Leinster v Saints Sat 5.15 Aviva

[wixfjord]

Side I'd go for, assuming Sexton is out and Ryan is under HIA.

Healy, Kelleher, Furlong, Fardy, Toner, Ruddock, VDF, Doris, McGrath, Byrne, Lowe, Henshaw, Ringer, Larmour, RK
Tracy, Byrne, Porter, Molony, Deegan, JGP, Byrne, ROL

Doris has done enough to start again imo and I'd bring in Furlong from the start.
Would probably start McGrath too although not on form really.

[blockhead]

I'd leave Larmour right where he is ta very much.

[tingman]

Shouldn't take this for granted and I'm sure, with history, Leo won't.

Saints got behind us a fair bit in the first half and in the second had tons of ball but make a lot
of silly mistakes in our 22. The open spaces at Lansdowne might suit their game more so I wouldn't
be too complacent.

That said - we were really smart today.

[Blueberry]

2013 a big help with this one......complacency I can't imagine being an issue. This team this year bar that strange game in Zebre are showing consistent and remarkable concentration for 80 mins, standards are very high and this I have no doubt is coming from coaching and the managed development of a huge pool of players scrapping now for the First XV, we no longer have a set First XV with 20-25 plus guys genuinely and realistically putting their hands up for a first team berth.

[CiaranIrl]

Any word yet on the results of Sexton's scan?

[blockhead]

Any word yet on the results of Sexton's scan?

It's a girl, but we're not telling anyone yet.

[OTT]

Injury update

Leinster Rugby have issued a squad update after the weekend’s win away to Northampton Saints in Franklin’s Gardens. With Leinster due to host the Saints on Saturday in the Aviva Stadium in Round 4 of the Heineken Champions Cup (Kick Off: 5.15pm), Head Coach Leo Cullen had mixed news ahead of the game.

Both Johnny Sexton and Joe Tomane have been ruled out of the game through injury but in good news, hooker Seán Cronin has returned to full training following his neck injury.

Sexton has been ruled out of the game following a knee injury picked up at the weekend. He will require further assessment and is seeing a specialist today for a further scan, while Tomane has re-aggravated his hamstring and will now be out of action for six to eight weeks.

Also ruled out of this weekend is Rory O’Loughlin who will continue his rehab following a shoulder injury.

Due further assessment this week is James Ryan who was removed late in the second half against Northampton Saints with a head injury and will follow the Graduated Return to Play Protocols under the supervision of team medics.

Both Peter Dooley and Seán Cronin have returned to full training following knee and neck injuries respectively.

There was no update on long-term absentees Vakh Abdaladze (back), Jack Conan (foot), Barry Daly (knee) and Dan Leavy (knee).

[blockhead]

Sexton out is no surprise. No risk required with Ross available.
Tomane, I would assume he'd be off at the end of the season. A very uneventful spell here. Ah well.

[cormac]

That's bad luck for Tomane. He'd been playing well so far this season. Chance for Conor O'Brien and others to impress.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

Ah that's rotten luck for Tomane, he'd finally come into form and then that happens. Now that we know himself and ROL were injured it makes more sense that Rob was on the bench on Saturday.

It'll be interesting to see who the backup outhalf is this weekend. Frawley was with the team on Saturday so presume it will be him and then that might allow for COB to be on the bench.

[offshorerules]

I assume that Ryan following return to play protocols is code for won't be available or am I wrong?

[riocard911]

I assume that Ryan following return to play protocols is code for won't be available or am I wrong?

No need to rush him back. If it was up to me, I'd err on the side of caution and start Dev and Fardy, with Moloney on the bench.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

Not sure if Vakh had been down as being a long term injury before, pity.

[Twist]

Rónan Kelleher out for Saturday, and for “a spell” after accordong to the indo

[bluemagic]

Can’t really hope for Cronin coming straight back into start so looks like we’ll have to trust Byrne and Tracey

[glenageary]

Rónan Kelleher out for Saturday, and for “a spell” after accordong to the indo

I cant see that report in the Indo, just the latest news that Sexton is out for 6-8 weeks and will miss the Scotland and Welsh games

[bluemagic]

James Ryan out for Saturday too (not official yet. Molony or Murphy will be on the bench

[Twist]

Rónan Kelleher out for Saturday, and for “a spell” after accordong to the indo

I cant see that report in the Indo, just the latest news that Sexton is out for 6-8 weeks and will miss the Scotland and Welsh games

Cian Treacy tweeted it

[johng]

Ronan Kelleher suffers suspected fractured hand in latest blow for LeinsterCian Tracey • 20 minutes ago

Leinster have been dealt another major blow after Ronan Kelleher suffered a suspected fractured hand during last Saturday's Heineken Champions Cup win over Northampton and is now facing a spell on the sidelines.

Kelleher joins Johnny Sexton in missing Saturday's return clash against Northampton at the Aviva Stadium.

Independent.ie understands that Kelleher's hand is in a protective cast and is set to miss several weeks, which means he is now up against it to make it back in time to be selected for the start of Ireland's Six Nations campaign.

The 21-year old uncapped hooker has been outstanding this season, scoring seven tries in his eight games thus far.

The former Ireland U-20s international had been expected to be in contention for Andy Farrell's first squad, and although he is expected to be fit, it remains to be seen how quickly he recovers from the untimely setback.

Kelleher's absence is offset by the fact that Sean Cronin has returned to full training this week after recovering from the neck issue that he picked up in the latter stages of the World Cup.

Speaking recently about Kelleher's progress, Leinster head coach Leo Cullen said: "Ronan is going well, hence he has continued in the team. He's had a bit of exposure last year with the senior team. He's trained quite a bit last year.

"He had some exposure to the games last year which was good. It gets them (young players) into more of a rhythm and so then you're starting the season at the same time as everyone else. They get a good chance.

"They're then competing with everyone else, some of the senior guys in those positions. And that's across the board, not just with Ronan. He's taken some of his chances well and hence he's got more cracks at it. We'll see how he goes.

"He's very level-headed and he just gets on with things, works hard, head down. His attention to detail is very, very good."

[LeRouxIsPHat]

I thought Johnny would be worse than that so that's a bit of a relief tbh. Pity about Kelleher but it sounds like he'll be back by mid January so that could be worse as well.

I already said this in the last match thread but Ross Byrne could go from being left out of the World Cup squad to starting in the 6N. It sounds like we can rule Johnny out of the first two rounds, Carty was hooked early on Sunday and really isn't playing well (it looks like the loss to Japan might have affected his confidence), and Joey's return date is very vague. If Joey does make it back soon then I'm sure he'l get the nod, but when you think about it this year has been a write off for him because of injuries so it's been a long long time since he got a consistent run of games and played well.