Leinster’s coach, Leo Cullen, is fully aware there’s no room for error in order to secure the top seed position in the URC’s knock-out stage. After suffering losses to the Lions and Stormers in South Africa, Leinster fell to the second place in the URC league, trailing the leading Glasgow Warriors by four points. Glasgow Warriors are set to play against the Bulls in Pretoria on Saturday afternoon, while Leinster lock horns with Ospreys at RDS at 7.35pm, with the match airing live on TG4 and Premier Sports.
Leinster is keen to enhance their league position, with only the South African team and Munster within a close range of the top two spots. Following their Champions Cup semi-final triumph over Northampton, the team is riding high on confidence, as shared by Leinster’s coaching team member, Emmet Farrell.
Only five alterations have been made to the squad that took down the Saints at Croke Park. Jimmy O’Brien, previously a substitute, will occupy the left wing, and Luke McGrath has been chosen as the scrumhalf – the pair make up the changes for the backline. Rónan Kelleher, the hooker, and the second-row Jason Jenkins are now in the starting lineup from last week’s substitutes, and Will Connors comes back as the openside flanker. Dan Sheehan, Josh van der Flier, and Jamison Gibson-Park are now reserves.
The prop roles will be filled by Michael Milne and Thomas Clarkson. Ryan Baird will assume position at the second row. Jack Conan, previously impressive as a substitute in the last quarter against Northampton, is now one of the spare backrow players. Meanwhile, the returning Charlie Ngatai and Tommy O’Brien, recovered from a hamstring injury suffered in February, will offer backup in the backline.
Garry Ringrose (shoulder) and Hugo Keenan (hip) are once more absent, having been anticipated to line up for the Saints match. Coach Cullen is eager for their involvement in next week’s game, should they hope to be considered for the upcoming Champions Cup final. This match will take place against Toulouse at Tottenham Hotspur’s stadium, a week on Saturday.
The Ospreys have put forward a formidable team, with a number of Welsh internationals making a return. After spending half the year recovering from a knee operation, Flanker Jac Morgan has made it back to the matchday lineup. However, another international forward, Adam Beard, has sustained an ankle injury, laying his season to waste and potentially taking him out of Australia’s summer tour.
Dewi Lake, the hooker who co-captained Wales alongside Morgan during the World Cup is finally starting again since January, having fully recovered from a hamstring injury. Centre players Keiran Williams and Owen Watkin are both impressively powerful, and Keelan Giles boasts remarkable speed.
Commands are led by Justin Tipuric, who is part of a backrow featuring the skilled young Harri Deaves and Morgan Morris; the latter being notably hard to halt as number eight.
Ospreys’ coach Toby Booth shared his thoughts: “Our performance this year took many by surprise, proving that success is always possible. That’s the charm of sports. From the recent Champions League events, we’ve seen how Borussia Dortmund surpassed expectations and are now in the finals.”
He spoke of Leinster as a “juggernaut”, further explaining, “Their 60-strong player base is uniformly remarkable, and it doesn’t matter the person wearing the jersey. They have the advantage of selection diversity, something others might not necessarily possess. That’s the power of having a deep pocket and a rich squad. No point in moaning about it. It’s simply the reality of the situation.”
Booth acknowledged the difficulty of matching such a power player as Leinster in the URC, noting their high stakes in the game and their strong team formation. To have a shot at making the playoffs, Booth’s squad realistically needs to win at least two of their last three matches – the Dragons and Cardiff being the other Welsh derby contenders.
Numerous Leinster team members are keen on proving to Cullen that they are worth being included in the prime events wrapping the season. This struggle will resume on Saturday night at RDS, with everyone cognisant of the limited opportunities available, and acknowledging that the success of the dual quest by Leinster rests on the consistency of their weekly performances going forward: a 23-point favourite status might seem disproportionately large but it may not be if they get off the blocks quickly.
The players list for Leinster include: C Frawley, J Larmour, J Osborne, R Henshaw, J O’Brien; R Byrne, L McGrath; A Porter, R Kelleher, T Furlong; R Molony, J Jenkins; R Baird, W Connors, C Doris (Captain).
Substitutes: D Sheehan, M Milne, T Clarkson, J Conan, J Van der Flier, J Gibson-Park, C Ngatai, T O’Brien.
Opposing them from the Ospreys side is: M Nagy; L Morgan, Ó Watkin, K Williams, K Giles; D Edwards, R Morgan-Williams; N Smith, D Lake, R Henry; J Ratti, H Sutton; H Deaves, J Tipuric (Captain), M Morris.
Reserves: S Parry, G Thomas, T Botha, V Sekekete, J Morgan, L Davies, J Walsh, E Boshoff.
The event will be overseen by referee: S Grove-White from Scotland.