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RUGBY NEWS:LEINSTER UNDER Josef Schmidt is an appreciably different environment to that of the previous coach, Michael Cheika, obvious even for those players in the first flush of exposure to the new management regime. Brian O’Driscoll, Shane Jennings and Jonathan Sexton are currently ensconced in the physical delights of pre-season conditioning but some three to four weeks ahead of their return to competitive fare, there’s already an impatience to be available for selection.

New Zealander Schmidt will begin his reign on Friday night at Donnybrook with a friendly against Wasps. He has named a relatively youthful squad bolstered by a couple of marquee names returning from injury in Luke Fitzgerald and Seán O’Brien, amongst others, but even for those now just training and not playing the coach has already made a positive impression.