URC: Leinster v Ospreys, Aviva Stadium, Saturday, 5.15pm – Live on TG4 & Premier Sports 1
A statement team seven days out from a Champions Cup final date with Bordeaux-Bègles, although Leinster head coach Leo Cullen firmly fixated on Ospreys.
Alex Usanov has made a remarkable recovery from ankle surgery in mid-April, Tadhg Furlong is also back from an injury spell, as well as James Lowe, who hasn’t played since January. He stands just one try short on 68 of Shane Horgan’s record for the province. All three start on the bench.
Jordan Lamour, another long-term absentee, starts on the left wing. Robbie Henshaw is happily recovered after being knocked out in the win over Toulon, while Jack Conan, who leads the team, has recovered from a knee issue.
All of which is a welcome fillip for Cullen. “Having that fresh energy in the group, it’s amazing,” he said. “The group is competitive. They know they’re spots up for grabs for what’s beyond this. You want all your big players playing at this stage of the season, humming and playing well.
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“We just need to show proper quality. It’s similar to the way you go into a training session. Players can’t be worried about (picking up an injury), they just need to go out and focus on delivering their best performance. That’s all they need to worry about.
“It’s not something we had to address in any large detail this weekend, or for this week. Guys are well prepared. They need to play well. You want players in form going into knockout games, don’t you? That’s the game that we play. It’s making sure we push on. We’re very professional in everything that we do.”
There’s no getting away from the fact the game has the bang of an audition to it. There will be several tight calls in deciding on the matchday 23 that will be chosen to try to bridge an eight-year gap in the Champions Cup decider.
Jimmy O’Brien, who had a fine game in last week’s win against the Lions, switches to fullback, Harry Byrne returns at outhalf, aware that he needs to bring impeccable game management to complement his other qualities.
After orchestrating Leinster’s try blitz during the final quarter against the Lions, Ciarán Frawley is making it very difficult for him to be overlooked for the trip to Bilbao. Hugo Keenan, Jamie Osborne and Rieko Ioane would all expect to be on the plane, so there is an inherent pressure to shine here in Dublin.
Everyone is grappling for a jersey. A penny for the thoughts of Diarmuid Mangan, Fintan Gunne, James Culhane, Lowe, Larmour and Usanov; you could add others into the mix.
There is no careful mode that players can turn on, no room to be absent-minded, distracted or risk-averse when it comes to injury. There is too much quality in the squad not to be at their best or suffer the consequences. That should be reflected in this performance.
LEINSTER: J O’Brien; T O’Brien, G Ringrose, R Henshaw, J Larmour; H Byrne, J Gibson-Park; J Cahir, G McCarthy, R Slimani; J McCarthy, D Mangan; J Conan (capt), J van der Flier, J Culhane. Replacements: R Kelleher, A Usanov, T Furlong, M Deegan, C Doris, F Gunne, C Frawley, J Lowe.
OSPREYS: J Walsh, K Giles, E Boshoff, O Watkin, I Hopkins, D Edwards, R Morgan-Williams, G Phillips, E Daniel, B Warren, R Davies, H Sutton, J Ratti, J Morgan (capt), R Moriarty. Replacements: L Lloyd, C Jones, K Hire, B Roberts, H Deaves, K Hardy, P Cokanasiga, L Morgan.
Referee: R Campbell (SCO).
