RUGBY: Financial pragmatism and capacity constraints have forced Leinster to abandon "fortress" Donnybrook in favour of Lansdowne Road for their Heineken European Cup quarter-final against Biarritz on Saturday, April 12th (3.35 p.m.).
Leinster haven't lost a European Cup tie in 12 encounters at Donnybrook but limited by a 7,000 capacity and the demands imposed by the ticketing procedure of European Rugby Cup Ltd (ERC), sponsors and visiting supporters, it was simply not practical to stage the game there.
Coach Matt Williams was an enthusiastic advocate of the venue change, having confessed to initially not being aware of the full implications of staging the match at Donnybrook.
"We would have to give 25 per cent of the ticket allocation to the visiting supporters and there would be an extra allocation to the ERC and sponsors. That would mean turning away 2,000 of our supporters who would normally go to Donnybrook for a Friday night game.
"We want to reward our supporters. The team have done their job to date, we are happy that our backroom team can now achieve the goal of a huge Leinster support. Donnybrook, much as we love it, cannot properly host a match of this magnitude yet Lansdowne Road still provides us with an advantage - the support, the Saturday, the surface, our skills.
"People told us they couldn't bring kids to see us on a Friday night because tickets weren't available and viewing facilities for them wouldn't be available. We want to make this a Leinster day, bring everyone in the province to see the team play. I would view it as a massive positive.
"It's not a money making exercise. We want to get a huge crowd behind the team to take us to the next level. In the decision-making process the team was always a priority. At a team meeting on Wednesday the players fully endorsed the decision. We are backing ourselves and we hope that the supporters will back us."
Williams was adamant the only way the team's chances would be diminished by the switch would be a crowd of 10,000 turning up. He believes an attendance in excess of 30,000 is not unrealistic. It certainly represents an opportunity for those who carp about the difficulty of obtaining tickets for Leinster's home matches to support the province.
Leinster Branch chief executive Mick Dawson admitted moving the match to Lansdowne Road was a "leap of faith to take it out of Donnybrook and out of the comfort zone to which players and supporters were used. The players have done their bit and it is up to us to follow suit. The family tickets will be a big pushing point."
Leinster will outline a detailed plan on February 24th, at a press conference, the day the tickets for the game will go on sale.
Williams's final message on the topic was for the supporters.
"We salute the fans who support us in Donnybrook - the vast majority with no chance of a stand ticket. They are on wet and windy terraces giving us their fantastic backing. We are now in a position to accommodate all our loyal fans and also, at last, give many more fans the opportunity to see and support Leinster."
Of more immediate concern is tonight's interprovincial friendly against Ulster at Ravenhill (7.30). Ireland full-back Girvan Dempsey is still troubled by a muscle strain and therefore Gordon D'Arcy is named at full back with Peter McKenna on the left wing.
Dempsey should be available for Ireland's opening Six Nations Championship game against Scotland on Sunday, February 16th. Nathan Spooner starts his first competitive match for the province following his shoulder operation in place of Christian Warner.
The latter has suspected glandular fever - Leinster are awaiting blood tests to confirm this - and could be out for a month at least. Emmet Byrne is out with a calf injury so Peter Coyle takes his place. The province has a shortage of props at present with Paul Wallace (operation last week), John Lyne (broken thumb) and Niall Treston (shoulder) also out through injury. They have left a vacancy on the bench.
Leo Cullen is pretty much back in full training but management decided not to risk him for this match. Des Dillon has a leg injury so Ben Gissing comes into the replacements. Reserve scrumhalf Brian O'Riordan has flu so Benny Willis takes his place on the bench while a late decision will be taken on the fitness of David Quinlan. Adam Magro stands by.
LEINSTER: G D'Arcy; D Hickie, B O'Driscoll, S Horgan, P McKenna; N Spooner, B O'Meara; R Corrigan (capt), S Byrne, P Coyle, A McCullen, M O'Kelly, E Miller, V Costello, K Gleeson. Replacements: AN Other, G Hickie, A Kearney, B Gissing, B Willis, M Leek, D Quinlan/A Magro.
