Leinster Ready To Resume League Challenge
The Leinster squad trained at UCD on Monday afternoon ahead of their Magners League clash with Aironi Rugby at the RDS on Thursday (kick-off 7.05pm).
Thursday night’s game is the first ever encounter between the two teams since the Italian side’s entry into the Magners League this season.
Leinster look set to welcome back several players who were involved in the O2 Ireland Wolfhounds’ victory over England last weekend, such as Isaac Boss, David Kearney, Eoin O’Malley and Dominic Ryan.
There is also the possibility of one or two other players being released from the larger Ireland squad, such as Devin Toner and/or Kevin McLaughlin.
Though the province will be without their Ireland internationals, Isa Nacewa, whose 113 points has him fourth in the current Magners League’s top points scorers list, is available for selection alongside the likes of Richardt Strauss and Springbok prop Heinke van der Merwe.
van der Merwe was a replacement in Leinster’s most recent game, the 36-11 victory away to Racing Métro 92 in the Heineken Cup.
In addition, several players who featured in the recent British & Irish Cup victories over Worcester Warriors and Currie could be in contention.
Andrew Conway, who has scored six tries in this season’s British & Irish Cup, is in the mix after featuring in the Ireland Under-20s’ victory in Italy last weekend.
Stan Wright (Achilles) continues his rehabilitation and the medical team are pleased with his progress and are hopeful that he will be in line to return to action in the coming weeks.
Tickets for Thursday’s game have passed the 14,000 mark and are on sale now online from www.leinsterrugby.ie, and at Spar (Donnybrook), the Leinster Rugby Store (Donnybrook) and Ticketmaster outlets nationwide.
Meanwhile, following the pre-sale for Leinster Season Ticket Holders and the initial public sale on Monday morning, all tickets for Leinster’s Heineken Cup quarter-final against Leicester Tigers at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, April 9 have now been sold.