Ulster travel to Dublin with Leinster square in their sights

Richie Murphy was absolutely respectful of their latest opposition when talking earlier in the week but the very fact that he used the word ‘beatable’ about Leinster speaks for their state of mind.

OLD RIVALS: The oldest fixture in Irish rugby, it’s 150 years since the sides first met. There is no denying who has had the better of it. Leinster have won almost twice as many games since the formal establishment of the interpros after World War II. Picture: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Leinster-Munster has long held top billing when it comes to the carousel of interprovincial fixtures, but none is more embedded in the calendar than Leinster’s rivalry with their northern neighbours.

The oldest fixture in Irish rugby, it’s 150 years since the sides first met. There is no denying who has had the better of it. Leinster have won almost twice as many games since the formal establishment of the interpros after World War II.

This latest holds the potential to address some of that imbalance.

Ulster have won four of their five URC games to date, the tricky South African swing is already in the rear view mirror, and they rested key players for last week’s Challenge Cup tie away to Cardiff to give this one a right good lash.

Head coach Richie Murphy isn’t a chest thumper. He was absolutely respectful of their latest opposition when talking earlier in the week but the very fact that he used the word ‘beatable’ about Leinster speaks for their state of mind.

They travel south sitting fourth in the table, with Leinster two rungs below them, and with a feelgood factor pushing them on as Murphy’s project starts to bear fruit and attack coach Mark Sexton’s influence becomes more apparent.

“Ulster are five points ahead of us in the log, so we need to catch up there a bit and start putting some points on the board,” said James Ryan. “So this is a big one. We’ve have a good couple of weeks in Europe but we need to start climbing up the ladder a bit in the URC.” 

Leinster will be making do without no less than 17 internationals for this one. Half of those are hobbled with injuries but the absence others – men like Caelan Doris, Josh van der Flier and Tommy O’Brien – are conscious choices predicated on necessary rest periods.

It is still a strong selection, not least on the bench where the cavalry will include Dan Sheehan, Paddy McCarthy, Tadhg Furlong, and Joe McCarthy, so Ulster will need to start strong and maybe hold some buffer come the final quarter.

There is no Cormac Izuchukwu or Zac Ward, and Iain Henderson is among the injured, but Murphy has played close to a full hand with Wallaby Angus Bell making a URC debut, Puma Juarno Augustus at No.8 and a litany of local talent on board.

This looks to be exactly the kind of game that Irish rugby as a whole needs right now as concerns linger over an ageing, stuttering national side and the stubborn lack of upward pressure on current first-choice players from three of the four provinces.

Ulster’s lack of representation in the Test arena has slid alarmingly in recent times. Last year’s Six Nations opener away to France in Marseille marked the first time ever that an Irish senior men’s squad bore no Ulster or native or player with the provincial squad.

Andy Farrell has been to Belfast to watch Ulster in recent weeks but this is the sort of acid test that will tell us so much more about the team’s progress as a collective and how realistic it is for individuals to make a play for higher honours.

Someone like Jude Postlethwaite, partnered in the centre by the returning Stuart McCloskey, should be licking his lips at the prospect. Opposite him in the Leinster midfield is none other than All Black superstar Rieko Ioane.

Impress in those surrounds and Postlethwaite will be next to impossible to ignore.

It should all add up to the sort of intense derby that puts much of the first fortnight of Champions Cup fare in the shade. For Leinster, it’s just the first of three interpros that, together, amounts to a tougher-looking challenge than recent derby blocks.

Ulster are clearly on the up, Munster are Munster and already have a win over Leinster in the bag from October, while Stuart Lancaster’s Connacht project, while not at full steam, is showing signs of progression under the highly-regarded Englishman.

“This stretch of games is definitely harder,” said James Lowe. “You'd be ignorant to say we don't walk around with targets on our back every single weekend. Teams are looking at a calendar and they want to know what they're made of.

“They target Leinster no matter what side Leinster puts out. If you knock them over, whether it's during the Six Nations and the internationals aren't here, whether the boys just came back from the Six Nations, you want to knock them over.

“And look, teams are getting better. They're chasing us down. We're sitting in what, sixth at the moment. Went away to South Africa, didn't come back with any points. Maybe came back with one point. Blood's in the water and people want to come after us.

“It's nothing new to us.” 

LEINSTER: C Frawley, J Kenny, R Ioane, C Tector, J Lowe, S Prendergast, L McGrath; J Boyle, G McCarthy, R Slimani, B Deeny, J Ryan, A Soroka, S Penny, J Conan.

Replacements: D Sheehan, P McCarthy, T Furlong, J McCarthy, M Deegan, F Gunne, H Byrne, R Moloney.

ULSTER: J Stockdale, R Baloucoune, J Postlethwaite, S McCloskey, W Kok, J Murphy, N Doak; A Bell, T Stewart, T O'Toole, H Sheridan, C Irvine, D McCann, N Timoney (C), J Augustus.

Replacements: J Andrew, S Crean, S Wilson, J Hopes, B Ward, C McKee, J Flannery, E McIlroy.

Referee: A Brace (IRFU).