Leinster take first glimpse into future without BOD
With O’Driscoll among the 11 of those Ireland players rested or carrying knocks after last weekend’s championship-winning exertions in the French capital, Fergus McFadden is the one to wear the number 13 jersey.
Eyes will also zero in on Luke Fitzgerald who, fingers crossed, will return to a starting berth having suffered with a pelvic injury which persisted far longer than expected and ruined his hopes of featuring in the Six Nations.
O’Driscoll will resume duties patrolling his patch at outside-centre next week when Munster pitch up at the Aviva Stadium and again a week later when Leinster take to the Stade Felix Mayol where European champions Toulon await.
As is the case with Joe Schmidt, managing his succession is an unenviable task awaiting Leinster coach Matt O’Connor, even if the Australian dismissed the suggestion that the sheer length and quality of O’Driscoll’s career does in a sense make replacing him all the harder.
“We’ve known, the province has known, for certainly two years and we’ve had very good clarity for 12 months in relation to what the future holds beyond Brian,” said O’Connor by way of response.
“You wouldn’t change it and I think I said when I came in [as coach last summer] that you’d much prefer to be managing the succession with Brian in the environment than Brian out of the environment.
“So, from that end, players of a generation are going to be incredibly difficult to replace. That’s not only at Leinster or Ireland, but globally. There isn’t that many that are currently in the game.”
Tonight, then, offers a glimpse of what may come to be next September and all the signals coming from team base in South Dublin suggest there will be no big name replacement buzzed in during the off-season.
“Firstly, replacing Brian O’Driscoll has its own issues,” said O’Connor. “But coming up to a World Cup there’s not many blokes who are, if I am being perfectly honest, good enough to fill the number 13 shirt for us who are on the market.
“So, we are pretty confident at the moment with the bodies we have got in our squad that we can cope with that void in the short-term. We will look at the options in and around that at an appropriate time in the future.”
22-year-old Brendan Macken held the fort for most of the last two months but McFadden started the last outing against Glasgow at the beginning of March and the Ireland international comes to the audition tonight relatively fresh.
A natural centre, he has profited from an ability and a willingness to operate on the wing for club and country this last few seasons whereas everything O’Connor said yesterday suggested a role out on the tramlines for Fitzgerald.
“The thinking in relation to Luke is he’s got some individual injuries that he’s trying to get on top of, and as a result, the added pressure and the nuances of 13 is probably a step too far for him at the moment.
“Ferg has played there a lot as a kid, he’s played a lot there for Leinster, and with the bodies we’ve got in the group at the moment, that was the thinking. He’s incredibly physical in that space, Ferg.”
Whoever the new man will be, there will be the reassuring presence of Gordon D’Arcy alongside him for the season to come after O’Connor’s confirmation yesterday that the Wexford veteran is committed to playing on beyond the summer.
D’Arcy has always declared his intention to see out his career at Leinster but, though he intimated a new contract was all but signed a few months ago, there had been no further indication of that happening before yesterday.
The 34-year-old has enjoyed a superb season and spoke to the Irish Examiner prior to the Six Nations game against Italy about how important O’Connor’s arrival had been to his form and general happiness on the park.
The admiration is obviously mutual.
“D’Arcy has probably rejuvenated himself a little bit,” said the Australian. “I don’t know if it was beard-related or not, but he certainly is playing like a bloke significantly younger than he is. He’s played some fantastic rugby for us and for Ireland.”
Deemed by many as the most likely to assume O’Driscoll’s place with Leinster and possibly Ireland, Matt O’Connor’s description of him yesterday as a “world-class wing” would suggest the province have other plans for him right now.
A man who has been a centre first and a wing second, McFadden impressed consistently this year, if most obviously along the tramlines. Would relish the shot at a lengthy berth at 13 after years of flitting from one spot to the other.
The outside shot of the three at this stage due to his youth and inexperience. Highly rated at Leinster and has followed on a summer tour to Georgia with Emerging Ireland with his first two Heineken Cup appearances.
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