LEINSTER’S DESTINY ISN’T completely in their own hands but the high-flying Irish province know what they’re aiming for today against Bath at the Aviva Stadium in their final Pool 2 game [KO 5.30 pm, RTÉ/Premier Sports].

Leo Cullen’s men will be going all-out for a bonus-point win against the Premiership leaders as they look for a top-two seeding for the knock-out rounds which would ensure a home Round of 16 tie, a home quarter-final, and a home semi-final if Leinster go that deep into the competition.

Whether or not Leinster achieve their aim of five match points this evening, they will have to wait until the very last game of the pool stages – Toulon’s visit to Sale tomorrow evening at 5.30pm – to know exactly what lies ahead for them.

And yet, the likelihood is that a convincing bonus-point win today would be enough to send Leinster into the knock-outs with a highly advantageous top-two seeding.

“We obviously know we want to finish as high up as we can in the seedings,” said second row James Ryan this week. “Bordeaux are top at the moment but at the same time, if you start looking at the permutations, points and so on, you can get sidetracked a little bit as players.

“So for us, it’s just making sure we focus on our performance and get the win and let the management worry a little bit about all the permutations because it would just mess with your head a little bit, but it’s something that we’d be aware of in the background.”

To be fair, chasing tries by kicking to touch isn’t anything massively new for Leinster. They did cut their cloth against La Rochelle last weekend in what was a real arm wrestle with the feel of a cup final to it. 

And even while going after four tries, Leinster must respect a Bath team who reinvigorated their Champions Cup hopes with a bonus-point win over Clermont last weekend following defeats to La Rochelle and Benetton.

Bath out-half Finn Russell. Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO

Bath boss Johann van Graan knows Leinster well, having coached against them for nearly five years with Munster.

“I think they’re a well-balanced side,” said Ryan. “They’re strong upfront, they’ve got a good set-piece but also they play a pretty entertaining brand of rugby, they like to throw the ball around.

“Obviously with Finn Russell there, he will back himself to play. Guys like [Joe] Cokanasiga has got good pace as well in terms of their outside backs. Yeah, they’re a pretty well-balanced team that like to have a crack, like to play, so I’d say very different to La Rochelle. It’s a big challenge defensively to be connected and all over it.”

Bath second row Ross Molony is another man with even greater insight on Leinster, having moved to England from his native province last summer.

Molony had a major influence on Leinster’s lineout and will have been key to the preparation to face Ryan and co. He remains friends with lots of the squad but they haven’t been exchanging messages this week.

“I’d say it’ll be fairly tight-lipped, but he’s going well,” said Ryan.

“It’ll obviously be between himself, Charlie Ewels and Quinn Roux, the three of them.

“By all accounts, he’s loving it over there, he’s really enjoying it. He’s someone who has an understanding of what we do here in terms of lineouts and so on. So we have to be conscious of that.

“You don’t want to change too much, particularly when you’re playing on a Sunday [against La Rochelle] and have to go again on a Saturday. It’s just getting that balance right between introducing too much but also keeping a bit of continuity because you lose a day. We haven’t thrown in a huge amount of change but we have tweaked a few little things here and there.”

Leinster’s six-day turnaround from their win over La Rochelle means they don’t have scope to change too much in their game. There are five changes to the starting XV as fullback Hugo Keenan returns to the blue jersey for the first time since October, while Andrew Porter, Rabah Slimani, captain Jack Conan, and Max Deegan also start.

Hugo Keenan is back for Leinster. Billy Stickland / INPHO Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO

The visit to Stade Marcel Deflandre saw Leinster set a defensive standard they want to maintain and even improve now.

They know their attack can be sharper and needs to be with a bonus point potentially being crucial. Ryan has no worries that Leinster’s massive defensive efforts are sapping them of energy for the attacking side of the game, stressing that they’re more than fit enough to do both effectively.

“There are certainly some bits in terms of our attack that could have been a little bit sharper on,” he said.

“We were a little bit sluggish at times maybe. That was one area we looked that needs to be a little bit better this week.

“I think it’s a mental thing. I think just switching off and losing a moment here or there, and we are not quite loaded then to play our game and to play on top of teams.”

With another good crowd expected at the Aviva, Leinster plan to give their loyal supporters lots to cheer about.

Their knock-out place is already confirmed but this is about positioning themselves best to advance through each stage at home, all the way to the final in Cardiff in May.

LEINSTER: Hugo Keenan; Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw, Jordie Barrett, Jamie Osborne; Sam Prendergast, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Rónan Kelleher, Rabah Slimani; Joe McCarthy, James Ryan; Max Deegan, Josh van der Flier, Jack Conan (captain).

BATH: Tom de Glanville; Joe Cokanasiga, Ollie Lawrence, Max Ojomoh, Ruaridh McConnochie; Finn Russell, Ben Spencer (captain); Beno Obano, Niall Annett, Will Stuart; Quinn Roux, Ross Molony; Ted Hill, Miles Reid, Alfie Barbeary.

Referee: Luc Ramos [France].