Clubs get taste for Heineken chasers

RABOBANK Pro12 officials will continue to schedule derbies such as tonight’s Leinster-Munster games a week before the first round of the Heineken Cup in order to give their teams the best chance of achieving European success.

That represents very good news for the country’s two most successful provinces who have used these high-intensity interprovincial encounters to steel themselves for European rugby’s most demanding competition and reintegrate returning internationals to the ranks.

Coaches and players have spoken of the benefits of facing their greatest rivals at such a juncture even if the policy was questioned two seasons ago when Leinster and Munster lost their opening pool games on the back of a Magners League meeting in Dublin.

The sides met in round five the last two seasons but their head-to-head was pushed back to round seven this time around as a result of the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand and the need to push the European event further down the track.

The importance of tonight’s game at the Aviva Stadium has been heightened by the fact that five of Leinster’s starting XV will be wearing blue for the first time this campaign while a total of 18 players on both sides have two or less games under their belts with their clubs.

“The schedule is programmed for games where most of the players are available and not on duty with their countries in order to give teams the best possible preparation before they start their Heineken Cup campaigns,” said a Pro12 spokesperson yesterday.

The same principle applies to Ulster who host Connacht tomorrow and the Welsh regions who will face off against each other this weekend although, oddly, the two Italian clubs will host Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh tomorrow afternoon and evening.

Such a policy has its benefits for the Pro12 as well. Had Leinster met Munster in round five this year, the game would have been diluted by the absence of more than 20 internationals.

As it is, four of the last six Heineken Cup winners were representatives of what was formerly known as the Magners League, with Munster and Leinster claiming a pair of titles each and the others won by London Wasps and Toulouse.

Over 46,500 tickets had been sold for tonight’s game in Dublin as of yesterday evening leaving just over 5,000 available for what is the second meeting between the sides at the Aviva Stadium.