LEINSTER’S SELECTION PICTURE for Saturday’s Heineken Champions Cup final against Saracens is already taking shape early in the week, with Leo Cullen hopeful of fielding an unchanged team for the St James’ Park showdown.
Seán Cronin has stepped up his recovery from the calf injury he sustained in the semi-final victory over Toulouse and is expected to prove his fitness before Friday’s team announcement, providing the defending champions with a further boost.
Having had three weeks to rehab the injury, the Ireland hooker will be managed carefully in the coming days as Leinster gear up for the biggest game of their season, with a record fifth European crown on the line this weekend.
With Rhys Ruddock back fit and healthy after pulling out of Toulouse following a concussion, and replacement tighthead Andrew Porter also in contention again after a pectoral muscle problem, Leinster are in good shape heading to Newcastle for their seismic showdown against Sarries.
While Jamison Gibson-Park is still struggling with a hamstring injury, the Kiwi’s expected absence means Cullen and Stuart Lancaster can again deploy James Lowe and Scott Fardy in their starting XV.
Both players had outstanding games against Toulouse at the Aviva Stadium and, just like he did in Bilbao 12 months ago, Fardy is set to start at blindside with the fit-again Ruddock providing the cover on the bench alongside one of Max Deegan and Caelan Doris.
In that scenario, Leinster will turn to 21-year-old Hugh O’Sullivan as the replacement scrum-half again after the academy nine came off the bench for the final two minutes in the semi-final.
The former Belvedere College man has made 14 first-team appearances this season, two of which have been starts, but his two previous European appearances — against Wasps in January and more recently Toulouse — have amounted to just eight second-half minutes.
But Lancaster is confident in O’Sullivan’s ability and has backed the scrum-half to perform on the biggest stage in European club rugby.
“He came off the bench in the Toulouse game,” the Leinster senior coach says.
“He’s a confident young man and that’s what you need in a scrum-half, I’m delighted for him the progress he has made this year.
“He’s got the full confidence of the squad. He’d be more apprehensive if he hadn’t done the work in training but he’s been in there right from the very start, so he’s good to go.”
A place on the bench for the Champions Cup final would be the latest, and most significant, marker in O’Sullivan’s remarkable rise, given he only made his senior debut at the start of this season.
The Trinity College student, who won two Senior Cup titles with Belvedere, has impressed the Leinster coaching staff with his rugby intelligence, appetite to work hard and learn and a level of maturity beyond his relative inexperience.
An energetic character on the field, O’Sullivan has looked to specialise in the nine jersey since entering the Leinster set-up having played fullback in school and his strong playmaking abilities, footballing skills, as well as a penchant for a snipe-try, are all attributes that have stood out during his 14 caps in blue so far.
“Hughie has built up a huge amount of experience so far this year and he’s getting better all the time,” Cullen said last month. “He leads the group well and gives really good direction.”
Another player who brings an infectious energy to the group is Lowe, and having been a real point of difference in the semi-final defeat of Toulouse, the Kiwi winger is set to get his chance on the big occasion after sitting out last year’s final against Racing 92.
Despite enduring a frustrating and fractured second half of the season since his inter-pro dismissal at Thomond Park, Lowe has scored 10 tries this term, four of which have come in the Champions Cup.
Although Fergus McFadden is now suspended and Adam Byrne ruled out through injury, Leinster also have Dave Kearney pushing for involvement after he has hit a fine run of form and fitness in recent months.
“Yeah, we’re fortunate, we’re blessed with a lot of options on the wing,” Lancaster continues.
Dave Kearney was very unlucky to miss out against Toulouse. I thought James was outstanding in that game. Obviously, he’s got point of differences as an attacking player but he’s very on point defensively which is obviously a big part of the game as well.
“If the Jack Conan collision after half-time [didn't happen] and then James dropping the ball over the line, he would have ended up with three tries in that game, wouldn’t he? But the most pleasing thing about the Toulouse game was obviously not to concede any tries and James Lowe was a big part of that.”
You expect him to play a big part again on Saturday.
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