Magners League semi-final: Leinster v Munster Saturday 8pm (Live on Setanta Ireland)
Two weeks ago, had we heard that Leinster and Munster would meet again before the end of the season, our appetites would have been well and truly whetted at the thought of an all-Irish Heineken cup final in Paris. Alas, Toulouse and Biarritz put paid to such a notion, but the Magners League has come to our rescue, serving up a tantalising semi-final at the more familiar surroundings of the RDS.
The Saturday evening kick off time will ensure a lively atmosphere in Donnybrook and with the Magners League title representing the only silverware left on offer, there is an incentive for both sides to recover quickly from the pain of their respective Heineken cup defeats.
Despite a slight scare against Edinburgh last weekend, Leinster have cruised to the semi finals, finishing on top of the pile with thirteen wins and an unbeaten home record to boot. Munster on the other hand, made it to the last four by the skin of their teeth. Tony McGahan’s men have a 50-50 win/loss record in the competition this season and needed to make sure they escaped from Cardiff last weekend with at least a bonus point to be sure of their place in the last four.
In typical Munster fashion, they did what they had to and their less than smooth passage to the last four matters for little now. Munster will feel they have a score to settle against their old rivals, having already lost twice to Leinster this season, including a humiliating 30-0 reverse at the RDS way back in October.
The fact that it’s a semi final and that the bragging rights in this fixture are so important means that it might not be the most free-flowing affair, but if it does open up, both sides have a wealth of try scoring options in their armoury, especially with Earls and Howlett returning to the Munster backline.
With Sexton back at fly-half, the battle between him and O’Gara will be particularly interesting while the prospect a potentially titanic clash between Jamie Heaslip and David Wallace at number eight has been tempered by Wallace’s slightly puzzling relegation to the Munster bench.
With Wallace and Flannery on the bench from the start, Leinster will look to make their mark early and if they can gather up a bit of momentum, they might be hard to stop.
Leinster’s lineup is as close as full strength as possible, with Jonny Sexton returning to relieve Isa Nacewa of the kicking duties and Malcolm O’Kelly replacing the injured Leo Cullen in the second row.
Tony McGahan welcomes a host of players back into his starting line-up including injured trio Doug Howlett, Keith Earls and Mick O’Driscoll while John Hayes returns after being rested last weekend. Jerry Flannery is only fit for a place on the bench and he is joined there by David Wallace, who has been replaced in the first fifteen by Alan Quinlan with Niall Ronan and Nick Williams lining up at seven and eight respectively.
Teams:
Leinster: Rob Kearney, Shane Horgan, Brian O’Driscoll, Gordon D’Arcy, Isa Nacewa; Jonathan Sexton, Eoin Reddan; Cian Healy, John Fogarty, Stan Wright; Nathan Hines, Malcolm O’Kelly; Kevin McLaughlin, Shane Jennings, Jamie Heaslip.
Replacements (from): Richardt Strauss, Mike Ross, CJ van der Linde, Trevor Hogan, Rhys Ruddock, Stephen Keogh, Paul O’Donohoe, Shaun Berne, Fergus McFadden, Girvan Dempsey.
Munster: Paul Warwick; Doug Howlett, Keith Earls, Jean de Villiers, Lifeimi Mafi; Ronan O’Gara, Tomás O’Leary; Marcus Horan, Damien Varley, John Hayes; Donncha O’Callaghan, Mick O’Driscoll; Alan Quinlan, Niall Ronan, Nick Williams.
Replacements: Jerry Flannery, Dave Ryan, James Coughlan, David Wallace, Peter Stringer, Denis Hurley, Scott Deasy.
Odds:
Leinster 1/2, Munster 13/8, Draw 20/1
JOE Prediction: Leinster haven’t lost at home in the Magners League this season and we don’t think they’re about to start now. The Blues to win with ten points to spare.
Conor Heneghan
