Defending GUINNESS PRO14 champions Leinster return to the RDS for their final home game of an unforgettable calendar year. Connacht, who are enjoying a five-match winning streak, would love to take down Leo Cullen’s men after going close on their last visit in January.
GUINNESS PRO14: Saturday, December 22
LEINSTER (1st, Con B) v CONNACHT (3rd, Con A), the RDS, 7.45pm (live Premier Sports 1/eir Sport 1&2/RTÉ Radio 1 Extra/Galway Bay FM/deferred TG4)
Team News: Leinster head coach Leo Cullen has made twelve personnel changes and two positional switches for tonight’s GUINNESS PRO14 derby encounter with Connacht at a near sold-out RDS.
There are more than 17,500 tickets sold and the last remaining tickets for the round 11 clash are still on sale at leinsterrugby.ie. Leinster lie 15 points clear at the top of Conference B and are looking to complete a season’s double over Connacht whom they defeated 20-3 at the Sportsground in September.
Hugo Keenan gets his third start of the season with the 22-year-old Academy player lining out at full-back. Like Keenan, both Adam Byrne and Rory O’Loughlin have also played for the Ireland Sevens team in recent seasons.
Byrne, who bagged the province’s bonus point try against Bath last week, is retained on the right wing with Dave Kearney on the left. O’Loughlin, the man-of-the-match in that round 4 game, shifts to outside centre to accommodate the inclusion of Academy player Conor O’Brien at number 12.
Ross Byrne and Jamison Gibson-Park complete the starting back-line, with the Kiwi scrum half saying: “Connacht have won five on the bounce through both competitions. We’re under no illusions they’re going to be coming in pretty hot. We have to be ready to weather the storm and go back at them.”
The selected front row contains Peter Dooley, Bryan Byrne, who has scored five tries off the bench in the current PRO14 campaign, and Michael Bent, with Mick Kearney and Australian star Scott Fardy joining forces in the second row.
Rhys Ruddock, the most experienced member of the Leinster team with 151 appearances, will captain the side from the blindside flanker berth, as Dan Leavy moves to openside and the 20-year-old Caelan Doris comes in at number 8 for his fourth start at this level.
Meanwhile, Connacht head coach Andy Friend has made a total of ten changes to the team that won away to Perpignan in the Challenge Cup last weekend, as the westerners prepare to take on Leinster in Dublin.
Included in the starting XV are experienced forwards Finlay Bealham and Ultan Dillane, and fellow Ireland international Bundee Aki is named among the replacements. Bealham comes back into a front row that sees Denis Buckley return at loosehead prop and Tom McCartney retained at hooker.
Dillane will pair up with former Leinster Academy lock Gavin Thornbury in the second row, while captain Jarrad Butler resumes in the back row, featuring at blindside flanker alongside openside Colby Fainga’a and number 8 Paul Boyle, the former Ireland Under-20 captain.
Jack Carty and Caolin Blade renew their half-back partnership, the selected back-three sees Darragh Leader come in for Matt Healy, who picked up a knock in training this week, with Cian Kelleher named on the opposite wing and Tiernan O’Halloran at full-back.
LEINSTER: Hugo Keenan; Adam Byrne, Rory O’Loughlin, Conor O’Brien, Dave Kearney; Ross Byrne, Jamison Gibson-Park; Peter Dooley, Bryan Byrne, Michael Bent, Mick Kearney, Scott Fardy, Rhys Ruddock (capt), Dan Leavy, Caelan Doris.
Replacements: Sean Cronin, Ed Byrne, Andrew Porter, Ross Molony, Max Deegan, Hugh O’Sullivan, Ciaran Frawley, Noel Reid.
CONNACHT: Tiernan O’Halloran; Cian Kelleher, Kyle Godwin, Tom Farrell, Darragh Leader; Jack Carty, Caolin Blade; Denis Buckley, Tom McCartney, Finlay Bealham, Ultan Dillane, Gavin Thornbury, Jarrad Butler (capt), Colby Fainga’a, Paul Boyle.
Replacements: Shane Delahunt, Peter McCabe, Dominic Robertson-McCoy, James Cannon, Eoghan Masterson, James Mitchell, David Horwitz, Bundee Aki.
