Blues poised to make it unlucky 13th for Glasgow

FERGUS McFADDEN must be one frustrated guy this week.

With Brian O’Driscoll out for the foreseeable future, McFadden finally had the opportunity to secure a residency at number 13. That was until he suffered a dead leg in training this week.

Next up? Eoin O’Malley.

Joe Schmidt will be thankful he has such depth in reserve but will be absolutely overjoyed at the prognosis on O’Driscoll, who had shoulder surgery in Dublin earlier in the week.

“Brian is really happy,” said the Kiwi. “The medical staff are really happy. I know he’s in good spirits and he’s already talking about rehab. I don’t know how soon he can start that but that’s the nature of him. He’s determined to come back better than ever.”

O’Malley’s is one of four elevations into the XV from last Saturday’s draw in Montpellier. Eoin Reddan replaces Isaac Boss at nine, Sean Cronin usurps Richardt Strauss at hooker while Devin Toner comes in for Damian Browne at lock. The selection of Toner is no surprise given the presence of Richie Gray and Alastair Kellock in the Glasgow ranks.

At 6’ 9”, both Scottish locks stand just two inches shorter than the neck-straining Irishman.

Yet Sean Lineen’s side bring more than height to the RDS. They boast a dangerous back row of Rob Harley, John Barclay and Ryan Wilson and a decent half-back combination of Chris Cusiter and Duncan Weir.

Last week Bath dominated possession in Firhill yet left having failed to cross the whitewash thanks to an effective drift defence and Schmidt has noted that ability to keep games tight.

Leinster haven’t exactly been racking up the tries but they have been talking eagerly about the fact that Glasgow ended their proud 28-game unbeaten run in Dublin at the RDS two months ago.

That was on the back of a similar script to the one which delivered their win against Bath — keep it tight, defend with discipline and pick up scraps — and it is just two seasons since they shocked Toulouse on French soil. As a young team on an upward graph, and with five successive victories under their belts, they make for dangerous opponents, but this is a Leinster outfit with a raft of internationals on the bench.

As for that loss when the sides met in September? Both teams ran out minus their front-line stars due to World Cup duties and a more noteworthy stat may be that it was Glasgow’s first win in the capital in a dozen attempts. Today should be unlucky 13.