O’Brien is back as Leo keeps eye on Scarlets
TREVISO visit the RDS tonight, but every move made by Leo Cullen is being viewed under the shadow of next Saturday’s Champions Cup semi-final meeting with Scarlets.
There remain plenty of concerns — Luke McGrath, Jack Conan and Rhys Ruddock all fail to make the Leinster match-day 23 — but the more positive news sees returns for both Seán O’Brien and Jordan Larmour.
Larmour starts at full-back following calf trouble that has kept him sidelined since the Six Nations, while O’Brien has overcome a shoulder problem to start at openside alongside Jordi Murphy at blindside and 21-yearold Max Deegan at No8.
It has been a particularly frustrating spell for O’Brien, who missed the opening rounds of Ireland’s Six Nations campaign with a hip problem before a bang to the shoulder saw him trudge off the field just 27 minutes into his Leinster comeback on March 9.
With a concerning lack of minutes under his belt, tonight is do-or-die in O’Brien’s quest to prove he is ready to take on Scarlets at Lansdowne Road next week.
‘Sean has worked incredibly hard to get back so it’s good to see him back involved,’ said Cullen. ‘He’s been a little bit unlucky over the last couple of weeks.
‘He worked hard to get back originally from his hip to play against Scarlets [in the Pro14] and then got the bang on his shoulder in that game. It took a little bit longer than we all would have liked but he’s in good spirits now, it’s good to see him back out there.’
Injuries have become part of the package with O’Brien, but Cullen insists the Carlow man is fully capable of hitting the ground running after his latest lay-off. It will be just his sixth appearance for the province this season, with a December win over Exeter his last 80-minute performance. ‘Seanie has come back from injuries in the past, it’s just part and parcel of the game. All the players have to be able to deal with that, just making sure they focus all their mental energy into delivering a performance for the team and the role they have within that,’ added Cullen. ‘He is a great voice in the dressing-room. He is a great voice defensively in the line because he’s so strong in around that ruck area. He gives us really strong defensive presence. ‘Then, on the other side of the game, it is just the intent with which he carries and his presence in all the physical components of the game. Hopefully, we’ll see plenty of that. ‘He’s a great boost to have back at this stage of the season.’ Leinster supporters will also be treated to the rare sight of seeing Joey Carbery wearing No10.
Despite being the second-choice out-half for Ireland, tonight will be the 22-year-old’s first start of the season in the position for Leinster.
‘He is such a naturally talented footballer,’ Cullen continued.
‘It’s that balance between managing the game and putting his own creative stamp on the game. Just go out and enjoy doing what he does, that’s the big thing for us. There’s enough support around him. Noel [Reid] gives good voice outside him and Rory [O’Loughlin] as well.
‘Joey and Jamison [GibsonPark] have had a good relationship from day one when Jamison arrived. Hopefully, the forwards can deliver them a good platform, which makes their life a lot easier.’
Cullen stated that back-rows Ruddock and Conan both ‘have a chance’ of training before the visit of Scarlets, whereas the Blues are hoping to have scrumhalf Luke McGrath back training early in the week. His fitness for the Scarlets game has the knockon effect of influencing who makes the cut out of lock Scott Fardy, wing James Lowe and scrum-half Gibson-Park, as the Blues can only select two non Europeans for Champions Cup games.
Scarlets’ preparations see them name a strong team for their trip to Edinburgh today (3.15pm), while Cullen has again been able to rest the majority of his big hitters, with Johnny Sexton, Isa Nacewa, Rob Kearney, Garry Ringrose, John Ryan and Fardy all afforded a second weekend off following the European quarterfinal defeat of Saracens.
‘One of the things for the Pro14, is for us, during that Six Nations break, we could have 14-15 players out,’ Cullen explained.
‘That’s something we need to work on here, with guys away, we need to be sure others can step right in. We want it to be attractive for top players to play here, so they understand that we’ll take care of them well.’
Anything other than a Leinster win would be a huge surprise against the Italians — the main thing for Cullen is to see his key men coming through unscathed for the challenges that lie ahead.