With Josh van der Flier struggling with injury this week, Scott Penny has reason to believe he will be employed in Belfast on Friday night against Ulster (kick-off 7.45pm). The flanker had a 30-minute run against Sale in last weekend’s Champions Cup match, when Van der Flier departed injured.
“You want to have a big impact in a game, but also you don’t want to come in and be all hot-headed – give away penalties, make mistakes,” says Penny.
“You need to fit in first, but you also want to bring some energy when you come on because obviously the lads had 50, 60 minutes. You need to give them that burst of energy.”
Leinster have yet to fully find their mojo heading into a Champions Cup semi-final – when will it all click?
However, coach Leo Cullen decides to configure Leinster, Penny knows what strengths Ulster bring to a Friday night match in Belfast with the end of the season in sight.
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In advance of Leinster on the URC table, the vocal crowd and sense that Leinster have not yet this season consistently been the sum of their parts, lends hope to the home side.
The Ulster backrow is also an area of strength for them that Penny expects to be aggressively disputed. As well as Van der Flier, Caelan Doris is also struggling, while Ryan Baird is unavailable this week.
“They have great [backrows]. Obviously [Juarno] Augustus has been a good signing for them,” he says. “They’ve Bryn Ward coming through, Cormac [Izuchukwu], Nick Timoney, David McCann. They’ve loads of quality backrows and they’ve obviously all gotten better as the years have come on.
“Going up to Ulster, it’s always a close game. They’ve had a few wins up there; we’ve had a few wins up there the last few years and it has always been close. It’s going to be a proper interpro derby. It’s going to be heated.”
The 21-year-old Ward was brought into the Irish camp by Andy Farrell before this year’s Six Nations Championship match against Italy on the back of strong performances with Ulster.
He will be hoping for Farrell to notice him again as thoughts turn towards the summer and the Nations Championship. But Penny, who earned his first Leinster cap at 19 and got his 101st against Sale, has his own motivations and before the summer Leinster have a Champions Cup semi-final against Toulon in Dublin.
“Whenever you get a chance, you want to make sure that you’re putting your best foot forward and obviously you can do all you want for selection in terms of performances. Especially in the Champions Cup. It’s the pinnacle of club rugby,” says Penny.
“It’s making sure that you have no regrets when the time comes for these big matches. Make sure you’ve done all you can. If you don’t get picked, you don’t get picked, but at least you’ve put your best foot forward.”
Friday is an opportunity for him to do just that. A Belfast crowd, driving up the intensity and challenge, is perhaps the perfect forum.
♦ Leinster have completed the short-term loan signing of prop Ed Byrne from Cardiff Rugby. Byrne, a familiar face at the province, returns to provide immediate cover and valuable experience to the squad during a demanding period of fixtures. Byrne came through the Leinster Academy and made 102 appearances for the club before his move to Cardiff at the start of last season. He will link up with the squad immediately for the remainder of the current block of fixtures.
