RUGBY:WHILE EOIN O'Malley, Isa Nacewa and Richardt Strauss are expected to be available for Leinster's opening game in the PRO12 League this weekend, coach Joe Schmidt has lost three more players from his already World Cup-hit provincial squad.
Having to endure further disappointment is centre Eamonn Sheridan who, following a lengthy time out last season with a fractured ankle, has now damaged his cruciate ligament more seriously than first thought and will not be back until the New Year.
Also unavailable to Schmidt are secondrow Steven Sykes, who has suffered medial ligament damage, which is expected to rule him out for the opening three weeks, while Ireland Under-20 star Andrew Conway has hurt his ankle and is also unavailable for Friday night’s game against the Ospreys at the Liberty Stadium (7.05pm).
With the late inclusion of flanker Shane Jennings on the Irish World Cup squad, following the injury to David Wallace last Saturday against England, bringing the Leinster head count going to New Zealand to 14 players, it leaves Schmidt without at least 17 players for the first match of the domestic season.
“I think with Eamonn Sheridan, we were hopeful. He felt the pain and initially felt quite good,” said Schmidt yesterday. “On further examination the knee was quite loose. He has torn his cruciate ligament and that is going to be quite a long-term injury.
“For him it’s devastating because it was a great opportunity with Brian (O’Driscoll) and Gordon (D’Arcy) and Fergus (McFadden) all off, to contest in the midfield. It surely doesn’t help us and it’s not like we have massive resources with 14 guys on a plane tomorrow.”
Brendan Macken, just 19 years old, will get his chance, while Eoin O’Malley and Luke Fitzgerald can play at 15 through to left wing if required. Schmidt is toying with the idea of Macken at 12 and O’Malley at outside centre, with players like Darren Hudson, who has played on the wing but also in midfield, likely to get their chance on the field sooner rather than later.
“Some of those names may not be household just yet but we’d be delighted if they became neighbourhood names by the end of this six-week period. Andrew Conway, we are hoping is two to three weeks but we have to wait and see. Steven Sykes has medial ligament damage so we’re hoping that’s three or four weeks. Certainly it’s not helping us this first couple of weeks.”
In the absence of the experienced players, who leave for the World Cup today, Nacewa and Rhys Ruddock take on increasingly important roles in leading the team. Nacewa, easily one of Leinster’s most influential players last season, has forfeited a World Cup run with his native Fiji to commit himself to the Leinster cause.
Nacewa went to France for a three-week break during the close season but was not tempted to throw his lot in with Fiji, who are in a pool with South Africa, Wales, Samoa and Namibia.
“I dedicated my cause to Leinster and come World Cup time I knew I would be here with Leinster,” said Nacewa. “It was my decision. I just chose to commit myself to Leinster.”
The utility back didn’t play in either of the two friendly matches against Melbourne Rebels and Northampton because of a leg injury from the end of last season.
Ruddock, in the absence of the entire Leinster backrow (Jennings, Jamie Heaslip and Seán O’Brien), continues to be a captain in the making and is certain to get a lot of game time over the next two months.
“There is a smattering of experience amongst them, which I think is important,” added Schmidt. “If you throw all the young guys out together it’s a bit of a struggle to get direction. But we’ve got some guys who have got experience through the pack and a couple in the backline who will hopefully help direct those young guys and keep things reasonably fluid.”
