Leinster may expose Connacht’s lack of depth

Three weeks into the season and the Guinness PRO12 has finally thrown the floating voter a bone they can get their teeth into in the form of tonight’s meeting of Connacht and Leinster at Galway’s Sportsground (KO: 7.35pm).

This may not be the most headline-grabbing of the Irish derbies, but Leinster have come a cropper out west twice in the last five visits, the second of those a 34-6 whelping two terms ago, and their largest margin of victory in that part of the country in all that time was just eight points.

The ‘sold out’ signs may well be swinging from the gates come kick-off tonight, the home team and supporters buoyed by a two-from two winning start to the season which comes on the back of boosts to the budget and Pat Lam’s playing staff.