Leinster Vs. Glasgow Warriors Preview: Lions Audition At The Aviva Stadium
Leinster Vs. Glasgow Warriors Preview: Lions Audition At The Aviva Stadium
Leinster hosts Glasgow in a blockbuster Champions Cup quarterfinal, with key matchups and elite depth set to decide this clash of European giants.
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Two heavyweights of European Rugby collide Friday evening, as the reigning URC champion Glasgow Warriors travel to Dublin to face Leinster Rugby
Gliding through the Round of 16, both sides were impervious in their destruction of Gallagher Premiership outfits, the Leicester Tigers and Harlequins.
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Playing their fixture in front of 55,000 fans at the iconic Croke Park Stadium, Leinster put on a performance for the ages, keeping Harlequins scoreless. Clicking offensively, the men in blue racked up 62 points in an onslaught for the ages.
Glasgow was equally impressive in the face of more resistance against the Tigers. Absorbing an early blow from their visitors, the Warriors regrouped and marched on to a comprehensive 43-19 victory.
Setting the stage for what promises to be a raucous encounter between two sides that know each other’s games intrinsically, the URC rivals have named strong sides for the encounter.
Team News
Leinster has mixed and matched its squad, dipping into its depth, which is the envy of clubs across the world.
Most of the changes occur in the pack, where Ireland’s most capped player of all time, Cian Healy, joins the returning Ronan Kelleher and Tadhg Furlong in the front row.
On the bench, Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan and Rabah Slimani provide world-class cover.
Powering the engine room, Joe McCarthy and RG Snyman resume their lock partnership in the absence of James Ryan, while in the backrow, Max Deegan gets a rare Champions Cup start at blindside, with Jack Conan shifting to No. 8, where he will captain the said.
Adding impact from the bench, regular captain Caelan Doris links up with the highly touted Diarmuid Mangan in completing the forward cover.
Across the back line, the Leinster coaches have made two starting changes, with the in-form Tommy O’Brien replacing Jamie Osborne on the right wing. In the centers, Jordie Barrett gets the nod ahead of Robbie Henshaw, who will make his 100th appearance for Leinster when he enters the fray.
Joining Barrett in the midfield will be Garry Ringrose.
Elsewhere, Jamison Gibson-Park and Sam Prendergast continue in the halfbacks, with James Lowe and Hugo Keenan rounding out the back three.
Glasgow Warriors head coach Franco Smith has made three changes to his starting XV for the fixture.
Rory Darge returns to the lineup at openside flanker after impressing off the bench last week, with Sione Vailanu moving to No. 8, and Matt Fagerson staying on the blindside.
Sam Talakai replaces Zander Fagerson at tighthead prop, with Fagerson following return-to-play protocols for concussion symptoms. Nathan McBeth, recently named Warrior of the Month, and Johnny Matthews complete the front row.
In the second row, Alex Samuel partners Gregor Brown as JP Du Preez drops to the bench.
The back line remains unchanged from their victory over the Leicester Tigers, with George Horne and Adam Hastings - both try-scorers last weekend - continuing at halfback.
Tom Jordan and Stafford McDowall maintain their midfield partnership, while Jamie Dobie, Kyle Steyn and Kyle Rowe round out the back three.
On the bench, Patrick Schickerling joins Grant Stewart and Jamie Bhatti as front row cover. Max Williamson returns to the squad after injury, and Euan Ferrie, Ben Afshar and Sebastian Cancelliere also are named among the replacements, hoping to provide impact late in the game.
Key Matchup
Shooting into the wider British and Irish rugby consciousness at the rate of a steam train running down the tracks, Andy Farrell’s Lions squad announcement is peering into focus.
Denied of a few key showdowns due to injury, this clash remains a marquee fixture for several contenders.
Front and center of these matchups takes place in the back row, where former World Player of the Year, Josh van der Flier, faces off with Scottish vice-captain Rory Darge.
Both opensides have been in glittering form thus far this season, making this battle alone worth the gate fee.
Similar in stature, the pair base their games on unrelenting work rates and tactical knowhow, which more often than not leads to impact plays.
Adding an extra layer of oomph in the carry this season, Van der Flier is arguably having his best season since winning the World Player and European Cup Player of the Season awards in 2022.
Darge, who is six years his opponent's junior, long has been heralded as a generational talent for Scotland. Playing a key role for both the Warriors and the national side since making his international debut in 2022, the 25-year-old has yet to quite achieve the heights of his opposite number.
Given the quality of blindsides available to Farrell and his coaching staff, this weekend’s clash can be viewed as a title eliminator between two of the front-runners.
While the final score will come down to the team effort, both players will be acutely aware of what one another is up to.
Likely to collide at the breakdown, this is an area where separating the two is a challenge but will make for interesting viewing. In the tackle area, both players get through a ton of work, with Darge in the top 5 on the overall charts with 67.
In open play, Darge’s offloading ability has been notable whilst Van der Fliers try-scoring rate and footwork before contact has been exceptional.
Prediction
If there was to be a side that would upset Leinster at home, the Warriors are close to the top of the list.
Losing several key players to injury, namely tighthead Zander Fagerson, majorly dents the Glaswegians chances against what essentially is an elite test-level side.
Factoring in the knowledge each side has of one another, we can envision an ultra-physical and tight opening half, but Leinster should have too much quality to slip up at this stage.
Making the difference will be Leinster’s simply outlandish bench, which even the best test sides in World Rugby would struggle to contain. Leinster by 15+.
Rosters
Leinster
15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Tommy O’Brien, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 James Lowe, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Jack Conan (c), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Max Deegan, 5 RG Snyman, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Rónan Kelleher, 1 Cian Healy
Replacements: 16 Dan Sheehan, 17 Andrew Porter, 18 Rabah Slimani, 19 Diarmuid Mangan, 20 Caelan Doris, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Ross Byrne, 23 Robbie Henshaw
Glasgow Warriors
15 Kyle Rowe, 14 Jamie Dobie, 13 Stafford McDowall, 12 Tom Jordan, 11 Kyle Steyn (c), 10 Adam Hastings, 9 George Horne, 8 Sione Vailanu, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Matt Fagerson, 5 Alex Samuel, 4 Gregor Brown, 3 Sam Talakai, 2 Johnny Matthews, 1 Nathan McBeth
Replacements: 16 Grant Stewart, 17 Jamie Bhatti, 18 Patrick Schickerling, 19 JP du Preez, 20 Max Williamson, 21 Euan Ferrie, 22 Ben Afshar, 23 Sebastian Cancelliere
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