ROSS IS THE BOSS FOR LEINSTER
Byrne can deliver hat-trick of Pro14 titles but Ulster will be no pushovers
“It’s great to have that level of competition”
THERE was some chat earlier this week that Johnny Sexton might be sitting among the replacements for the Pro14 finale. And so it proved as Leo Cullen backed Ross Byrne to start at No10 tonight.
This is not a new development. Cullen made the same call prior to Leinster’s Pro14 semi-final meeting with Munster at the RDS last season. The province were still coming down from a sobering defeat at the hands of Saracens at St James’ Park the previous Saturday and Leinster’s head coach felt the team needed some freshening up ahead of the visit of a fired-up Munster side looking to lift their semi-final hex.
Byrne was backed to steer the ship while Sexton guided the hosts home late in the game as they cruised to a 24-9 victory.
Cullen is doing the reverse this time; starting Sexton in the semifinal win over Munster and keeping him on ice this week ahead of that looming European quarterfinal clash with Saracens. This selection may come as a shock to more casual observers with others citing it as a mark of disrespect to Ulster and the tournament as a whole.
When it comes to the Pro14, however, this is nothing new. It was pointed out by one eagleeyed statto on Twitter yesterday that Jerry Sexton, the younger brother of the Leinster out-half who has been lining out for the Southern Kings, has made as many starts (11) in the Pro14 this season than his elder sibling has in the past three seasons.
For the record, Johnny Sexton has made 13 appearances (11 starts). Meanwhile, Byrne has played 45 games for Leinster in the Pro14 across the same period. When it comes to domestic matters, Byrne has been the main man for quite some time.
Joe Schmidt never seemed convinced by what he could bring at Test level, but the 25-year-old has been backed time and again to run the show at Leinster.
That pulsating European quarter-final between both of these teams last year has been referenced plenty of times this week. It’s worth pointing out again that Sexton was in the stands at the Aviva that day due to a quad injury. Byrne bossed Leinster around the park all evening and kicked the match-clinching penalty in the dying minutes despite hobbling around the pitch on one foot with cramp. Leaving the captain on the bench for the biggest game of the season thus far would seem like an odd decision but it makes perfect sense within Leinster’s ranks. Byrne is big time.
‘That’s the way I would look at it,’ Cullen agreed.
‘There’s always a few headlinemakers who want to make more out of these things, but it is what it is. It’s great to have the interest in some of these decisions. ‘Even behind that, young Ciaran Frawley has played a big chunk of games and Harry (Byrne) is dying for more opportunities as well to squeeze out his brother and Johnny as well. ‘It’s great to have that level of competition, that’s what you need. We don’t have a clear plan for now, but we want to get this balance right.’
Out-half is just one of manysubplots this evening. There is the small matter of a hat-trick of Pro14 titles, a historic unbeaten campaign to complete and the captaincy for Garry Ringrose, his first time leading the province since his debut back in 2015.
It’s all set up for a good oldashioned ambush in the capital isn’t it? Well, not quite.
Ulster arrive in Dublin buoyed by their second-half heroics in Murrayfield but what will concern Dan McFarland is his side’s display on their last visit to the venue back in August. Sexton and Byrne both had their feet up for that one as Leinster’s second-strong made light work of the visitors, strolling to a 28-10 victory. Ulster endured a sluggish start to this rebooted season but have improved since. However if Leinster ‘A’ could cause them that many problems then how will they handle this far stringer selection? Leinster also have James Ryan back for good measure and a bench stacked with international class, including Sexton, Luke McGrath and Scott Fardy. Do Ulster have a chance? Well, having Iain Henderson back a month ahead of schedule is a huge boost, while McFarland has made some big calls with this team, none more so than the benching of John Cooney to accommodate Kiwi Alby Mathewson who looks the sharper scrumhalf at the moment.
‘That was definitely the most difficult selection decision that I have ever been involved in,’ McFarland admitted yesterday.
If Mathewson can get Ulster’s big runners like Henderson, Marcell Coetzee and Stuart McCloskey into the game early then this could get interesting.
Both benches are stacked with match-winners with Sexton, Cooney and Ian Madigan primed for big cameos. It could well come down to some late inspiration to decide a winner.