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Leinster face Bath in the quarter-finals of the European Rugby Champions Cup this Saturday and coach Matt O’Connor has picked a very strong side.
Several of the stars who lifted the recent Six Nations trophy with Ireland will return Leinster to help them to victory.
Sean O’Brien makes only his second appearance for the province this season, where he is joined by Jamie Heaslip (who captains the side) and with Jordi Murphy. Devin Toner returns to join Mike McCarthy in the second row, while Cian Healy is back at prop, along with his international colleagues Sean Cronin and Mike Ross.
The back-line is a very strong one, with six Irish internationals, along with Australian-born Ben Te’o. Te’o was a well regarded rugby league player who played for several teams in Australia and has been capped at international level by Samoa.
He switched codes to play rugby union with Leinster last year and had an auspicious start, breaking his arm only 20 minutes into his first game. He has only played eight times overall for the province, with the ERCC quarter-final his biggest match to date.
Te’o is partnered in the centre by Ian Madigan. Madigan needs more game time at out-half, but Jimmy Gopperth is the preferred choice at number ten. Isaac Boss starts at scrum-half, while Luke Fitzgerald and Fergus McFadden are on the wings. Rob Kearney togs out at full-back. Both Fitzgerald and Kearney had strong Six Nations’ campaigns and will want to continue their form.
Leinster have some stars in the replacements as well, with Jack McGrath, Marty Moore and Richard Strauss in the forwards, and Eoin Reddan, Gordon D’Arcy and Zane Kirchner in the backs.
Bath don’t have quite so many stars, but they do have George Ford at out-half. Ford was a star for England during the recent Six Nations, and was one of the best out-halfs of the tournament (Ford was the top points scorer in the Six Nations this year). He should have a cracking battle against Gopperth. Ford is still young though, so he can’t be overawed by the occasion.
Bath also have dangerous runners in Anthony Watson, Jonathan Joseph (who were both Six Nations’ stars for England) and Matt Banahan. Bath also have a strong pack, including Francois Louw, Dave Attwood and Paul James.
Leinster do have the stronger team, and the home advantage, which is very important at this stage. During the Heineken Cup era, 75 per cent of quarter-finals were won by the home team.
Leinster don’t quite have the home advantage, in a sense. The game has been moved from the RDS to the much larger Aviva Stadium. Leinster feel much more comfortable in the RDS, but the game was moved to the larger venue to increase the revenue. This may affect the outcome.
Leinster have won four of their last five quarter-finals, and ten of their last 12 knock-out games. Bath have lost their last seven games played against Irish provinces, but have won nine out of ten away games in European competition.
Leinster are the bookies favourites, with odds of 8/15. Bath are at 13/8 and there are 20/1 odds for a draw after 80 minutes. Both Leinster and Bath have suffered a dip in form recently, but will be buoyed by the return of their stars. Leinster get the slight nod, due their more experienced, talented side.
The winner will travel away to face the winner of the Toulon-Wasps match on Easter Sunday. If Leinster win, they will be hoping for a Wasps victory, as they have a better chance against the English side.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.