WHEN IT COMES to inter-provincial derbies between red and blue, there is little need to stoke the fire but Leo Cullen believes there will be extra bite to tomorrow’s clash as friends turn to foes.
It has always been the case for the returning internationals as they put Irish alliances to one side to battle in opposing trenches but with competition for places as high as it is, there will be no love lost come Saturday teatime.
It is only a fortnight since Leinster and Munster players shared the same dressing room but Cullen is anticipating a heated battle at the Aviva Stadium.
“They’re great games, great occasions,” the Leinster head coach said this afternoon. “The rivalry that’s there among the supporters really drives the occasions and they were always great games to be involved in as a player.
“Slightly different from a coach’s point of view but yeah because the players know each other so well – we often see it at training, guys are competing against each other they tend to be very passionate occasions.
“They’re all pushing to go from provincial starters to Irish starters and the reality is that it can’t happen for both sets of players.
“There’s great rivalries across the years and hopefully it will be another great occasion.”
With the fixture coming in a crucial period of the season, the stakes couldn’t be any higher as the race for the Pro12 play-offs intensify.
Earlier in the week, Rhys Ruddock described the game as a must win for the hosts, who suffered a setback at the hands of surprise leaders Connacht last week.
Nonetheless, the eastern province remain in a strong position heading into the final stretch and are boosted by the return of several internationals, most notably Johnny Sexton, this week.
“Johnny is obviously a great contributor to the group and that level of experience, especially on these big occasions, is very very important for the group,” Cullen continued.
“He’s pretty used to being in the spotlight over the last number of years. Last week was just about guys coming back off a very intense block of games which he was very heavily involved in and it was good to just manage him back in slowly and he’s trained fully this week so good to have him on board.”
Leinster have high hopes of salvaging something from a season which threatened to peter out not long after Christmas. European elimination has allowed them to concentrate their energies on the league and it has paid dividends.
But Cullen has been wary of throwing all of his big guns back into the mix straight away, particularly after the difficulties they encountered following the World Cup.
“It was important,” he says of the reintegration process. “A lot of them came back at various stages last week so it was good to I suppose start that reintegration process last week.
“It always poses a few challenges, it’s like learning a new language to a certain degree so it takes a bit of time.”
Leinster’s last outing at Lansdowne Road saw their slim European hopes end with defeat to Toulon but Cullen is confident a large home support will be hugely significant for his side tomorrow.
“By the sounds of it, over 40,000 tickets already sold, it’s fantastic that level of support, the level of interest in the game which just heightens that sense of responsibility from a player’s point of view.”
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Heart says Munster, Head says Leinster!
They’re at home and are currently on better form. I think Munster would need a ligind-esq performance full of pashun and the likes to win it. Not saying they can’t though. When it comes to emotional underdog victories Munster are second to none
The Leinster half back change makes a huge difference. Not sure I would have as much confidence with McGrath and Madigan but Sexton was really finding form and he knows how to play the Aviva more than anyone else. It’ll be bloody close. Tense. Paddy power has Leinster -7. Sounds about right
@Ewan, Heart says Leinster, head says Leinster….
When you match up the positions, there aren’t as many duals fighting for Irish starting spots as I thought. D Kearney V Earls, McGrath V Cronin (though his real competition is Healy). Interested how Scannel fares against Cronin, but Best is unquestionably first choice for Ireland. D Ryan V Toner. Stander V Heaslip must be the main match-up.
Sexton V Holland isn’t yet a contest, maybe it will be in a couple years. Murray V Reddan is no longer a contest. Murphy V O’Donnell would have been more interesting before the return of Sean O’Brien and emergence of VanDer Flier.
Ross – agree with some of that, but disagree strongly on one substantial point: Best is no longer clearly first choice for Ireland. He’s been a smashing player and senior figure for Ireland for years, and we are indebted to him.
However:
- he will be 34 in August, so we need to find some alternatives very soon indeed
- he played below his standards for most of the 6N
- he lead Ireland poorly in this past 6N
- his tenure as Ireland captain seems unlikely to extend into next season
- there are a handful of hungry, good, reasonably young hookers awaiting their chance: they wilL force it soon.
Maybe Rury Besht isn’t a great leader, but he’s an outstanding player. 34 isn’t the same for a hooker as it is for a winger. Not saying he’ll last to the World Cup, but he’ll definitely be there next season.
Also, out of curiosity, who’d you have as captain? I don’t think we have any great leaders right now. PS It’s a genuine question, I’ve no idea who’d be the right man. Heaslip wasn’t great in charge either and while a lot of people are calling for POM, I don’t think he should start when Stander and Heaslip are both fit.
I think Best has a season of international rugby left in him.
As for captaincy, it’s a very hard one – partly because we have relatively few natural captains, partly because we have also few players who are guaranteed to start.
Heaslip is a great player, and a fine leader as a number 2 – but simply not a good captain. It hampers him as a player, and he doesn’t seem to know how to be the principal leader.
POM is an excellent captain, but will he start? CJ is probably ahead of him right now, and back row competition is only going to get tougher.
Sexton is a de facto captain, but I don’t think piling additional pressure on him is helpful.
Murray would probably be my pick: miles better than any of his rivals for the shirt, experienced, clever, respected. It would be a step up for him, but he’s always been capable of that in the past.
Brian – I agree to an extent but Best will be first choice hooker heading to South Africa and for the November internationals. Although he’s near the twilight of his career, I’d be surprised if he’s not first choice for the next 6 nations. You mention promising young hookers but I was looking at that recently and it’s an area where I think the provinces are short. Cronin and Strauss are around 30 and there aren’t any other hookers who’ve come in to the frame for Ireland in the last few years. Who would you look at as a potential first choice hooker for Ireland in a few years?
Murray also has the “advantage” of not being his province’s captain. The IRFU have seemed pretty adamant in the past (BOD, POC) that the national captain not also have that provincial responsibility – although Best does still captain Ulster.
Two tickets for this tomorrow. Can’t wait. Want a Leinster win, but hopefully a tight exciting game.
And yet Leo you don’t give JVDF a crack of tommy O’Donnell.
Desperately looking for a bar in Playa del Carmen to show it… 6 people around 1 tablet is a scrum