WITH ONE EYE on next weekend’s Heineken Cup showdown against Ulster, Leinster have decided not to risk star duo Brian O’Driscoll and Rob Kearney for tomorrow’s RaboDirect Pro12 semi-final.
O’Driscoll (knee) and Kearney (back) both picked up “niggles” in training this week and have been left out of Joe Schmidt’s matchday squad to face the Glasgow Warriors in the RDS.
Both players will be assessed by the province’s medical team over the coming days.
Kearney’s absence sees Isa Nacewa revert to full-back on his 100th Leinster appearance, with Fergus McFadden and David Kearney filling out the back three.
Eoin O’Malley deputises for O’Driscoll alongside Gordon D’Arcy in midfield behind the half-back pairing of Eoin Reddan and Jonny Sexton. Skipper Leo Cullen is named among the replacements, so Jamie Heaslip captains the side from number eight.
Glasgow head coach Sean Lineen has made five changes to the Glasgow Warriors side which saw off Connacht in the last-ever match at Firhill six days ago.
Chris Cusiter replaces Henry Pyrgos at scrum-half while Ryan Grant, Pat MacArthur, Mike Cusack and captain Alistair Kellock all return to the front five.
“The players have trained really well all week,” Lineen told the team’s official website. “There’s an obvious hunger and determination there which stands us in good stead. We’re all well aware of just how tough a match this is going to be, but we’re focussing on ourselves and what we have to do to win.
“We’ve shown character, ability and tenacity to get ourselves into the semi-finals. The challenge now is to bring out those qualities in even bigger quantities to beat the best team in Europe.”
Leinster: Nacewa; McFadden, O’Malley, D’Arcy, Kearney; Sexton, Reddan; Healy, Strauss, Ross; Thorn, Toner; O’Brien, Jennings, Heaslip (c). Replacements: Cronin, van der Merwe, White, Cullen, McLaughlin, Boss, Madigan, Conway.
Glasgow: Hogg; Aramburu, Dunbar, Morrison, van der Merwe; Weir, Cusiter; Grant, MacArthur, Cusack; Gray, Kellock (c); Harley, Fusaro, Barclay. Replacements: Hall, Welsh, Low, Ryder, Pyrgos, Beattie, Jackson, Murchie.
