Leinster braced for wild west

The wind will blow and the rain will spill.

Welcome to Galway, then. Again.

The locals may fume about the clichéd depiction of the Sportsgrounds as a wind tunnel which makes a lottery of any contest but it is impossible to ignore the predicted elements when Leinster come a calling this evening.

Leinster have more reason than most to travel westwards with caution, in foul weather or fair. Three times in the last five seasons they have come a cropper in Galway and the last two of those were by an average of 21 points.

Add in the respective form sheets and trepidation will be doubled.

Leinster have failed to impress to any great extent since that blowout win in Northampton at the start of December while Connacht have built on that result for the ages in Toulouse, with decent showings against the Dragons and Munster.

The respective win and loss ratios don’t actually differ all that much in the last month but the divergent resources and expectations inside and outside both camps means that any sign of parity there is inevitably weighted in favour of Connacht.

“They went away to Toulouse and put on a real show of unity, intensity and defensive commitment and Leinster down at the Sportsgrounds is a game they have no trouble getting up for,” warned Leinster forwards coach Jono Gibbes.

“They embarrassed us down there last year and they have progressed as a team. The league standing doesn’t say that but they are definitely a better team than they were 12 months ago.”

Maybe so, but head coach Pat Lam is operating tonight without a dozen players for various reasons, among them Miah Nikora and Craig Ronaldson, whose jobs it is to provide back-up to out-half-in-chief, Dan Parks.

Kudos then to Lam for lobbing 21-year old Academy and Buccanneers 10 Jack Carty in for his first senior provincial start, with the veteran ex-Scotland international Parks held in reserve from the bench.

“Jack has been involved with us in training all year and has had some good performances with the Eagles,” said Lam of the youngster, who has been capped up to Ireland U20 level.

“It is a great boost to his development as a young Irish-qualified 10 to play against such quality opposition and I know he is very much looking forward to the test.”

With Gavin Duffy another on the casualty list, another Academy man Darragh Leader has been pencilled in at 15, all of which makes for a backline where the average age adds up to 22, though the unchanged pack has a more grizzled visage to it.

In all, Lam has opted for just three changes to the team which rescued a late losing bonus point at Thomond Park last week, while Matt O’Connor has taken the shears to his line-up with 10 new faces drafted in.

It’s a stronger 15 for it. Mostly.

Among the most notable of changes and head-to-heads is that at midfield, where Brian O’Driscoll and Gordon D’Arcy return. They will face Robbie Henshaw, the man many believe to be BOD’s heir, at outside-centre.

With Jamie Heaslip returning and Sean O’Brien out injured, Jordi Murphy moves from No.8, where he has so impressed this season, to openside flanker, and they are joined in the back row by Rhys Ruddock.

Rob Kearney’s return at full-back sees Zane Kirchner switch to the wing and, with Luke Fitzgerald in electric form, it is the unlucky Dave Kearney who slides down to the bench from the off.

The hope is that the conditions, expected to be so similar to the meeting eight days ago of Munster and Connacht in Limerick, will not make for a game of a similarly nondescript aesthetic value.

All eyes will be on young Carty to see how he copes with the pressure, atmospheric and otherwise, and his performance will be further framed by the presence opposite of Ian Madigan who returns for Leinster in place of Jimmy Gopperth.

As per usual, it will be an occasion afforded extra fizz by Connacht’s usual determination to make little of their outsider status and the presence of so many — seven in total — players who have played for the opposition.

“It’s great for the players,” said Eoin Reddan who spent two seasons with Connacht, “as long as it doesn’t boil over, which it never has in the past. It is becoming (to be) a bit more bite in each of the games but it is great for the players and the fans.

“The fact that they all happen in and around the same time probably adds to that. This weekend will be no different. We know how Connacht feel about us coming to the Sportsground and they will be up for it.”