RUGBY NEWS ROUND-UP:SETTLED IN the unfamiliar, brilliant sunshine of Padova, Leinster will take their first steps into the 2008-2009 season this evening - against the club where Michael Cheika first cut his teeth as a coach - with a relatively callow selection featuring a crop of the province's likely young lads.
Partly to maximise the pre-season time available to their frontline Ireland internationals, the likes of Brian O'Driscoll, Shane Horgan, Rob Kearney, Jamie Heaslip and Felipe Contepomi won't feature until Leinster's game against Treviso on Saturday night.
Instead, a 21-year-old Tullow graduate of the Irish youths scene, openside Seán O'Brien, and Eoin O'Malley, the Ireland under-20 centre, will make senior debuts against Padova, the latter alongside Fergus McFadden in midfield.
So too will at least a couple of the five Academy players Leinster have among their squad, scrum-half Paul O'Donohoe and centre Kyle Tonetti, who were both part of the Ireland Under-20 Grand Slam-winning side of two seasons ago and have been named on the bench. The ex-Auckland Blues utility back Isa Nacewa, whose arrival will contribute to a much heightened competition for places among the Leinster backs, will make his Leinster debut at full-back.
This evening's game will be played over two 40-minute periods, and Cheika intends giving pre-planned, 60-, 40- or 20-minute blocks of game time, while also utilising all 37 fit players in the travelling party over the two matches.
"We hope to transfer the good, strong technical work we've been doing with the ball in play and make good decisions under pressure," commented Cheika, "so that we're applying better technique in pressure situations."
Mindful of the impact of the ELVs (experimental law variations) and the increased work-rate required, Cheika added: "We also want to achieve a good level of physicality, and good involvement in the game, which means lots of touches . . . We want to see this ethos from the start. We want to see this game set the platform as far as that's concerned."
With only one further warm-up match for the Magners League holders, against the Queensland Reds on Saturday week, Cheika also stressed these two games in Italy were "selection trials", given they begin the season with an open slate and "every opportunity you take is going to count".
Matt Williams yesterday named a 22-man squad from which he will select his starting line-up to take on the Queensland Reds at Ravenhill on Friday. Included in the line- up are two former Reds players, Ed O'Donoghue and Clinton Schifcofske, who joined lately.
"Clinton has a wealth of experience and what we are looking for from him is that leadership as well as knowledge about the ELVs," said Williams. "Ed O'Donoghue is also an experienced guy who has been about a bit and is an abrasive player."
"I didn't think I would play against any Southern Hemisphere teams here in Ulster let alone the Reds," said O'Donoghue, "but I am really looking forward to the game. I enjoyed the Bath game. It was tough going at times and I can definitely see why the lads talk about the Ravenhill factor on match night - the crowd were brilliant."
Bryan Young, Rory Best, Isaac Boss and Paddy Wallace, who were rested last week following the Ireland training camp in Cork the week before, return to the squad, and Ian Humphreys is named for the first time after rejoining from Leicester.
"We were pleased with the performance on Friday against Bath but we have a lot of work still to do and these friendlies are a great opportunity to see how the players are progressing and give the younger guys a chance as well," said Williams, adding in a typically upbeat manner: "The Magners League is just weeks away and we are determined to make a vast improvement on our results from last season. We didn't have a good time last season. Winning the Magners League and getting to the knock-out stages of Europe isn't beyond this squad."
The Munster squad arrived in Boston on Monday afternoon for Saturday's meeting with the USA Eagles in Connecticut. After a morning gym session supervised by Paul Darbyshire and Aiden O'Connell at Harvard University Gym, the squad had a field session on the artificial surface at Harvard Stadium, following which backs coach Jason Holland took charge of a children's coaching clinic with Alan Quinlan, Peter Stringer, Paul O'Connell, Donncha O'Callaghan and John Hayes.
Experimental law match
ON FOOT of his appointment as the new captain at Blackrock, the former Ireland and Lions hooker Shane Byrne will begin his tenure tomorrow against Lansdowne in a match arranged to explain the 13 new experimental law variations, writes Gerry Thornley.
Alain Rolland, the former Blackrock captain and World Cup final referee, will referee the match with a live microphone. Prior to the game Rolland, along with the newly appointed Blackrock RFC rugby co-ordinator, Greg McWillams, will attend a rules seminar at 6pm in the club, which is open to the public.
McWilliams has for the past three seasons been the head coach of the under-20 academy - which in the last two seasons captured the JP Fanagan League twice and the McCorry Cup - and is also the current senior coach at St Michael's College and the Leinster Schools' Development Team.
LEINSTER (v Padova): Isa Nacewa; Gary Brown, Eoin O'Malley, Fergus McFadden, Smon Keogh; Jonathan Sexton, Chris Keane; Cian Healy, Bran Blaney, Stephen Knoop; Trevor Hogan, Cameron Jowitt; Kevin McLaughlin, Seán O'Brien, Stephen Keogh. Replacements: Ronan McCormack, John Fogarty, Stanley Wright, Devin Toner, Luke Fitzgerald, Girvan Dempsey, Kyle Tonetti, Paul O'Donohoe.
ULSTER (squad v Queensland Reds): Forwards: Bryan Young; Rory Best; Tom Court, Ed O'Donoghue, Carlo Del Fava, Matt McCullough, David Pollock, Robbie Diack, Neil Hanna, Jarlath Carey. Backs: Simon Danielli; Isaac Boss; Ian Humphreys, Paddy Wallace, Darren Cave, Timoci Nagusa, Clinton Schifcofske, Thomas Anderson, Cillian Willis, Rob Dewey, Bryn Cunningham, TBC.
