Leinster are back at the RDS for the first time since last May’s GUINNESS PRO14 semi-final win over Munster, with Leo Cullen handing seasonal debuts to Rob Kearney, Garry Ringrose, Jonathan Sexton, James Ryan and Josh van der Flier.
GUINNESS PRO14: Saturday, September 15
LEINSTER (3rd, Con B) v DRAGONS (5th, Con B), the RDS, 5.15pm (live eir Sport 1/TG4/Premier Sports)
Team News: Out-half and captain Jonathan Sexton is among the latest bunch of Ireland internationals to return to provincial duty for Leinster’s GUINNESS PRO14 match against the Dragons at the RDS.
Before the game Leinster Rugby Season Ticket Holders will be able to collect their season ticket packs from 3pm and for a further hour after the final whistle. In addition, those that attend the Dragons match at the RDS will be able to use their season ticket or their match ticket to gain entry to Energia Park for the IRFU Women’s Interprovincial title decider between Leinster and Munster (kick-off 7.30pm).
New club captain Sexton will make his seasonal bow for Leinster against the Welsh region, while a number of other international players are also selected for the first time this term in the province’s matchday 23. Tickets are available to purchase here.
Rob Kearney comes in for his first appearance of the current campaign at full-back, which means that Jordan Larmour moves to the right wing and Rob’s younger brother Dave takes the left wing berth. Garry Ringrose slots in at outside centre alongside Robbie Henshaw and Jamison Gibson-Park partners Sexton at half-back.
Ed Byrne, who lined out for Leinster ‘A’ in the Celtic Cup last week, gets the nod at loosehead prop, while Andrew Porter is promoted from the bench to the tighthead role, and hooker Sean Cronin and number 8 Jack Conan are the only players retained up front.
There are two more seasonal debutants included in the shape of James Ryan and Josh van der Flier, the former linking up with Scott Fardy in the second row. Leinster and Ireland fans are looking forward to seeing flanker van der Flier back in action for the first time since his ACL injury against France last February.
On the bench there is a possible debut for 20-year-old Meath-born Academy scrum half Hugh O’Sullivan, who is poised to become the province’s 1270th senior player, while Caelan Doris is in line for his first Leinster appearance at the RDS after two outings on the road. Peter Dooley will also win his 50th cap if introduced.
Meanwhile, 23-year-old winger Hallam Amos will make his 100th appearance for the Dragons as head coach Bernard Jackman makes three changes to the team that secured an encouraging 27-22 home win over the Isuzu Southern Kings.
Back rower Nic Cudd comes in at openside flanker for his first start of the season, while there is also a place in the front row for prop Lloyd Fairbrother. The starting pack includes summer signing Ross Moriarty and captain Cory Hill, who have 41 Wales caps between them.
Centre Adam Warren takes the place of the injured Tyler Morgan in midfield, with the Dragons back-line led by Josh Lewis who top-scored with 17 points against the Kings. Ollie Griffiths, the region’s man-of-the-match in round 2, and Leon Brown are among the replacements, along with Welsh-qualified Cape Town-born centre Jarryd Sage.
LEINSTER: Rob Kearney; Jordan Larmour, Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw, Dave Kearney; Jonathan Sexton (capt), Jamison Gibson-Park; Ed Byrne, Sean Cronin, Andrew Porter, Scott Fardy, James Ryan, Max Deegan, Josh van der Flier, Jack Conan.
Replacements: Bryan Byrne, Peter Dooley, Tadhg Furlong, Ross Molony, Caelan Doris, Hugh O’Sullivan, Noel Reid, Joe Tomane.
DRAGONS: Jordan Williams; Dafydd Howells, Adam Warren, Jack Dixon, Hallam Amos; Josh Lewis, Rhodri Williams; Brok Harris, Elliot Dee, Lloyd Fairbrother, Matthew Screech, Cory Hill (capt), Aaron Wainwright, Nic Cudd, Ross Moriarty.
Replacements: Richard Hibbard, Ryan Bevington, Leon Brown, Brandon Nansen, Ollie Griffiths, Tavis Knoyle, Arwel Robson, Jarryd Sage.
Referee: Quinton Immelman (South Africa)
Assistant Referees: Joy Neville, Mark Patton (both Ireland)
Television Match Official: Olly Hodges (Ireland)
Match Odds (Paddy Power): Leinster to win: 1/80; Draw: 80/1; Dragons to win: 22/1
Pre-Match Quotes: Stuart Lancaster (Leinster) – “The reality is we’ve got players who are coming back from international duty, we’ve got Europe coming around the corner and trophies are won at the end of the season. But you need to be in a position to win the trophies, so in a conference system you need to either win your conference or come second.
“And what counts really is not just winning all your games, but particularly against the teams that are in your conference. So Scarlets away, if we could have won that game with them being in our conference would have been a big win.
“But as it happens we didn’t so it means now that the priority goes to the next block because we’ve got Dragons at home, Edinburgh at home, who are both improved, we have Connacht away who beat us more than fair and square (last season) and then it’s Munster at home. So we’ve four games now in the lead up to Europe where we need to win.”
Bernard Jackman (Dragons) – “Leinster are a quality side and we know we will have to put in a good performance to win. We expect to face a strong team over there. We’ve trained well this week in preparation. The boys were disappointed because we knew the Kings game (last weekend) was one we should have killed off. But it is nice trying to fix the errors having won.
“Last year the group would have celebrated any win. But this group has a different objective and see themselves as potentially being better than that. They are keen to get that growth as quickly as possible.
“We need to win away from home and the way to do that is to start building confidence up away from home. You don’t do that by losing by 30 or 40 points. The big thing for us is to finish the game having fixed what was poor against the Kings and really having been in the contest.”
Top Scorers – 2018/19 GUINNESS PRO14: Leinster – Points: Ross Byrne 16; Tries: Bryan Byrne 2; Dragons – Points: Josh Lewis 19; Tries: Rhodri Williams, Dafydd Howells, Josh Lewis, Aaron Wainwright, Ollie Griffiths 1 each
2018/19 TEAM FORM: Leinster – Played 2, Won 1, Lost 1, 6 Points; W 33-32 v Cardiff Blues (away), L 23-21 v Scarlets (away); Dragons – Played 2, Won 1, Lost 1, 5 Points; L 21-17 v Benetton Rugby (home), W 27-22 v Isuzu Southern Kings (home)
RECENT LEAGUE MEETINGS:
Saturday, October 3, 2015 – Leinster 37 Dragons 13, the RDS
Friday, January 29, 2016 – Dragons 23 Leinster 13, Rodney Parade
Saturday, December 3, 2016 – Leinster 28 Dragons 15, the RDS
Friday, February 24, 2017 – Dragons 22 Leinster 54, Rodney Parade
Saturday, September 2, 2017 – Dragons 16 Leinster 39, Rodney Parade
Friday, November 24. 2017 – Leinster 54 Dragons 10, the RDS
MATCH FACTS:
– Leinster’s four-match winning run in all competitions ended at the Scarlets last weekend
– Leinster’s only defeat in their last fifteen home matches in all tournaments was to Benetton Rugby at the RDS in round 20 of the GUINNESS PRO14 last season
– The Dragons’ victory over the Isuzu Southern Kings in round 2 ended a 18-match winless run in the PRO14
– The Dragons’ most recent away win in the Championship was on a visit to Treviso in March 2015
– Leinster have won their last four encounters with the Dragons, while the Welshmen’s only previous success on Leinster soil was with a 16-14 victory at the RDS in February 2015
This website uses cookies.
Read More