Leinster’s eventful tour of South Africa finishes against the Toyota Cheetahs in Bloemfontein where they will aim to extend their best ever start to a season since the league went home-and-away in 2003/04.
GUINNESS PRO14: Friday, September 22
TOYOTA CHEETAHS (5th, Con A) v LEINSTER (1st, Con B), Toyota Stadium, 8pm local time/7pm Irish time (live SuperSport 1/Sky Sports Action/highlights TG4)
Team News: For the final match of their SA tour, Leinster head coach Leo Cullen has made eight personnel changes and three positional switches to the side that accounted for the Southern Kings (31-10) in round 3 last weekend. He has also given an injury update on three other players.
Luke McGrath (arm) and Fergus McFadden (hamstring) were not considered for selection and, as a result, have flown home to Dublin to begin preparations for the Edinburgh game next week. Both players are expected to be available for selection for that round 5 fixture.
In addition, James Ryan (foot) was not considered for selection but has not flown home to Dublin with McGrath and McFadden as he is unlikely to be available for the Edinburgh clash. Caelan Doris has joined the squad in Cape Town as cover.
In team news, Cullen has again selected Joey Carbery at full-back while Dave Kearney is also retained but swaps wings this week. Barry Daly, who turned 25 earlier this week, is named on the left wing for his first start of the campaign.
With Isa Nacewa captaining the side from inside centre, Noel Reid shifts outside him to the number 13 shirt. Jamison Gibson-Park returns at half-back alongside Ross Byrne, who landed three conversions against the Kings.
There is an all-new front row with Cian Healy, James Tracy and Michael Bent starting having come off the bench in Port Elizabeth, while the retained Ross Molony is joined in the second row by Mick Kearney who slots in for his first start of the season.
In a reshuffled back row, the fit-again Jordi Murphy moves to the blindside, Jack Conan continues at number 8, and the incoming Josh van der Flier will win his 50th cap at openside. Another notable inclusion is prop Peter Dooley who returns from injury to take his place on the bench.
Meanwhile, Cheetahs head coach Rory Duncan welcomes the return of South Africa Sevens star Rosco Specman to the right wing following injury. Luther Obi reverts to the bench, while scrum halves Tian Meyer and Shaun Venter also swap places with Meyer in the starting XV.
Charles Marais will be the starting loosehead prop with Ox Nche providing cover among the replacements. Springbok Oupa Mohoje, who has 17 Test caps, is back from injury to start at number 8, with Junior Pokomela now listed on the bench.
Duncan’s charges come into round 4 with renewed confidence after they cut loose in the second half last week to claim a 54-39 bonus point win over Zebre at Toyota Stadium. Winger Makazole Mapimpi and hooker Torsten van Jaarsveld scored two tries each.
For Friday’s clash with Leinster, which will be preceded by the Free State Cheetahs’ Currie Cup game against the Pumas (kick-off 5.30pm local time), the following players are ruled out through injury – Elandre Huggett (knee), Neil Jordaan (ankle and knee), Steven Meiring (appendix), Gerhard Olivier (ankle), Clinton Swart (knee), Ruan van Rensburg (knee), Fred Zeilinga (hip) and Niel Marais (shoulder).
TOYOTA CHEETAHS: Sergeal Petersen; Rosco Specman, Francois Venter (capt), William Small-Smith, Makazole Mapimpi; Ernst Stapelberg, Tian Meyer; Charles Marais, Torsten van Jaarsveld, Tom Botha, Justin Basson, Reniel Hugo, Paul Schoeman, Henco Venter, Oupa Mohoje.
Replacements: Jacques du Toit, Ox Nche, Johan Coetzee, Rynier Bernardo, Junior Pokomela, Shaun Venter, Nico Lee, Luther Obi.
LEINSTER: Joey Carbery; Dave Kearney, Noel Reid, Isa Nacewa (capt), Barry Daly; Ross Byrne, Jamison Gibson-Park; Cian Healy, James Tracy, Michael Bent, Ross Molony, Mick Kearney, Jordi Murphy, Josh van der Flier, Jack Conan.
Replacements: Sean Cronin, Peter Dooley, Andrew Porter, Rhys Ruddock, Max Deegan, Nick McCarthy, Cathal Marsh, Rory O’Loughlin.
Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
Assistant Referees: Ben Whitehouse (Wales), Stuart Berry (South Africa)
Television Match Official: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)
Match Odds (Paddy Power): Toyota Cheetahs to win: 9/2; Draw: 25/1; Leinster to win: 1/7
Pre-Match Quotes: Girvan Dempsey (Leinster) – “I recall it being an incredible atmosphere (playing for Ireland against South Africa in 2004) in Bloemfontein and being on the bus and seeing huge crowds around the ground with barbecues. Straight from the kick-off I was smashed and the crowd got behind the home team as a consequence. That initial shock was massive but it was a great atmosphere.
“(With Leinster here) we’ve put a lot of thought to dealing with the altitude and we’re fortunate that we have a strong sports science team with a huge wealth and depth of knowledge and they have put systems in place to deal with it.
“That was why we stayed in Johannesburg (which is close to 6,000 feet) last week, so we could train at altitude and get used to it. It will test fitness levels later on in the game. We’ve worked hard on our fitness and I don’t believe altitude will be a big factor once players have experienced the initial shock of it.
“Isa and Jamison are both in great shape, positive and looking forward to getting back into the squad. They bring massive experience and in Jammo’s case he has been here before having played Super Rugby for the Hurricanes.
“We won’t be looking to slow the game down at all. We’re happy with our game-plan so we won’t adapt it because of altitude. But we do know that we will be up against it because the Cheetahs like to play at pace, especially at home.
“So we will have to manage that tempo, but when it’s on, we will up the tempo. There is probably an advantage to getting out to South Africa first because as the tournament goes on, the Cheetahs and Kings are going to improve and it will be even tougher to play out here later in the season.”
Top Scorers – 2017/18 GUINNESS PRO14: Toyota Cheetahs – Points; Makazole Mapimpi 15; Tries: Makazole Mapimpi 3; Leinster – Points: Ross Byrne 33; Tries: Jamison Gibson-Park, Jordan Larmour, Dan Leavy, Cathal Marsh, James Tracy, Sean Cronin, Barry Daly, Nick McCarthy, Dave Kearney, Joey Carbery, Jack Conan, Noel Reid, Rory O’Loughlin 1 each
2017/18 TEAM FORM: Toyota Cheetahs – Played 3, Won 1, Lost 2, 5 Points; L 42-19 v Ulster (away), L 51-18 v Munster (away), W 54-39 v Zebre (home); Leinster – Played 3, Won 3, 15 Points; W 39-16 v Dragons (away), W 37-9 v Cardiff Blues (home), W 31-10 v Southern Kings (away)
PREVIOUS MEETINGS:
N/A
MATCH FACTS:
– The Toyota Cheetahs grabbed their maiden GUINNESS PRO14 victory in a 93-point, 13-try thriller against Zebre in Bloemfontein last Saturday
– The Cheetahs’ win last weekend ended a five-match losing run at Toyota Stadium, all in Super Rugby games
– Leinster have made a perfect start to the 2017/18 campaign with three maximum point victories. This is already their best ever beginning to a PRO14 season since the league went home and away in 2003/04
– The Ospreys are the only other team to start a PRO14 season with maximum points after three rounds, doing so last year
– Leinster have lost only one regular season fixture in the Championship since St. Stephen’s Day last year (17-13 at Ulster in round 22)
– The two sides have never met before
This website uses cookies.
Read More