O’Connor takes no risks with players or Euro hopes

They may be the “Six Nations champions”, according to Rob Penney, but Leinster head coach Matt O’Connor is taking no chances with his selection for tonight’s top-of-the-table league clash with Munster, keeping several frontline players out of the inter-provincial fray ahead of European battle next weekend.

The latest instalment of the rivalry between the provinces may have consumed acres of column inches and hours of air time this week, with this evening’s Rabo-Direct Pro12 at the Aviva Stadium already a 51,000-plus sell-out, but with the Heineken Cup quarter-finals just a week away, Leinster boss O’Connor has opted not to risk his walking wounded as the Blues defend their two-point lead at the top of the table against second-placed Munster.

Three-time Heineken Cup winners Leinster face a daunting trip to defending champions Toulon a week tomorrow and though they will still field a starting 15 of Irish internationals this evening, Cian Healy, Jack McGrath, Marty Moore, Rhys Ruddock and Dave Kearney will not be among them, the quintet all being given an extra week to recover from their niggling injuries.