NEXT WEEKEND’S GUINNESS Pro12 semi-final at the RDS will feature several interesting match-ups, but many eyes will be on how Garry Ringrose goes against the Scarlets’ Jonathan Davies.
The Leinster midfielder was among the unlucky players to narrowly miss out on making Warren Gatland’s 41-man Lions squad, with Davies set to travel as one of the centre options.
Ringrose and Davies are quite different players, particularly in a physical sense, and it makes their clash in the semi-final on 19 May all the more appealing.
“They are both really exciting players,” says Isa Nacewa. “I have the luxury of playing with Garry. When you get to the semi-finals, there are always key match-ups in the game.
“They are two guys who thrive on big match-ups. For Garry, he takes everything in his stride. He tries to be better week-in, week-out.
“He will see it as another opportunity to, hopefully, get his game better. He really thrives on coming up against hard opposition, he genuinely does. He likes testing himself. It’s going to be a really good battle.”
Leinster have a crop of five Lions in their ranks, with Sean O’Brien hopefully returning from injury for the semi-final to join Johnny Sexton, Tadhg Furlong, Jack McGrath and Robbie Henshaw, who should also be fit after a recent rib injury.
But the Scarlets have a trio of Lions too, with Davies joined by captain Ken Owens and the fiery Liam Williams.
“It will be strange,” says Owens about facing off against future Lions team-mates next weekend. “It is one thing I am looking forward to. You play against these guys and socialise with them briefly after the game.
“I am looking forward to meeting new people, learning off them and enjoying their company, learning from players and obviously different coaches. That is the beauty of the Lions.”
Ireland’s Conor Murray has already picked out Scarlets wing/fullback Williams as one of the players he is most looking forward to playing with on the Lions tour, although Williams is likely to be getting in Leinster faces in typical fashion during the semi-final.
Williams is never afraid of exchanging words with the opposition and often plays on the borderline, but he is well respected by many of his fellow pros.
“Liam Williams is a class player, real class,” says Nacewa. “We’ve had some good battles against him, even in my time prior to going back to New Zealand.
“He has just gone from strength to strength in the last three seasons in particular. He probably carries the ball harder than any other player, or in the top-five players I know of. He is very, very good in the air, likes to dominate the aerial battle.
“He is fearless on defence and he has always been that way. He’s just gone up a gear. He deserves absolutely every accolade he gets. The fact he is in the Lions is a good sign of what kind of player he is.”
Clearly, the Scarlets have some quality in their ranks, with Irish lock Tadhg Beirne among their best players this season, but Leinster will still be favourites for the semi-final tie.
With Stuart Lancaster making a big impact on the province’s attack – they’ve scored 91 tries in the Pro12 so far this season – they have been difficult to stop at times, as the Scarlets learned when getting hammered 45-9 at the RDS last month.
Having lost their Champions Cup semi-final to Clermont last month, Nacewa and Leinster are more determined than ever to go on and win their first Pro12 title since 2014.
“It is pretty tough standing on the halfway line in Lyon in a huddle, knowing that you’ve just fallen short of making it to the final,” says Nacewa of that European defeat.
“I think I’ve found it worse losing in a semi-final than a final, but it was a pretty tight huddle out there. We had to take learnings from that game to really kick on.
“The guys that played that game, and even the guys that didn’t, will have been hurting. Hopefully, we have all taken learnings from that because we don’t want that feeling again.”
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