Connacht are looking to regain lost ground in the GUINNESS PRO12 when they chase their first win in Dublin since 2002. In the blue corner, another home success would keep Leinster in the play-off zone as the international break approaches.
GUINNESS PRO12: Saturday, October 29
LEINSTER (2nd) v CONNACHT (8th), the RDS, 5.15pm (live Sky Sports 2 HD/highlights TG4)
Team News: There are over 17,000 tickets sold with the last remaining tickets still to be found on leinsterrugby.ie/tickets and also from the ticket office inside the Anglesea Road gate on match day from 3.45pm.
Leinster head coach Leo Cullen has made ten changes to the team that faced Montpellier in the Champions Cup last Sunday. Isa Nacewa is the only back retained by Cullen, with the Fijian international, who scored a try and four successful kicks last weekend, moving from the left wing to take up the full-back position.
Adam Byrne makes his first start of the season on the right wing with fellow UCD clubman Barry Daly making his first Leinster start on the left having already made an appearance off the bench in Cardiff. Daly has scored four tries in two games for the Leinster ‘A’ team over the last two weekends in the British & Irish Cup.
Two former St. Michael’s pupils, Noel Reid and Rory O’Loughlin, come into the centre with Jamison Gibson Park and Joey Carbery, who was included in the Ireland squad this week, forming the half-back pairing.
In the pack there is one change in the front row as Sean Cronin starts at hooker with Cian Healy at loosehead and Mike Ross at tighthead. Mick Kearney starts again in the second row but is joined by Ian Nagle this week.
Finally, in the back row, Sean O’Brien moves from blindside flanker to openside with the number 6 jersey going to the in-form Dan Leavy.
Fit-again number 8 Jack Conan will make his first competitive senior appearance of the season having played with Leinster ‘A’ over the last two weekends. Conan has recovered from an ankle injury picked up in the pre-season game against Gloucester.
UCD’s Ross Byrne is in line to make his first appearance of the season off the bench. The Academy out-half made three appearances for the province last term.
Meanwhile, full-back Tiernan O’Halloran, who missed out last week through injury, returns to Connacht’s starting line-up as one of three personnel changes. Cian Kelleher, the province’s top try scorer so far this season, shifts to the left wing in a pacey back-three completed by Niyi Adeolokun.
In the pack, there are two changes with Dave Heffernan and Conor Carey coming into the front row. 28-year-old lock James Cannon, who signed with the province from Wasps last month, will make his Connacht debut should he feature from the bench.
Commenting on the team selection and the interprovincial encounter, head coach Pat Lam said: “Despite the high number of injuries that we have, we are excited by the challenge and opportunity to be the first Connacht team to win at the RDS. Leinster have started the season extremely well and are sitting top of the table so we understand the difficulty of that challenge.
“Although it has been a short week with the travel back from Italy on Monday, we have mentally prepared very well as we know that a focus on our team roles will give us the best shot at the points on offer.”
The westerners’ list of injured/unavailable players includes Tom McCartney, Denis Buckley, Ronan Loughney, Ivan Soroka, Conan O’Donnell, Saba Meunargia, Ultan Dillane, Ben Marshall, Nepia Fox-Matamua, Eoghan Masterson, John Cooney, Matt Healy, Josh Rowland, Darragh Leader and Ciaran Gaffney.
LEINSTER: Isa Nacewa (capt); Adam Byrne, Rory O’Loughlin, Noel Reid, Barry Daly; Joey Carbery, Jamison Gibson Park; Cian Healy, Sean Cronin, Mike Ross, Mick Kearney, Ian Nagle, Dan Leavy, Sean O’Brien, Jack Conan.
Replacements: James Tracy, Peter Dooley, Michael Bent, Mike McCarthy, Josh van der Flier, Luke McGrath, Ross Byrne, Rob Kearney.
CONNACHT: Tiernan O’Halloran; Niyi Adeolokun, Peter Robb, Craig Ronaldson, Cian Kelleher; Jack Carty, Kieran Marmion; JP Cooney, Dave Heffernan, Conor Carey, Quinn Roux, Andrew Browne, Sean O’Brien, Jake Heenan, John Muldoon (capt).
Replacements: Shane Delahunt, Dominic Robertson-McCoy, Finlay Bealham, James Cannon, Eoin McKeon, Caolin Blade, Bundee Aki, Stacey Ili.
Referee: John Lacey (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Andrew Brace, Jonathan Peak (both Ireland)
Television Match Official: Olly Hodges (Ireland)
Match Odds (Paddy Power): Leinster to win: 4/11; Draw: 19/1; Connacht to win: 23/10
Pre-Match Quotes: Leo Cullen (Leinster) – “Some players are unavailable so changes have to be made. It’s a really big game for us against the PRO12 champions and it is an opportunity for some guys to come in and take their chance.
