Gopperth making presence felt at 10

Leinster may have lost Jonathan Sexton to France over the summer but the province has gained an element of unpredictability at out-half which the most inventive of tens would be unable to match.

Playing without first-choice stars is something all four Irish clubs have become accustomed to, thanks to the vagaries of the rugby season and the IRFU’s player management system but come Heineken Cup time, old certainties usually held true.

With Leinster this past four seasons, that meant Sexton at 10 but Castres will have spent the majority of this week unsure who will fill his boots at the RDS on Saturday and thus studying copious amounts of tape on both Jimmy Gopperth and Ian Madigan.