Heavy hitters expected to return for Blues but Henshaw is a doubt

LEINSTER are confident of having Johnny Sexton, Isa Nacewa and Dan Leavy back for Saturday’s Pro14 final against Scarlets. Both Sexton and Leavy sat out the semi-final defeat of Munster as they recovered from knocks sustained in the Champions Cup final win over Racing, while captain Nacewa only lasted until halftime before succumbing to a knee injury that has been troubling him in recent weeks. All three are expected to return to training later in the week in time for Saturday’s decider at Lansdowne Road, which will be the fourth meeting between the sides this season. There remains more serious doubt about Robbie Henshaw (knee), although he has not yet been ruled out by Leinster management. When the two teams last met in their Champions Cup semifinal, Leinster ran out convincing winners on a 38-16 scoreline. However, Leinster scrum coach John Fogarty doesn’t envisage the Blues getting such an easy ride this time around, particularly given the heavy workload the squad has had to deal with in recent weeks. ‘I think it’s going to be white-knuckle,’ he explained. ‘Some of our stuff, our maul, didn’t affect the game too much. So we lacked that little bit of detail but the lads as a group were very tight. To stick it out and come out on top at the weekend gave us another little level of belief. ‘But, Stuart [Lancaster] says it, every game starts at zero. So we’re preparing for a new game. We had to bring a new energy to it, we’re expecting them to have adapted and evolve their game, bring more energy to it, and it’s going to be a ferocious battle.’