Champions Cup: Leinster v Stade Français
Aviva Stadium (5.30, live on RTÉ 2, TNT Sports)
“Destiny is a good thing to accept when it is going your way. When it isn’t, don’t call it destiny, call it injustice, treachery, or simple bad luck.” The words of Joseph Heller might resonate with Harry Byrne stuck in his own Catch-22 nightmare rugby ordeal.
A rolled ankle in training has cost him a place in today’s Champions Cup pool match, just another bad break for the talented 24-year-old in a career dogged by inordinate injury misfortune. It’s impossible to prove anything if you are not on a pitch.
Afforded the opportunity for game time following a bicep injury that laid low his brother, Ross, Harry had a chance to squeeze into Andy Farrell’s upcoming Ireland Six Nations squad if he’d performed consistently well but he’s been unable to shake off the injury jinx for long enough to compile a persuasive body of work.
His misfortune gives Ciarán Frawley additional game time in the 10 jersey, one he donned previously in the Champions Cup this season in the victory over Sale Sharks before Christmas. Leo Cullen was asked whether he felt that the Skerries-born player needed to raise in quality terms his contribution level.
The Leinster head coach was adamant that his team’s clunky performance at times that day could not be exclusively laid at Frawley’s feet and that the fitful nature of the collective display was shared among a far wider number of players. “It was a slightly frustrating game for us. I thought as the game [went] on he [Frawley] became more influential in terms of the running of the team.
“That’s what you want from your 10, make sure you are managing the team around the field and playing in the right areas. The thing about Ciarán is, he has a very strong running game, strong passing game and is a natural kicker of a ball as well. It’s just doing the basics well.
“He has lots of good players around him, plenty of experience with Jamison [Gibson-Park] inside him and Robbie [Henshaw] and Garry [Ringrose] outside him, those guys will give him plenty of support, play his normal game, that is the point for him.”
Frawley’s versatility is a boon for the team but is tough on the individual where there is an expectation of high-level input that can be unfair when index linked to work of team-mates. Leinster are transitioning in attack and defence in terms of new coaching ideas and that bedding-in period hasn’t quite run its course, albeit that it should be coming closer to fruition.
There were some better tidings from the treatment room in the return of left wing James Lowe, who will play his first game of the season, and tighthead prop Tadhg Furlong, an absentee through injury since the first week in December. James Ryan, a late withdrawal before the Ulster game, is named on the bench as Jason Jenkins and Joe McCarthy start in the secondrow.
Given Leinster’s injury profile in the backline, Lowe’s return is timely. Cullen said: “In terms of his skill set, in terms of his carrying game, there are few better players, isn’t there? His ability to beat people one-on-one, by pure power and footwork, his strong kicking game and defensively, in the system, he’s really [raring to go].
“It goes back to the point about players enjoying learning new skills. He’s enjoying learning a new skill but [the Stade Français game] will be the first chance he gets in this defensive system so there’s a natural challenge in that, but James is a very smart footballer and he’s excited himself and will adapt quickly.”
Stade Francais have made 10 changes and a positional switch to the team that drew 14-14 at home to Clermont Auvergne in the French Top 14 last weekend. The five survivors are wing Kylan Hamdaoui, halfbacks England’s Zack Henry and former All Black Brad Weber, 145kg South African secondrow JJ van der Mescht, and Mathieu Hirigoyen, who switches from number eight to blindside flanker and will captain the team.
Centre Noah Nene makes his first start for the team while replacement Andy Timo is just 19 years old. The Parisian club are third in the Top 14 with seven wins and last week’s draw from 12 matches – they have lost their two pool matches in Europe – and possess some familiar faces in a high-functioning coaching group.
Cullen said: “Paul Gustard has come in and all that he brings in terms of his own DNA from his time [as the defence coach] at Saracens. [Stade] have very strong fundamentals, a strong kicking game. Brad Weber was an All Black until recently. That’s the quality of players they are able to attract.
“[Head coach] Laurent Labit has come in post his time with France, a hugely experienced coach. They’re hugely resourced, have plenty of experience through their team whether that’s French talent or guys from outside. So, it will be a real tough battle for us. It’s about making sure that we are well prepared for everything we do. There is an excitement for the players to run out at the Aviva.”
Ticket sales suggest that it will be close to a capacity crowd at the Aviva Stadium this evening. The challenge for Leinster is to deliver a performance worthy of that support, something of which they are acutely aware following the disappointment of their most recent outing, a defeat to Ulster at the RDS.
This is another benchmarking moment in Leinster’s rugby evolution, and while it shouldn’t be the most arduous, it is important that the progress is easily discernible.
Leinster: H Keehan; J Larmour, G Ringrose (capt), R Henshaw, J Lowe; C Frawley, J Gibson-Park; A Porter, D Sheehan, T Furlong; J Jenkins, J McCarthy; R Baird, J van der Flier, C Doris. Replacements: R Kelleher, C Healy, M Ala’alatoa, J Ryan, J Conan, L McGrath, S Prendergast, T O’Brien.
Stade Francais: L Monin; P Dakuwaqa, S Ahmed, N Nene, K Hamdaoui; Z Henry, B Weber; C Castets, L Peyresblanques, H Ndiaye; PH Azagoh, JJ van der Mescht; M Hirigoyen, R Chapuis, G Habel-Kuffner. Replacements: M Meite, V Kakovin, P Alo-Emile, G Tsutskiridze, A Timo, J Gimbert, P Gabrillagues, J Segonds.
Referee: C Ridley (England)
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