heaslip and his openside Sean O’Brien will no doubt be directing their ‘one bullet’ at more often than most is Justin Tipuric, who greased the wheels for so much of Wales’ run to the Six Nations championship – and almost succeeded in turning the game when he was introduced against Ireland too.
Jimmy Gopperth v Dan BIggar
Joe Schmidt made a habit of rotating his scrum-halves for home and away fixtures, but Matt O’Connor has gone one step further and added the number 10 to the carousel.
Of course, after issuing the thinly-veiled Ian Madigan criticism, “game-management” the new coach may well have gone for the more experienced man in any case, but dropping a crowd favourite is easier away from the RDS.
Gopperth’s task will be balance the basics of controlling the tempo and field-position with making the most of a break when it comes. Dan Biggar has shown himself to be adept all of these. While he has yet to be given Warren Gatland’s full trust at international level, the home crowd in Swansea won’t be nervous if they see him lining up a crucial last minute kick.
Teams:
Ospreys: R Fussell; B John, A Bishop, A Beck; E Walker; D Biggar, T Tepaldi: D Jones, R Hibbard, A Jones; AW Jones (Capt.) J king; R Jones, J Tipuric, J Bearman.
Replacements: S Baldwin, R Bevington, A Jarvis, T Ardron, S Lewis, T Habberfield, M Morgan, J Hassler.
Leinster: R Kearney; F McFadden, B Macken, G D’Arcy, D Kearney; J Gopperth, I Boss: C Healy, S Cronin, M Ross; D Toner, M McCarthy ; K McLaughlin, S O’Brien, J Heaslip (Capt.)
Replacements: A Dundon, J McGrath, M Moore, Q Roux, R Ruddock, E Reddan, I Madigan, L Fitzgerald.
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Lions, Lions everywhere: 3 key battles to decide Ospreys v Leinster
LEINSTER ARE IN Wales for to take on Ospreys this evening and they arrive with a fairly dismal record against the black shirts.
Just twice in nine attempts have they managed a win and the hosts will no doubt be chomping at the bit to increase the ratio.
There is one factor which sets this game apart however, the competition. European rugby has not delivered much success for Ospreys, so Leinster can reserve the right to be bullish about winning these three battles and coming home with four points.
Cian Healy v Adam Jones
Leinster laid much of the blame for their poor return from the scrum last week at Romain Poite’s door, but a big improvement is needed if they are to lay a solid platform this evening.
Cian Healy is long-since proven as one of Europe’s best loose-heads, but going head-to-head with his Lions team-mate Adam Jones promises to be an absorbing contest before you even look at the 28 other players.
They will meet in open play too, it was noticeable last week that when Leinster needed a foothold, they got Healy on the ball. Expect that option to be called earlier and more often this evening.
Sean O’Brien v Justin Tipuric
Lions, Lions everywhere – nowhere more so than the four starting back rows.
Jamie Heaslip admitted this week that their breakdown work had been given even more focus than usual in training:
“We just have to have a mentality of one man, one bullet when it comes to the ruck – When you go to ruck, target someone and take him off the ball, out of the game. As opposed to two men having to take one man out, then you end up with four or five guys in the ruck. They only have two and you’re going to be beaten on numbers, making life easy for them in defence.”
©INPHO/Dan Sheridan
The man Heaslip and his openside Sean O’Brien will no doubt be directing their ‘one bullet’ at more often than most is Justin Tipuric, who greased the wheels for so much of Wales’ run to the Six Nations championship – and almost succeeded in turning the game when he was introduced against Ireland too.
Jimmy Gopperth v Dan BIggar
Joe Schmidt made a habit of rotating his scrum-halves for home and away fixtures, but Matt O’Connor has gone one step further and added the number 10 to the carousel.
©INPHO/Lorraine O’Sullivan
Of course, after issuing the thinly-veiled Ian Madigan criticism, “game-management” the new coach may well have gone for the more experienced man in any case, but dropping a crowd favourite is easier away from the RDS.
Gopperth’s task will be balance the basics of controlling the tempo and field-position with making the most of a break when it comes. Dan Biggar has shown himself to be adept all of these. While he has yet to be given Warren Gatland’s full trust at international level, the home crowd in Swansea won’t be nervous if they see him lining up a crucial last minute kick.
Teams:
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