LEINSTER have named their squad to face Munster next Friday night at Thomond Park and it includes Irish internationals, Gordon D’Arcy, Cian Healy, Jamie Heaslip and Rob Kearney. In all, the Leinster squad has 12 internationals returning from the RBS Six Nations Championship which also includes Isa Nacewa, CJ van der Linde and Stan Wright.
Alan Gaffney, Leinster’s consultant coach said, “Munster played some excellent rugby at times in their win over a Glasgow side last weekend that included a significant number of the players who defeated Ireland the previous week. So that result was no mean feat.
“We know how strong Munster are, right across the paddock. The traditions of (them) having a strong pack are well documented, but they also have a real cutting edge in their backline, irrespective of the various combinations that they go with. Be it Tomas O’Leary or Peter Stronger, ROG (Ronan O’Gara) or (Paul) Warwick, Lifeimi Mafi and Jean de Villiers and then with Keith Earls and the rest of their back three in such good form, they will pose a real attacking threat.
“Their wingers work hard off the ball and they have a lot of power and abrasiveness up front. So these are areas that we will need to be vigilant about this week.
“Leinster-Munster games are regarded as some of the biggest games of the season. While there may be a perception that both sides may have one eye on the Heineken Cup quarter finals next week, our main focus is on what happens in Limerick on Friday night. Whenever these two sides go head to head one thing you can guarantee is that neither sets of players will hold back.
“We have great respect for what the supporters give us and to know that there are going to several thousand Leinster supporters travelling down to Munster this weekend is absolutely fantastic. It’s a tough time financially to be a supporter and the players never take that for granted. Maybe we wouldn’t have seen those kind of numbers a few years ago, but the players revel in that kind of commitment because they know that in these tough economic times things aren’t easy and every time they pull on a blue shirt they want to repay that.
“There’s a hardcore following who would follow the team to the ends of the earth, it seems, and that gives the players, coaches and everyone involved in the organisation a massive fillip.”
Over 4,000 fans are expected to travel to the sell-out game from Leinster on Friday night.
Leinster squad to face Munster…
FORWARDS: Leo Cullen, John Fogarty, Cian Healy, Jamie Heaslip, Nathan Hines, Bernard Jackman, Shane Jennings, Stephen Keogh, Malcolm O’Kelly, Mike Ross, Rhys Ruddock, Paul Ryan, Devin Toner, CJ van der Linde, Stan Wright
BACKS: Shaun Berne, Andrew Conway, Gordon D’Arcy, Girvan Dempsey, Rob Kearney, Simon Keogh, Fergus McFadden, Isa Nacewa, Paul O’Donohoe, Eoin O’Malley, Eoin Reddan, Jonathan Sexton
REFEREE: Andrew Small (RFU), ASSISTANT REFEREES: Colin Stanley (IRFU), Richard Kerr (IRFU), TMO: Brian Fitzgerald (IRFU)