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: John Lacey, Rob O’Sullivan (both Ireland)
Television Match Official: Leo Colgan (Ireland)
Match Odds (Paddy Power): Leinster to win: 1/9; Draw: 22/1; Connacht to win: 5/1
Pre-Match Quotes: Leo Cullen (Leinster) – “We were delighted to get two wins in Europe and now we’re back to the PRO14. For the players, there’s so much at stake in these games, the three interpro derby games. The players know each other very, very well coming up against each other and it means a huge amount to them individually and collectively.
“For us, we’ve tried to prepare as best as we possibly can this week. The players have trained well this week but we’ve been well aware Connacht have been chopping and changing their team over the last couple of weeks and they’re in a really good run of form. It’s a really good challenge for us.
“For the players, they have a window now to showcase what they can do. We’ve got a lot of very big games coming up, three derby games and then back into Europe. We want as many guys representing Ireland as possible and they know what’s at stake in these games. It’s an exciting few weeks now.
“For us now it’s focusing on how we put the performance together and build good habits that are going to move us forward as a group. We try to build on each performance week-on-week and take some of the learnings from the games regardless of whether we win or lose.
“We’re all in it together, and we want to make sure we’re putting the building blocks in place rather than forming bad behaviours that are going to cost us down the track. It’s a tricky time of year as there are a lot of distractions. A lot of guys have exams as well but they’re working hard and that’s what we want.”
Andy Friend (Connacht) – “We have gone through a really good run with five wins in row, with real competition emerging in the squad. The win away in France last weekend keeps the confidence levels up and keeps that momentum going in the squad and throughout the organisation.
“We face a big challenge away to Leinster. We know the depth Leinster have and the quality in their squad so we’ll need a huge performance to challenge them especially when they are at home. Everyone wants to play against the top sides and see how they perform.
“We will play our game and implement our game-plan and we will know where we are as we go into the New Year. We have a huge series of games, with three interpros over the festive period so these three fixtures will be a huge test for our squad.”
Top Scorers – 2018/19 GUINNESS PRO14: Leinster – Points: Ross Byrne 45; Tries: Bryan Byrne 5; Connacht – Points: Jack Carty 75; Tries: Tom Farrell, Paul Boyle, Niyi Adeolokun, Cian Kelleher 3 each
2018/19 TEAM FORM: Leinster – Played 10, Won 9, Lost 1, 44 Points; W 33-32 v Cardiff Blues (away), L 23-21 v Scarlets (away), W 52-10 v Dragons (home), W 31-7 v Edinburgh (home), W 20-3 v Connacht (away), W 30-22 v Munster (home), W 31-3 v Benetton Rugby (away), W 38-31 v Isuzu Southern Kings (away), W 52-7 v Ospreys (home), W 59-10 v Dragons (away); Connacht – Played 10, Won 6, Lost 4, 30 Points; L 27-26 v Glasgow Warriors (home), W 32-13 v Zebre (home), L 17-10 v Edinburgh (away), W 33-20 v Scarlets (home), L 20-3 v Leinster (home), W 22-15 v Ulster (away), L 22-17 v Ospreys (away), W 33-12 v Dragons (home), W 31-14 v Isuzu Southern Kings (away), W 21-17 v Toyota Cheetahs (away)
RECENT LEAGUE MEETINGS:
Saturday, May 28, 2016 – Final – Connacht 20 Leinster 10, BT Murrayfield
Saturday, October 29, 2016 – Leinster 24 Connacht 13, the RDS
Saturday, April 15, 2017 – Connacht 24 Leinster 37, the Sportsground
Monday, January 1, 2018 – Leinster 21 Connacht 18, the RDS
Saturday, April 28, 2018 – Connacht 47 Leinster 10, the Sportsground
Saturday, September 29, 2018 – Connacht 3 Leinster 20, the Sportsground
MATCH FACTS:
– Leinster have suffered only two defeats in any competition this season, by a margin of just two points at the Scarlets in round 2 of the GUINNESS PRO14, and by a single point at Toulouse in the Heineken Champions Cup
– Leinster’s only home defeat in any tournament since the end of the 2016/17 season was 17-15 to Benetton Rugby in April of this year
– Leinster have lost just once to a fellow Irish province in their last nine contests: 47-10 to Connacht in Galway in April
– Connacht have won their last five matches in all competitions since their defeat to the Ospreys at Bridgend in round 7 of the PRO14
– Connacht famously beat Ulster in Belfast for the first time since 1960 in round 6 and won at Thomond Park in November 201, however their only victory over Leinster in Dublin since 1955 was at Donnybrook in 2002
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