LEINSTER WILL HAVE plenty of heavy artillery in their arsenal for Saturday night’s RaboDirect Pro12 battle against Munster in Thomond Park.
Captain Leo Cullen and Brian O’Driscoll are both available for selection after making their long-awaited return from injury without any setbacks in Friday’s 23-22 defeat against the Ospreys.
Cullen played the full 80 minutes in his first appearance since undergoing Achilles surgery two months ago, while O’Driscoll was eased back to action following a four-month absence with a neck/shoulder injury, and played almost an hour before he was replaced in midfield by Eoin O’Malley.
Coach Joe Schmidt will also be able to call upon the full complement of his Irish internationals with Gordon D’Arcy, Cian Healy, Jamie Heaslip, Rob Kearney, Sean O’Brien, Eoin Reddan, Mike Ross and Jonathan Sexton all due to return to the province this week.
Winger David Kearney, who required stitches to close a cut above his eye during the final quarter of the Ospreys game, will also be available for selection, but Leinster are holding off on making decisions about the fitness of props Nathan White and Jamie Hagan.
White has a bruised cheek and will continue to be monitored before a final decision is taken on Friday. Hagan came in to replace him at tight-head, but was forced off himself with a rib injury in the second half. Leinster confirmed this morning that he has damaged his rib cartilage and is a doubt for the trip to Limerick.
