Hagan and White on the mend for Leinster

Leinster props Jamie Hagan and Nathan White are both expected to be fit for Saturday’s meeting with rivals Munster after the pair picked up knocks in last weekend’s defeat to the Ospreys.

Both players were substituted on the half hour mark with Hagan exiting the pitch on a stretcher after sustaining a rib injury.

Leinster team manager Guy Easterby revealed that the duo are recovering well from their injuries and should be in contention for a place in this weekend’s derby encounter.

“It was obviously a tough injury for Jamie,” Easterby remarked. “It was a rib cartilage injury and they can be really uncomfortable.

“He got quite a lot of painkillers on Saturday night and on Sunday he was still very sore but had improved a bit and we would be hopeful that he will be available for selection at the weekend.

“Nathan got a whack around the eye and he was just sore in that area.

“It seems to have settled and he is another one we would be hopeful for ahead of this weekend which is good news.”

The meeting with the Ospreys in the RDS marked the long awaited return of Brian O’Driscoll and Leo Cullen as well All Blacks legend Brad Thorn’s debut for the province.

However, a late Richard Hibbard try spoiled the home crowd’s party as it helped the visitors to a 23-22 victory.

Easterby believes there were plenty of positives to take from the game despite the poor result.

“The result was disappointing but it was nice to be able to get some positives out of it.

“Certainly the fact that those three (O’Driscoll, Cullen and Thorn) were on the pitch and got some good game time before what is a tough run-in these next couple of weeks.”

Despite sitting comfortably at the top of the PRO12 league table with an eight point lead over Munster, Easterby knows there is a lot at stake when the two great rivals collide on Saturday evening and he recognises the quality in the Munster squad.

“They are always huge games with the local rivalry. It is something we are looking forward to immensely.

“They are just a fantastic team. You can see even from their result last weekend against Connacht where they rested players who were involved in the Six Nations but they know how to win games.

“They’re a really strong team across the park and a tough outfit to play against.

“It is always a tough place to go as everyone knows and we had two disappointing results down there last year so we’ll certainly be looking to right that and hopefully come away with a win.”