Preview: Weakened Leinster up against it in France

By Brendan Cole

Leinster have not had the start to season 2014-15 that they would have hoped for with little going their way in the tight matches and no real result of note in the form book as yet.

Last week's win over Wasps did feature a second-half comeback and the arrival of Kane Douglas, who lines out with Devin Toner in this clash, has resolved one issue by powering up the second row.

But when the injury crisis that has seen Cian Healy, Martin Moore, Mike Ross, Sean O'Brien and Rob Kearney all ruled out in recent weeks, is added to the mix this trip to Castres becomes even trickier.

And even if all their front liners were available, it is apparent that all is not right at Leinster just now, particularly behind the scrum.

They were never going to find a like-for-like replacement for Brian O'Driscoll but the slipped passes, hard running lines and defensive intelligence are badly missed.

Sheer size and power might have given Leinster at least some of that impact back, but the current options do not offer that.

Ben Te'o, who will play for Leinster 'A' this weekend having arrived from Australia's NRL, could yet be the man who gives Leinster direct go-forward ball that could free things up for the rest but his integration is a few weeks away yet.

Luke Fitzgerald

Luke Fitzgerald's return does give Leinster another good quality stepper and Matt O'Connor's men are not short on backs with individual quality with Ian Madigan, Gordon D'Arcy and Jimmy Gopperth also capable of sparking things. They also have the apparently indestructible and hugely productive Jamie Heaslip to lead the effort up front – a huge plus in a fixture like this.

It is also in their favour that in Castres, Leinster face a side in poor form, with a loss to Harlequins last week their latest setback, and dressing room issues rumbling on behind the scenes. Leinster also have the memory of a gutsy away win against this opposition last season.

The warning signal is that Castres have done well in their home games this season. The opportunity to put in an eye-catching Sunday afternoon performance against a big team may just inspire this troubled collective to perform.

The scrum is also an area of concern for Leinster. Michael Bent, only occasionally risked at tighthead these days, will be asked to take the strain in the number three jersey and if things start to go wrong, the loss of momentum and yards could be too serious a handicap to overcome.

And while Castres have not exactly played like world-beaters this year, they also have strength on the bench with Ibrahim Diarra, a standout performer in this fixture last year, among those primed to come in and be influential late in the game.

It may well be close at that with scrum issues among the contributing factors. Leinster may just struggle to get over the line.

Prediction: Castres 24-19 Leinster

Castres: G Palis; M Evans, C Tuatara, R Cabannes, R Grosso; R Tales (capt), C Garcia; S Taumoepeau, B Mach, R Herrera, R Gray, R Capo Ortega, M Babillot, Y Caballero, P Faasalele

Replacements: M Bonello, M Lazar, Y Montes, C Samson, I Diarra, R Martial, J Dumora, A Dupont.

Leinster: Z Kirchner; D Fanning, G D'Arcy, I Madigan, L Fitzgerald; J Gopperth, I Boss; J McGrath, S Cronin, M Bent; D Toner, K Douglas; R Ruddock, D Ryan, J Heaslip (capt).

Replacements: R Strauss, E Byrne, T Furlong, M McCarthy, J Conan, E Reddan, N Reid, M McGrath.

Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang

Preview: Weakened Leinster up against it in France

Dengan url

http://olahragaenjoy.blogspot.com/2014/10/preview-weakened-leinster-up-against-it.html

Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya

Preview: Weakened Leinster up against it in France

namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link

Preview: Weakened Leinster up against it in France

sebagai sumbernya

Olahraga Enjoy