LEINSTER WOULD HAVE loved to play at the RDS last weekend when the Sharks were in town but The Boss was busy wowing his fans in Ballsbridge.
So Leinster had to host their URC quarter-final at the Aviva Stadium, where they limited the capacity to 19,000 and had fewer than 15,000 present in the end to watch them run five tries past their South African opposition.
“We knew it was going to be like that at the start of the week,” said Leinster back row Max Deegan of the experience against the Sharks.
“It was always going to be the case with how many games we had in a row in the Aviva. People aren’t going to be able to go to every single one every single week, it’s just not going to happen.
“So we said just drive the energy from within for this week and then try to bring as much energy to the crowd even though it doesn’t matter how much there is in the ground because we’re used to playing in crowds of similar size in the RDS.”
Tomorrow, things should be considerably more lively and louder as Leinster welcome Munster to Dublin for the semi-final. This time, the capacity has been set at 29,000 and Leinster are excited for things to go up a level.
“We’re hoping for as many as we can because we know Munster are going to bring up bucketloads from Munster, so we’re just hoping for as many fans as we can possibly get cheering us on,” said Deegan.
Even with the expectation that they’ll rest their frontline players ahead of the Champions Cup final next weekend, Leinster will be favourites once again as injury-hit Munster look to pull off a surprise win.
But there’s real respect for Munster within the Leinster ranks, insisted Deegan.
“I thought they were savage over in South Africa [where they recently beat the Stormers and drew with the Sharks],” said the Ireland international. “You know, doing what they did over there is really difficult.
“We went over there and we found it very tough, they were going up against two class outfits in Stormers and Sharks and to get the results they needed takes a lot of guts.
“The way they played, they were really abrasive, physical, the Munster of old, but taking into account the new attacking style they are trying to bring in.”
He believes that Munster will go to another level this weekend with little pressure on Graham Rowntree’s team.
Leinster have had to get used to teams lifting themselves in Dublin.
“Stuart [Lancaster] would talk about when teams come to play us, they are going to bring their best performance because they know they’re going to need that to beat us.
“So we’re always expecting that in the teams we play and it’s nothing different for Munster. Sure it’s Munster-Leinster, you don’t need anything else than that old rivalry to get going.”
In the back row battle, Deegan is looking forward to coming up against Munster number eight Gavin Coombes, who has been named in the URC’s Elite XV for this season.
“He has played well,” said Deegan. “I think they look to him a lot in attack.
“They’ll feed him the ball as much as they can because they know he’s a really good ball carrier and he is a very good ball carrier.
“You know his size and strength, really that’s his kind of game. He is not the most unbelievably quick but it’s unbelievably effective because of how big and strong he is. He is playing really well at the moment. So you’re going to tip the cap to him.”
Don’t be too sure… Apparently, there’s a lot of communions and confirmations down in Munster this weekend!
It’s gonna be a cracker!
Come on Leo’s Lions!
Time to stand up and fight
@John Quinn: as a leinster fan id be more worried if munster tried to play rugby, standing and fighting hasn’t done them any good for 13 years.
Is there any way of telling, before you click in on an article, that a subscription is required to read? Makes this website experience tedious
@Paul C: you know when you’re scrolling and each article has a little hastag on it (on my phone anyway) well it seems to be the ones that’s have this highlighted in blue/green/turquoise sort of colour.
@SPQH: I’m noticing now they all say “analysis”
@Paul C: The ones marked analysis in green are paywall articles. You can sign in up the top left with an email address without having to pay a subscription and see most of the articles currently. That’s what’s working for me anyway.
@SPQH: well spotted. Thanks
I think it will be a cracker and not as clear cut as some think. The fans will have a great day
@Phillip Keohane: From an entertainment perspective, i hope you’re right. I doubt it though. Leinster to win in third gear i’d say. Munster have the intensity and attitude alright but they are not at the same technical and cohesion levels as Leinster imo.
@niall kelly: Leinster need to keep the focus on the European Cup which will define their season. However it looks more like the quality of player missing from Munster due to injury makes it hard to see past Leinster. Still, it’s sport so, you never know.
Munster have nothing to lose I’ll think it will be a dog fight . A great game for the fans
Leinster were red hot favourites last year to win the Champions Cup and also lost in the URC. There are no favourites both teams will give everything. I hope Leinster win tomorrow but if Munster win I will be the first to congratulate them.
I’d be surprised that they will travel up.I hope they do,they are needed for the atmosphere, but I don’t think they believe they have a chance. It’s a pity the great games of Munster v Leinster rivalry, ROG pumping it up at the crowd, Johnny in ROg face,that real rivalry where the outcome was in doubt is gone.
Leinster are so dominant that Munster supporters won’t spend the money to see their team lose.They will come up and hope to get more joy outta supporting ROG