WHEN PUSH CAME to shove in the awful weather on St Stephen’s Day in Limerick, the Leinster forwards had just a little too much grunt for Munster to match.
Sure, the home pack at Thomond Park had some big scrum moments, some gritty maul defence, and plenty of dogged work in the trenches, but Leinster’s muscle told as their starters up front were helped by an impactful bench.
And so the question for Ulster this evening at the RDS [KO 5.15pm, RTÉ/Premier Sports] is whether their forwards can front up in what could be another dogged inter-provincial encounter.
It remains to be seen if the rain arrives as the forecast suggests is likely but whether it’s wet or not, Ulster’s forwards will need to deliver a powerful performance if Dan McFarland’s side are to build on the wins over Racing 92 and Connacht that allowed them to enjoy Christmas.
Leinster boss Leo Cullen has made 14 changes to his team after the victory in Munster, but that certainly doesn’t mean he’s sending out a weak side. The experienced Cian Healy and hooker Dan Sheehan, possibly the best in the world in his position, are joined in the front row by tighthead Thomas Clarkson, who is benefiting from plenty of exposure this season but now faces a major test. The 23-year-old will scrummage against back-to-back World Cup winner Steven Kitshoff at the RDS.
James Ryan returns to lead Leinster from the second row and doesn’t have co-captain Garry Ringrose with him on the pitch, so there’s no way referee Frank Murphy can get away from chatting to Ryan, as two refs have chosen to do when Ringrose has been around recently.
Jason Jenkins offers plenty of grunt alongside Ryan, while the back row blend of Ryan Baird, Will Connors, and Caelan Doris looks nicely balanced. Up against an Ulster trio of Matty Rea, Sean Reffell, and Nick Timoney, Leinster boss Cullen will hope that back row can be dominant.
Ulster’s leaders like captain Iain Henderson and hooker Rob Herring will need to be prominent, while this would be an ideal time for tighthead prop Tom O’Toole to produce a statement performance against lots of his international team-mates.
The worrying thing for Ulster is that Leinster have serious forward firepower to call on from their 6/2 bench split, with Ireland internationals Joe McCarthy, Jack Conan, and Josh van der Flier joined by Samoa tighthead Michael Ala’alatoa and the dynamic duo of hooker Lee Barron and emerging loosehead prop Jack Boyle.
Ulster should get some pop off the bench themselves from hooker Tom Stewart, promising tighthead Scott Wilson, and the experienced back row Dave Ewers.
Among those hoping that Leinster’s forwards get the edge is their out-half Sam Prendergast, the 20-year-old starting an inter-provincial game for the first time. There’s no doubting his talent and it’s useful to have the influential Jamison Gibson-Park at scrum-half and Robbie Henshaw at number 12, meaning plenty of nous around him.
Ulster’s backline is an impressive one, with the reinvigorated John Cooney hoping to get clean, quick ball to out-half Billy Burns so he can unleash the likes of Stuart McCloskey, Rob Baloucoune, and Jacob Stockdale. Give them front-foot ball and they will do real damage.
Whether the Ulster pack can deliver enough of that may well be the deciding of this game as Leinster look to strengthen their grip on the top of the URC table.
Leinster:
- 15. Jimmy O’Brien
- 14. Tommy O’Brien
- 13. Liam Turner
- 12. Robbie Henshaw
- 11. Rob Russell
- 10. Sam Prendergast
- 9. Jamison Gibson-Park
- 1. Cian Healy
- 2. Dan Sheehan
- 3. Thomas Clarkson
- 4. Jason Jenkins
- 5. James Ryan (captain)
- 6. Ryan Baird
- 7. Will Connors
- 8. Caelan Doris
Replacements:
- 16. Lee Barron
- 17. Jack Boyle
- 18. Michael Ala’alatoa
- 19. Joe McCarthy
- 20. Jack Conan
- 21. Luke McGrath
- 22. Harry Byrne
- 23. Josh van der Flier
Ulster:
- 15. Will Addison
- 14. Rob Baloucoune
- 13. Luke Marshall
- 12. Stuart McCloskey
- 11. Jacob Stockdale
- 10. Billy Burns
- 9. John Cooney
- 1. Steven Kitshoff
- 2. Rob Herring
- 3. Tom O’Toole
- 4. Kieran Treadwell
- 5. Iain Henderson
- 6. Matty Rea
- 7. Sean Reffell
- 8. Nick Timoney
Replacements:
- 16. Tom Stewart
- 17. Andy Warwick
- 18. Scott Wilson
- 19. Alan O’Connor
- 20. Dave Ewers
- 21. Nathan Doak
- 22. Mike Lowry
- 23. Jude Postlethwaite
Referee: Frank Murphy [IRFU].
