Cheika rings changes for Dragons clash

AS EXPECTED, Michael Cheika has taken a wrecking ball to his established first XV for tonight’s meaningless Magners League game against the Dragons but a number of Irish internationals have been afforded another much-needed run-out before the summer tour.

Jamie Heaslip, Rob Kearney, Shane Jennings, Felipe Contepomi and Stan Wright have all been stood down from the match day 22 as Michael Cheika looks to give some rare air time to some of his fringe players.

Bernard Jackman and Chris Whitaker have also been asked to assume unfamiliar spots on the replacements bench while Keith Gleeson and Ollie le Roux both made their exits as Leinster men in the win over the Welsh side last Saturday.

However, having missed chunks of the season through injury since the Six Nations, Brian O’Driscoll, Shane Horgan and Girvan Dempsey will all be glad of the opportunity to start the game this evening in Rodney Parade.

Luke Fitzgerald also comes back into a line-up which contains 10 nominal reserves. The pack, in particular, has had a scissors taken to it with only Trevor Hogan surviving the cut from last week.

The Dragons secured their Heineken Cup place for next season with the defeat of the Ospreys on Tuesday and it remains to be seen if the infusion of new faces into the Leinster side breathes any life into this dead rubber.

“I see Friday’s game as a huge one because it will present players with a chance to stake a claim for next year,” said out-half Jonathan Sexton. “It’s a great opportunity to step up to the plate and try to give the coaches some more options.”

Sexton will also be hoping that he can give the type of performance that catches the eye of interim coach Michael Bradley ahead of the summer tour down under. The 22-year-old earned a call-up to the extended senior squad for the Six Nations but had to withdraw after breaking a thumb.

Leinster’s number 10 for most of the season, he was replaced in that pivot by Felipe Contepomi for European weekends.

“Being left out of the Heineken Cup squad once or twice really drove me on. I was especially pleased to come back to play in the last few games after the thumb injury I sustained against Leicester in January, because I thought that my season was over at that stage. I’m pleased with how things have progressed over the last few months. I feel as though I have established myself a bit more in the squad, but you can’t be complacent.”

LEINSTER: G Dempsey; S Horgan, B O’Driscoll, M Berne, L Fitzgerald; J Sexton, C Keane; C Healy, B Blaney, S Knoop; T Hogan, D Toner; C Jowitt, K McLaughlin, S Keogh.

DRAGONS: K Morgan; G Wyatt, R Gomer-Davies/P Emerick, P Dollman, R Fussell; J Tovey, W Evans; H Gustafson, S Jones, P Palmer; A Hall, L Charteris; C Charvis, J Harris, J Bearman/L Evans.

Referee: C Stanley (IRFU).