EVERYTHING IS GEARING towards the serious business to come, this off-Broadway Pro14 fixture serving only as the starter for next week, but as a standalone game, the meeting of Leinster and Benetton Treviso [KO 7.35pm, TG4] provides plenty of stimulating subplots.
The presence of the returning Sean O’Brien and Jordan Larmour on the home team-sheet furnishes the contest with an interesting backdrop, as does a first start of the season at out-half for Joey Carbery.
If O’Brien, in particular, can come through this evening unscathed he will provide Leo Cullen with a major fillip heading into Scarlets in seven days, while several others have the opportunity to stake their claim for selection for the Champions Cup semi-final.
This game also carries significance in the context of Leinster’s two-pronged title tilt, with a 14th victory home victory this season acting as a big stepping stone towards a sought-after home Pro14 semi-final, and, importantly, a week off before a potential Champions Cup final.
Cullen has given six of his key players — namely Johnny Sexton, Garry Ringrose, James Ryan, Scott Fardy, Rob Kearney and Isa Nacewa — another week to rest up and wrap themselves in cotton wool before Scarlets, as the Leinster coaching staff look to manage their resources while competing on two fronts.
This two-game block against Italian opposition has helped in that regard, as Cullen has been afforded the luxury of delving deeper into the province’s unequalled reservoir of talent without any concern that it will impede his side’s winning momentum.
“There are certain players you need to manage over the course of a season,” the head coach says. “So if you think of the top Irish internationals, the commitments there, potentially three games in November, five in the Six Nations, plus a tour maybe, which is 11 games, then we’re aiming for nine European games, so that’s 20, and the playoffs brings it up to 22.
“One of the things for the Pro14, is for us, during that Six Nations break, we could have 14-15 players out, but there are still valuable points up for grabs there, and we need to be sure we can pick up points. That’s something we need to work on here, with guys away, we need to be sure others can step right in.
“Players have been good at that, so from building depth and managing guys it’s very important. We want it to be attractive for top players to play here, so they understand that we’ll take care of them well.”
Leinster appear to have struck the right balance over the last fortnight, and Cullen’s team for Benetton is an exciting blend of youth and experience, the likes of Larmour and Carbery providing a real threat while a pack including Jack McGrath, Andrew Porter, Jordi Murphy and O’Brien will look to produce the platform for the backs to weave their magic.
The stakes are high at this juncture of the season, and there are plenty of players in that matchday squad desperate to grasp their opportunity with both hands. That in itself should drive performances and ensure the off-kilter showing against Zebre last weekend will not be repeated again.
The presence of Carbery in the 10 jersey promises a lot, too, and certainly the fans who arrive at the RDS this evening will do so with a level of expectancy, the 22-year-old’s attacking brilliance a piquant talking point.
For Cullen, the key for Carbery — starved of crucial minutes this term — is to complement his classy playmaking ability with game management in big moments throughout the course of the 80 minutes.
“He is such a naturally talented footballer, Joey,” Cullen continued. “It’s that balance between managing the game and putting his own creative stamp on the game.
“Just go out and enjoy doing what he does, that’s the big thing for us. There’s enough support around him. Noel gives good voice outside him and Rory [O'Loughlin] as well.
“Hopefully, the forwards can deliver them a good platform which makes their life a lot easier.
“He has had some really tight situations he’s coming into as well, even the Saracens game, that last 15 minutes when he was on the field. That is something he’s getting better and better at all the time.
“It is just time out there on the field will make him better. Then, there is also the natural footballer side of his game. I’m looking forward to seeing Joey. He has trained well this week. We hope he goes well.”
McGrath, who captains Leinster for the third time this evening, is looking forward to playing with Carbery in the pivot position.
“Each of them [the Leinster out-halfs] have their own strengths and Joey’s flair has been well documented,” the prop says. “It’s exciting because I don’t think I have played with Joey a whole lot when he has been out-half. It will be interesting having those conversations with him. He’s a little bit younger than me so it is trying to catch him.
“For a guy who is 22 he has a good head on his shoulders, he knows what he has to do. Like Leo was saying, he’s sharp — he knows the game and understands what he has to do. Most things don’t faze him which is a credit to him.”
The same can be said about Larmour, who returns from a leg injury which has kept him out since Ireland’s Grand Slam win in London on St Patrick’s weekend. A strong performance on what will be the 17th appearance of a remarkable breakthrough season will see him come back into contention for Scarlets.
His return to the fullback jersey has allowed Carbery to start at 10 ahead of Ross Byrne, who endured a difficult day off the tee against Zebre.
“One of his incredible strengths is the work he gets through off the ball, which means he gets a lot of touches,” Cullen says of Larmour. “You constantly see with Jordan in training the bits he can do. A lot of his threat comes from very unstructured scenarios.
“When we pressurise kicks it allows him to receive kicks on his terms. That is some of the stuff other players can do for him. He has got a fair bit of licence to roam and certainly from 15 he will get plenty of touches on the ball.”
And as for O’Brien, tonight gives him the chance to get crucial minutes under his belt after a frustrating, injury-plagued season which has seen him play just 303 minutes in blue and miss the entire Six Nations campaign. Expect him to hit the ground running again.
“For him, it is just the presence that he brings,” Cullen adds. “He is a great voice in the dressing-room. He is a great voice defensively in the line because he’s so strong in around that ruck area.
“He gives us really strong defensive presence. Then, on the other side of the game, it is just the intent with which he carries and his presence in all the physical components of the game.
“Hopefully, we’ll see plenty of that.”
And that leads to the question of whether he’ll come straight back in for Scarlets if the flanker proves his fitness against Benetton?
Cullen smiles: “Em, it’s very hard. We’re very much focused on Treviso at this stage, and depending on what happens in this game we can make some assessments for the following week.
“We’re excited to see what this group can do together, they’ve had a good week’s prep together which has been positive because a lot of them came in fresh on Monday this week.
“A lot of them didn’t play last week, there are a couple of guys that have been involved last week but a number of them are coming in fresh so we’re excited to see what they can do.”
Opportunity knocks.
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