Infusion of new blood welcome addition to old rivalry’s thunder

The Munster-Leinster rivalry that exists today is a far cry from that which existed when the four provinces first began playing rugby against each other back in the 1880s but the evolution of that relationship will pick up a gear again tomorrow.

With a new coaching ticket realigning Munster’s playing style and a number of players on both sides likely to experience this head-to-head for the first time, there is an air of the unexpected over a show that had started to rely on some of the same old lines.

“Every game is, I suppose, unique in its own way,” said Jonathan Sexton.

“Every game has its own circumstances. We’re coming in off a hiding from Connacht, they’re coming in off a defeat off Ospreys. What happens a few weeks beforehand often is different circumstances so this game is different again. It’ll be interesting.

“It’ll be the first time we’ve played against them with a new coach. They have a lot of new players we haven’t played against and they won’t have played against [some of] our players because we’ve got a lot of injuries. But we’re pretty happy with the team we’re going to be putting out there and we need to play to the best of our ability to get a result.”

Leinster’s hopes of claiming a home victory haven’t been hindered by yesterday’s news that Eoin Reddan’s leg injury is on the mend and he is likely to feature at some stage in a fixture which has managed to maintain it’s local significance in what is an increasingly global game.

Rob Penney will be familiar with similar occasions given his long involvement with Canterbury-Auckland get-togethers.

For Leinster’s forwards coach Jono Gibbes it was trips to Eden Park, where his Waikato side would take on Auckland, that really stirred the blood.

“Unfortunately, I think New Zealand’s lost a bit of that now,” said Gibbes. “That’s why I just really enjoy the Leinster-Munster game because it reminds me of what I used to experience as a kid going along to the games — two staunch provinces squaring off.

“The supporters of each are really loyal and into it and I think that’s great. The fact they’ve sold 43,000 tickets, for Rob Penney that’s going to be a good experience for him to see what Leinster-Munster games are all about.

“It’s a pretty special occasion. There is going to be a new set of stories after the weekend from new Leinster players and new Munster players that get to experience what is a great, great fixture. As a foreigner it’s a great privilege to be close to it.”

Sexton will know how the ‘new boys’ feel when they run out at a near-full Aviva Stadium tomorrow evening having made his starting bow at Thomond Park six years ago, a full 11 months after his brief debut against the Borders Reivers.

He said: “It’s often you find out a lot about those guys on days like this and I’m pretty confident that the guys that get picked on the weekend will step up and show the type of players they are.”

Both provinces will name their starting 15s prior to lunchtime today.