“If we want to be successful and produce players from the Academy to play for Ireland, we need a competitive squad and we have focused on that in the last couple of seasons. It is tough because you can only pick 15 players every week. The international players have challenges coming up but we have a competitive team out.
“Connacht don’t get affected as we would be and their strength has been that they have a more settled squad. So that puts us at a disadvantage this week but we have pride in the players we produce for Ireland.
“The guys coming in have performed already this season, they are pushing hard and we expect them to give a good account of themselves, a guy like Barry Daly was playing club rugby a few months ago.
“I’d like to have a more positive outcome. We sat off them (Connacht) in the final. We had a 7-6 thriller in Galway when we couldn’t capitalise on territory later on and we were defensively sound apart from their try which was a poor defensive read, when Kieran Marmion took his try well.
“In the final we sat off them and watched them play so we need to be more aggressive in defence as they are a quality team. Their style has been very successful for them. We have made progress in our attacking game and we have improved there so we want to impose our style on other teams.”
Dave Ellis (Connacht) – “It’s been a superb week for Connacht Rugby on and off the field. Two key contract extensions coupled with back-to-back victories in the Champions Cup have created a real feel-good atmosphere in the squad.
“We wanted to be top of our pool after two games in Europe. It was always there, it’s just a matter of belief and putting those little details in. It was part of our overall plan.
“It would mean a lot to me personally if we could finally get the victory at the RDS on Saturday evening. I remember when I first turned up, beating one of the provincial rivals was a real goal. That was the biggest thing you could do, just to get one win, and here we are going for five in a row.
“I would love to win up there, just as a reward for all the hard work that the boys are putting in. And to show that we are the real deal. The fact that Leinster managed to secure a losing bonus point against Montpellier is a good indication of where Irish rugby is in general. They showed a lot of grit to get anything from that game, and we know this one will be a real ding-dong battle.
“If we get our stuff right we will be fine. It’s just when you don’t get your own things correct, that’s when you have to play a different game. But if we have clarity in what we are doing, a bit of belief in how we do it, and stick to our guns, we should be fine.”
Top Scorers – 2016/17 GUINNESS PRO12: Leinster – Points: Jonathan Sexton 35; Tries: Isa Nacewa, Josh van der Flier 3 each; Connacht – Points: Jack Carty 32; Tries: Niyi Adeolokun, Cian Kelleher 3 each
2016/17 TEAM FORM: Leinster – Played 6, Won 5, Lost 1, 22 Points; W 20-8 v Benetton Treviso (home), L 33-25 v Glasgow Warriors (away), W 33-20 v Edinburgh (away), W 31-19 v Ospreys (home), W 16-13 v Cardiff Blues (away), W 25-14 v Munster (home); Connacht – Played 5, Won 2, Lost 3, 10 Points; L 41-5 v Glasgow Warriors (home), L 32-11 v Ospreys (home), L 17-8 v Scarlets (away), W 28-15 v Edinburgh (home), W 30-25 v Ulster (home)
RECENT LEAGUE MEETINGS:
Saturday, January 4, 2014 – Connacht 8 Leinster 16, the Sportsground
Friday, September 19, 2014 – Connacht 10 Leinster 9, the Sportsground
Friday, December 19, 2014 – Leinster 21 Connacht 11, the RDS
Friday, January 1, 2016 – Leinster 13 Connacht 0, the RDS
Saturday, March 26, 2016 – Connacht 7 Leinster 6, the Sportsground
Saturday, May 28, 2016 – Final – Connacht 20 Leinster 10, BT Murrayfield
MATCH FACTS:
– Leinster’s only defeat in the GUINNESS PRO12 this season was 33-25 to Glasgow Warriors at Scotstoun in round 2
– The Leinstermen are unbeaten in their last 18 home games in the PRO12, including a run of 16 successive victories
– Leinster have only ever lost twice to a fellow Irish province at the RDS, to Munster in September 2008 and to Ulster in March 2013
– Connacht have won their last four matches with the two most recent taking them to the top of Pool 2 in the European Champions Cup
– Connacht’s only defeat in their last five encounters with Irish opposition was 18-10 in Ulster in April
– Connacht have won their last two matches against Leinster, including last season’s PRO12 final, and have never tallied three successive wins against their rivals from the east since the two first locked horns in 1931
– However, Connacht have not been victorious in Dublin since a 26-23 win at Donnybrook in the PRO12 in September 2002
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