Leinster Rugby field dream team

It’s been a season almost devoid of moments to savour for Leinster fans, despite today’s presence in Europe’s last eight, so it is hardly stretching the bounds of reason to suggest that yesterday’s team announcement may rank up there among the best days.

It’s a damning suggestion, of course, but the starting selection and matchday 23 put out by Matt O’Connor at noon yesterday is a timely reminder of the enduring class that permeates the ranks of the province ahead of this make-or-break assignment.

O’Connor approaches this Rugby Champions Cup quarter-final under some pressure after a season-and-a-half or so of far from inspiring rugby. But he has been hampered by injuries and international duties this term to an extent not even Joe Schmidt was subjected to during his tenure.

Not having seven of those Ireland players available last week for the PRO12 run-out against Glasgow was not ideal, but then Bath are also welcoming back cold their own core of internationals. For all the names included in the Irish side’s 23, that Dave Kearney couldn’t make the cut is all Bath or anyone else needs to know to discern the quality facing them.

Kearney was, after all, one of Ireland’s star players in the 2014 Six Nations.

Leinster’s bench alone contains six Irish internationals as well as Zane Kirchner and Tom Denton, with Denton only featuring because former Wallaby Kane Douglas has failed to recover from hamstring and back injuries in time.

That reserve corps alone suggests that Leinster have too much for Mike Ford’s visitors, even if the English side can call, from the bench, on the experience of Peter Stringer and the x-factor of rugby league convert Sam Burgess. Still, it is a Leinster team that has questions to answer, individual as well as collective.

Can Jimmy Gopperth answer his critics on this stage? Will Ian Madigan and Ben Te’o click in their first start together at midfield? Can Mike McCarthy rediscover something like his best form against an impressive second-row pairing of Dave Attwood and Stuart Hooper?

Bath engineer more line breaks than most club sides in Europe and they spent two days working with Wigan’s rugby league team recently in an effort to further refine their counter-attacking skills.

George Ford gives them a shoot-from-the-hip quality that Leinster no longer seem to possess and, in Jonathan Joseph, Anthony Watson, Kyle Eastmond et al the visitors possess the pace and speed of thought to make Leinster pay if they fail to keep it tight. O’Connor suggested earlier this week that they would. Ultimately, there should be enough talent and nous in the Leinster ranks to negotiate this one , given 11 of their starters and three replacements have at least one Heineken Cup winners’ medal tucked away in a drawer at home.

It would be a surprise if the 14 who played a part in retaining the Six Nations title haven’t been able to import some of the vibes from Carton House into their UCD base this past week.

Crucially too, this afternoon will witness the first sighting in a Leinster jersey of both Sean O’Brien and Cian Healy since September. O’Brien was part of a back row that spent most of the day in Ford’s face when England came to the Aviva Stadium last month. Too much has been made of the parallels between that game and this thanks to Bath’s England contingent, but that approach will surely be aped by the home team here.

This is a game Leinster are expected to win. Do that and they can assume Bath’s nothing-to-lose philosophy for a likely trip to Marseille where Toulon would await in a game which Leinster would approach with the benefit of an extra two weeks together.