Leinster bank on rejigged roster to inject new energy against Glasgow

Leo Cullen is preparing his side for a last-eight clash with the Warriors. 

BACK IN: Jordie Barrett during Leinster Rugby squad training at UCD in Dublin. Pic: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

No-one in Leinster will be fooled by last week’s Champions Cup round of 16 evisceration of Harlequins. Even the briefest of highlight reels should be enough to strip the 62-0 win at Croke Park of much meaningful value going forward.

The English visitors disintegrated after a decent first 15 minutes but human nature is a strange thing and these are the kind of experiences that can lull even the most professional of players or coaches into a false sense of security.

So how do you ward that off?

Leo Cullen is banking on his team selection for Friday night’s tournament quarter-final at home to Glasgow Warriors doing just that. All told, the province has made six changes in personnel while Jack Conan switches from blindside to No.8.

Tommy O’Brien and Jordie Barrett both come in to the back line. The entire front row has been stripped and replaced with Cian Healy, Ronan Kelleher and Tadhg Furlong the shiny, new parts, while Max Deegan gets the nod in the back row.

A few things here.

O’Brien, Healy and Deegan all started in that gutsy 10-7 URC defeat of the Sharks in South Africa two weeks ago. So did Ross Byrne and Diarmuid Mangan who both make the bench here, the latter thanks in part to an injury to Ryan Baird.

Leinster have all too often reverted to the mean when it comes to these big games but this sort of selection guarantees buy-in from the wider squad. That’s canny management – as long as they go and reach the semi-final.

So complacency? Shouldn’t be a problem.

"That's again some of the selections, making sure we've guys who are fresh mentally coming into it,” said Cullen. “They know there's other guys who are literally beating the door down to get the opportunity. There's genuine excitement to get out playing again.” 

Another factor here is the six-day turnaround for both teams but that is offset for Leinster in the form of a casualty list that is remarkably short given the time of season with Baird, James Ryan and Jordan Larmour the main names currently on it.

Glasgow are hurt more in that regard.

Franco Smith’s side is operating without some key men, among them Scott Cummings (arm), Jack Dempsey (hamstring), Zander Fagerson (head), Huw Jones (ankle), Rory Sutherland (shoulder) and, of course, Sione Tuipulotu (pectoral).

The Warriors coach has made three changes to the side that claimed their first ever Champions Cup knockout win, at home to Leicester Tigers, last week. Most notable is the return of Rory Darge at openside flanker after his cameo at Scotstoun.

These are two sides that know each other well through URC commitments and the frequency of paths crossed by their respective Test contingents, but for the likes of Mangan, Deegan and O’Brien this is a rare chance to shine at this level.

O’Brien is a particularly interesting case.

The only non-international in the Leinster XV, he is 26 now and six years removed from his Leinster senior debut. The hope is that he is finally out the right side of a period haunted by injuries that ran through one season and into another.

“When you’ve got a guy who has serious speed and power, you’re probably more susceptible to picking up soft tissue injuries,” said Cullen. “The slower people, we’re not as cursed as much, but that can be an amazing strength of his.

“He has real intensity to what he delivers on a week-to-week basis, which can make it a bit more challenging at times in terms of injuries. Listen, his attention to detail is great, Tommy, he works very hard on all aspects of his game.

“We’re excited to see him go now, so he’s trained well this short week. It will be a good battle, him against Kyle Steyn, who, again, is a physical winger. We think Tommy will do a good job there.” It has to be said that there is an element of risk in all this. Lose and questions will be asked about the squad selection. The flip side is a bench littered with class and experience, including the current Ireland captain.

A slight niggle has played its part in keeping Caelan Doris in reserve. He’ll be part of a cavalry that includes Robbie Henshaw who will make his 100th Leinster appearance, Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan and Rabah Slimani at the Aviva Stadium.

LEINSTER: H Keenan; T O’Brien, G Ringrose, J Barrett, J Lowe; S Prendergast, J Gibson-Park; C Healy, R Kelleher, T Furlong; J McCarthy, RG Snyman; M Deegan, J van der Flier, J Conan.

Replacements: D Sheehan, A Porter, R Slimani, D Mangan, C Doris, L McGrath, R Byrne, R Henshaw.

GLASGOW WARRIORS: K Rowe; J Dobie, S McDowall, T Jordan, K Steyn; A Hastings, G Horne; N McBeth, J Matthews, S Talakai; G Brown, A Samuel; M Fagerson, R Darge, S Vailanu.

Replacements: G Stewart, J Bhatti, P Schickerling, JP Du Preez, M Williamson, E Ferrie, B Afshar, D Cancelliere.

Referee: L Pearce (RFU).