Time to shine for Leinster rookies

Rookies Cian Healy and Devin Toner and Ireland international Trevor Hogan have been asked to show their worth in the Leinster front five to lock horns with Edinburgh in a do-or-die Heineken Cup match at The RDS on Sunday.

Leinster will require a platform for their attacking strategy which demands four tries for a bonus-point win to make what London Wasps achieve at Castres redundant. Loose-head Healy and lock Toner, both Leinster Academy graduates, have served their apprenticeship. It is time for them to shine.

Former Munster workhorse Hogan has been pushed down the pecking order by the presence of Cullen and O’Kelly and the rapid improvement of Toner. He will also be eager to show what he can do.

Captain Leo Cullen (shoulder), tight-head CJ van der Linde (foot) and Malcolm O’Kelly (suspension) are all absent. Theur weight of experience would have been an asset in what is sure to be a test of nerve, as well as character.

Leinster (v Edinburgh): R Kearney; S Horgan, B O’Driscoll, F Contepomi, L Fitzgerald; I Nacewa, C Whitaker (capt); C Healy, B Jackman, S Wright, T hogan, D Toner, R Elsom, S Jennings, J Heaslip.

Replacements: J Fogarty, O le Roux, S Keogh, S O’Brien; C Keane, G D’Arcy, G Dempsey.