It’s been a strange old season for Leinster but they can bring the end of an era to a winning conclusion in Saturday evening’s Magners League final against Ospreys.
On the face of it, the fact that the game takes place at the RDS is reason enough to fancy a Leinster victory.
The province have won their last 16 Magners League games at the Dublin 4 venue, a sequence which stretches back to an 18-0 defeat to Munster almost two years ago.
But there are so many things which appear to be in their favour going into this fixture that it is almost impossible to envisage anything other than a Leinster victory.
Firstly, there’s the head-to-heads. Ospreys have a dire record against Leinster in recent times, losing home and away to the Irish side for the past three seasons, with their most recent win coming in their title-winning campaign of 2006/07.
More powerful than jinxes or home advantage, however, is the fact that this game represents the end of an era for Leinster, the lowering of the curtain on the greatest era in the province’s history.
Coach farewell
For the coach, the serene, laconic but never less than totally authoritative Michael Cheika, this is a last game in charge of Leinster before he moves to the continent to take the reins of Stade de France. His five-year term has completely overhauled the mindset of the province, which has shuffled off its brilliant-but-brittle image to become a collective of real ferocity.
Any long-standing supporter who witnessed the complete emasculation of Munster in the semi-final of this competition a fortnight ago will testify that for Leinster, everything has changed, changed utterly, and Cheika has been the figurehead for that transformation.
Intensifying the feeling that this game will become an emotional farewell on a grand scale is the fact that three of the province’s greatest servants will be permanently calling time on their careers after Saturday night’s game.
Malcolm O’Kelly starts the game in the second row in place of injured skipper Leo Cullen but while Girvan Dempsey or Bernard Jackman will play bit-parts or less, the shadow of all three will still be cast long over the events of the evening, and each one will deserve his moment in the spotlight if and when the trophy is presented to Leinster for the second time in three seasons.
Close contests
Ospreys are unlikely to roll over. They have lost six straight games to Leinster but the most one-sided of those was an 11-point game at the RDS in January 2008. The other contests went Leinster’s way by margins of seven points (twice), six, five and four.
In addition, the impact of Scott Johnson over the past year or so has been there for all to see. Two years ago, Ospreys finished in seventh in the table. This year, they were a close second behind Leinster and went down by the narrowest of margins to subsequent beaten finalists Biarritz in a Heineken Cup quarter-final in San Sebastian.
There’s also the intriguing subtext of Ireland’s best winger, Tommy Bowe, arriving in Dublin with the aim of getting the better of his countrymen.
All in all, though, this is no ordinary final for Leinster and the heat they generate should be enough to see the Ospreys wilt.
Teams:
Leinster: Rob Kearney, Shane Horgan, Brian O’Driscoll, Gordon D’Arcy, Isa Nacewa, Jonathan Sexton, Eoin Reddan; Stan Wright, John Fogarty, CJ van der Linde, Nathan Hines, Malcolm O’Kelly, Kevin McLaughlin, Shane Jennings, Jamie Heaslip.
Ospreys: TBC
Odds:
Leinster 4/9 Ospreys 15/8 Draw 20/1
JOE Prediction:
Leinster with seven to spare
